PUBLISHED 22 October 2019
Our innovative ‘Learning to Learn’ programme helps students understand how to maximise learning and recall to achieve their potential.
Learning2Learn is a relatively new course on the Year 7 and Year 8 curriculum, which all pupils receive one lesson/week. The overall objective of the course is to create more independent and reflective learners, who approach their work with the right mindset and motivation. The course is in place to help students build awareness, understanding and control of their thought processes – also known as metacognition and to think critically about their learning. By exposing students to a range of different thought processes, this gives the students a larger variety of potential thinking strategies for dealing with the challenges which lie ahead.
These key attributes and skills to successful learning cover all subject areas and are as relevant inside the classroom as they are outside, as the course also looks to enhance the character education of our pupils. This ties in very well with our Round Square Discovery Framework, as the pupils will have the opportunity to problem-solve, be inquisitive and work collaboratively, among others.
The focus of the first term of lessons in Year 7 looks at the ‘Why of learning’, which considers areas such as extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, comfort zones and self-belief, goal setting, growth mindset, the fear of failure, self-awareness and metacognition. Next term, the focus will be on the ‘How of Learning’, and will consider some neuroscience, memory, learning preferences and the 4 R’s of learning – registering, retaining, reviewing and recalling and helping pupils prepare for their examinations.
The Year 7 have the following thoughts on the course after the first half term:
‘L2L has not just improved my mindset it has changed how my mindset works’ Owen
‘L2L has helped me to think in lots of different way’ Harry
‘L2L has helped with my goal setting and organisation, and I try to so my homework on the night it is set!’ Jack
‘L2L has helped me use my brain in different ways to think about things’ Evangeline
‘L2L has already helped me to develop my learning skills’ Charlotte
The focus in Year 8 is encouraging students to develop a ‘learning toolkit’ of techniques that they can apply in their academic subjects. In addition, there is further study of brain anatomy and functioning, including the structure of neurons and how they transmit messages. Also featured is how to avoid ‘Weapons of Mass Distraction’ whilst studying, such as practicing the Pomodoro technique to maximise concentration and improve learning, rather than multi-tasking and risking incomplete memories being formed. In the self-development topic, we discuss the benefits of healthy eating, getting quality sleep regularly, and how it is essential to switch phones and gadgets off before bedtime, to ensure the brain is functioning at its best throughout each school day.
Here are some comments from Year 8 students after the first half term:
‘L2L is where you learn different methods on how to learn and revise’ Dani
‘I feel like L2L will come in very useful when I have exams’ Hugo
‘I have learnt a lot about the brain and neurons, and this is useful because I want to be a neurosurgeon’ Caitlin
‘I’ve really enjoyed L2L and it has helped me to revise and made me inspired to work hard at school’ Anya
‘It is really useful to find out how phones can affect our learning, so I know the best way to concentrate’ Charlotte