Building Learning Powers

"Since we cannot know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned."
John Holt

At St George’s CE Primary School we want to instil certain habits and attitudes to enable our pupils to be more confident in their own learning ability. By becoming better learners pupils will concentrate more, learn faster and better, think harder and find learning more enjoyable.

Today’s schools need to be educating not just for exam results but for lifelong learning. To help the children build their learning power we teach the children the 4Rs of learning based on research developed by Guy Claxton:

Being resilient, resourceful, reflective and reciprocal.

Through these 4Rs the children will be able to have greater success and reach their full potential as learners. At St George’s each of the four Rs is linked to a character that the children can relate to: Resilient Raj, Resourceful Roxy, Reflective Rafi and Reciprocity Ruby.

Being resilient is about not giving up. Learners can…

• get lost in learning – I can be on task and get completely absorbed in my learning
• manage distractions – I can shut out distractions when I’m learning
• persevere – I can stick with my learning, even when I find it hard
• be creative – I can think in creative ways and use it to further my learning

Resilient Raj

Being resourceful is about keep looking for other ideas. Learners can….

• question – I can ask questions to help me with my learning
• investigate – I can explore in different ways
• make connections – I can make connections with what I already know
• visualise – I can create a picture in my mind

Resourceful Roxy

Being reflective is about thinking of what to do and how to improve. Learners can….

• plan – I can organise myself for my learning and get on independently
• be curious – I can find interest in what I’m learning and want to know more
• reason – I can give reasons for my thinking and work systematically
• reflect and evaluate – I can reflect and then recognise the next steps for my learning

Reflective Rafi

Being reciprocal is about working alone or in a group. Learners can….

• be self reliant – I can recognise when to learn independently and collaboratively
• be a team player – I can work well as part of a team
• empathise– I can see things from the viewpoint of others
• piggy back ideas – I can learn from those around me