Knowle CE Primary School Information Sheet for Parents and Carers

Learning and Teaching Building Learning Power

This information sheet has been designed to provide you with an overview of BLP
What is Learning Power? Building Learning Power or BLP is based on the work of Professor Guy Claxton. Firmly rooted in science and research it suggests that there are several broad dispositions that we need to develop in order to become successful lifelong learners. We need to provide our children with the capacity to meet the unknown challenges of the twentyfirst century. The notion of giving them portable learning power so that they are able to rise to these challenges is at the heart of BLP
There are four key learning dispositions

Resilience, Resourcefulness, Reflectiveness and Reciprocity, the new four Rs of learning.

There are no limits to extending our learning power

These dispositions are inherent in us all. However, they are not fixed at birth or when we leave school; they can be developed by everyone regardless of ability, social background or age.

Resilience - this is being ready willing and able to lock on to learning knowing how to work through difficulties when the pressure mounts or the going gets tough Resilience is made up of ABSORPTION ~ PERSEVERENCE ~ MANAGING DISTRACTIONS ~ NOTICING Resourcefulness - this is being ready, willing and able to learn in different ways using both internal and external resources effectively, calling on different ways of learning as appropriate Resourcefulness is made up of QUESTIONING ~ IMAGINING ~ MAKING LINKS ~ CAPITALISING Reflectiveness - this is being ready, willing and able to become more strategic about learning taking a longer-term view by planning, taking stock and drawing out your experiences as a learner to get the best out of yourself Reflectiveness is made up of PLANNING ~ REVISING ~ DISTILLING ~ META-LEARNING Reciprocity This is being ready, willing and able to learn alone or with other people using a sense of independent judgement together with skills in communication and empathy. Reciprocity is made up of INTERDEPENDENCE ~ IMITATION ~ COLLABORATION ~ EMPATHY ~ LISTENING

We can think of these learning dispositions as being like groups of learning muscles just as we can build our physical muscles by the right kinds of exercise, so we can exercise our learning muscles to develop their strength and stamina. Developing the dispositions that make success as a lifelong learner equates to achieving a good level of all-round learning fitness OUR CHILDREN CAN NOW BE FIT FOR LEARNING BOTH MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY
The Teachers Palette We will be teaching children to expand their learning capacities. We will do this by the way we talk to children, organise the classroom and design activities, as well as how actually teach. We will continue to teach the National Curriculum book look for exiting, creative ways in which we can use it to challenge our childrens thinking and learning.

EXPLAINING Teachers introduce children directly and explicitly to the 4 Rs of learning power and then train them how to use them ORCHESTRATING Teachers orchestrate resources, the environment and activities in order to develop learning dispositions. Teachers plan schemes of work with the 4 Rs in mind, and each learning activity is designed to enhance one or more of the learning capabilities. COMMENTATING Teachers commentate on childrens learning power through informal talk and formal/informal evaluations. They draw attention to the progress they have made and to further action that they could take to build learning capacities. MODELLING Above all, teachers model being a learner. They encourage a collective commitment to learning by getting stuck, trying things out, making mistakes etc.