1. Developing Independent learners Barry Potter and Janine Remnant

2. “Nat Stds have narrowed the curric” (We are so worried about our kids performing well in literacy and Numeracy that we don’t have time to focus on learning in other areas) The wonderful world leading NZC has been sidelined We have to focus on Literacy and numeracy at the expense of creativity. Kids don’t know how to think or work independently We hear this a lot

3. Is supporting students to be independent learners something you deliberately include in the learning opportunities you design for kids? Discuss: –What outcomes do you include? –How do you build them into the learning What about building independent learners?

4. Is there any point deliberately designing learning activities that develop independent learners, especially when teachers have been landed with the responsibility for learners performance against the National Standards? Question

5. Successful independent learners are skilled in the key competencies and use them in combination with all the resources available to them to make sense of learning activities across a range of contexts. NZC P12 Therefore; students who perform well have a strong orientation towards learning.

6. Learning OrientationPerformance Orientation We believe that effort can lead to successWe believe that ability leads to success (and you either have it or you don’t) We believe in our ability to improve and learn and not be fixed or stuck We are concerned to be seen as able and to perform well in others eyes We prefer challenging tasks whose outcomes reflect our approach We seek satisfaction from doing better than others We get satisfaction from our own personally defined success at difficult tasks We emphasise competition and public evaluation We talk to ourselves: when engaged in a task we talk ourselves through When the task is difficult we display helplessness: I can't do X Learners orientation to learning Improving ones competencyProving ones competency

7. Independent learners have a well developed learning orientation rather than a performance orientation.

8. Performance. Measurable outcomes usually shown through marks, grades, scores Performance is not learning but it may develop from learning. The difference between performance and learning

9. 3 views of learning Learning is being taught –Teaching is telling and showing –Learning is listening and watching and passively acquiring someone else's knowledge. Learning is individual sense making –Learning is the activity of the learners. S/he is actively constructing meaning from the environment, not passively receiving it, and will reflect what s/he already knows and understands Learning is building knowledge as part of doing things with others –Meaning is constructed together in social activity

10. They use helplessness when faced with a challenging task _ I’m no good at X They seek help less (from teachers and peers) They have few positive strategies to call on They continue to use strategies which aren’t effective They have a focus on marks stickers and teacher affirmation, not process. Learners who are mainly performance orientation display negative effects

11. Think of a particular student you know of who appears to have a strong performance orientation. Create a list of what you see/hear, that you think are the indicators. Share with a colleague Share ideas with another pair and make a comprehensive list Lets relate this list to the Key Competencies NZC p 12 So what do students with a strong performance orientation know and do?

12. Think of a particular student you know of who appears to have a strong learning orientation. Create a list of what you see/hear that you think are the indicators that this is an effective learner. Share with a colleague Share ideas and make a comprehensive list Lets relate this list to the Key Competencies NZC p 12 So what do students with a learning orientation know and do?

13. A focus on Learning (a learning orientation) enhances performance, where as a focus on performance (performance orientation) can lower performance Why focus on building a capability to learn

14. Design how you would help a group of students learn how to build and fly a Pump Pet Rocket. The rocket must fly as far as possible down the playground. How will you factor in learning as making sense with others and building a learning orientation with your learners. Think, pair, share Applying our thinking

15. should we design learning activities that provide opportunities for students to apply the practices of an independent learner (developing a learning orientation through osmosis)? Or should we deliberately teach students to be independent learners (Developing independent learning by helping kids understand and develop the skills they need)? How should we help students get better at the key competencies?