www.taolearn.

com
Learning Skill resources available ATL tab

Maths & Memory - for Years 6-8

- establishing the patterning base of maths and memory

Learning About Learning for Years 7-10

- noticing and improving learning strategies and
techniques, developing personal learning style for success at
school

Exam Confidence for Years 10-13

- practical study and self-motivation skills for high
achievement in all tests and exams

Learning Resilience for Years 12 & 13 & GATE

- developing flexible thinking, understanding intelligence,
becoming a resilient learner

To help students:

To help them become:

gain good qualifications?

self-motivated

get into a good university?

self-directed

get a good job?

self-regulated

prepare for life?

autonomous

develop into brilliant

independent

learners?

lifelong learners?

and if so, how do we measure our success?

 Could part of the problem be a lack

of the right skills to be able to learn
successfully in a self-regulated

learning environment?

up to 73% of university students report difficulties preparing

for an exam

most tertiary students have been found to have weak or

ineffective strategies for processing information both in the
classroom and in their own study

when making notes from lectures or from text most students

miss 60 - 70% of the key points
-

good note making is positively correlated with

academic achievement

material omitted from notes has only a 5 - 15%

chance of being recalled

Even when they have good notes many students

still have great difficulty organising the
information they have collected.

52% admit that their notes are disorganised

61% report having trouble sequencing the ideas to

make coherent sense

At the secondary level, even given well organised, well

structured notes with summaries provided:

two thirds of students study for tests purely by

rereading their notes

more than half of them do that reading the day before

the test or exam

around 12% of students do nothing more than recopy

their notes verbatim

50% use passive repetition of key points as their single

study technique.

 setting learning goals

planning out study, managing time well
asking good questions
generating self-motivation and perseverance

processing information effectively skimming, sifting,

sorting, comparing, verifying, paraphrasing, recording

overcoming procrastination, working to deadlines
reflecting on learning progress process and content
learning from every mistake and bouncing back
making changes to learning processes where necessary
and trying again

What are your students like?

Do your students have all these skills?

How do you know?

Is achieving good grades and passing exams

good evidence of the use of effective, selfregulated learning skills, techniques and
strategies?

In the USA - 400 top corporate recruiters look for:

1) Oral and written communication skills
2) Critical thinking and problem solving skills
3) Professionalism and work ethic

4) Collaboration across networks

5) Ability to work in diverse teams
6) Fluency with information technology
7) Leadership and project management skills

Knowledge of mathematics came 14th on the list just ahead of science

knowledge and foreign language comprehension

Ways of Thinking
Creativity and innovation
Critical thinking, problem solving, decision making
Learning to learn, metacognition
Ways of Working
Communication
Collaboration & teamwork
Tools for Working
Information literacy
ICT literacy
Living in the World
Citizenship local and global
Life and career
Personal & social responsibility including cultural awareness and competence

(Binkley, Erstad, Herman, Raizen, Ripley & Rumble, 2010)

2008 QCA - A Framework of personal, learning and

thinking skills that are essential to success in learning,
life and work:

Independent inquirers

Creative thinkers

Reflective learners

Team workers

Self-managers

Effective participators

CCSS Common Core State Standards adopted by 47 states

Critical Thinking:

Analyze, Evaluate, Problem Solve

Creative Thinking:

Generate, Associate, Hypothesize

Complex Thinking:

Clarify, Interpret, Determine

Comprehensive Thinking:

Understand, Infer, Compare

Collaborative Thinking:

Explain, Develop, Decide

Communicative Thinking:

Reason, Connect, Represent

Cognitive Transfer of Thinking:

Synthesize, Generalize, Apply

Learning Skills and Work Habits:

Responsibility

Organization

Independent Work

Collaboration

Initiative

Self-Regulation

Poland
Belgium
Italy
Korea
Singapore
Mexico
New Zealand
The Slovak Republic
Spain
and Turkey
have all developed (or are currently
developing) curricula of essential learning
skills for students

Communication
Skills

Selfmanagement
Skills

Communication

Organization

Information
literacy

Creative
Thinking

Affective Skills

Media literacy

Transfer

Reflection

Thinking Skills

Critical
Thinking

Social Skills

Collaboration

Research Skills

Communication

Interactive - the skills of effectively exchanging thoughts, messages

and information through interaction
Language - the skills of reading, writing and using language to
communicate information

Collaboration
Organization

The skills of working cooperatively with others

The skills of effectively managing time and tasks

Affective skills

The skills of managing state of mind

Reflection

The metacognitive skills of re-considering what has been taught

and learned by reflection on content, ATL skill proficiency and
learning strategy use

Information
literacy

The skills of finding, interpreting, judging and creating information

Media literacy

The skills of interacting with different media to compare and

contrast different representations of information

Critical thinking

The skills of critique of text, media, ideas and issues

Creative thinking

The skills of invention developing things and ideas that never

existed before

Transfer

Utilising skills and knowledge in multiple contexts

Only 20% of teachers believe that teaching students

how to learn is a priority

Only 17% of students report that teachers actively

help them learn or improve their study skills

Reflection
Divide the outer circle into as
many people there are in your
group. Each person write down
any skills of effective learning ls
that you specifically teach at
present.
Describe how learning
skills are focused on in
your department.

Describe how
learning skills are
focused on in your
school as a whole.

Challenges vs. Opportunities

in implementing a coherent and viable

learning skill framework in this school

C-C Skills are not subject matter in themselves, they are

a collection of the processes - skills, techniques and
strategies - needed to learn any and every subject.

C-C Skills are not more content to be learned they are

processes to be noticed, experienced and improved.

Metacognition thinking about thinking - helping students

to notice their own learning and thinking processes:

Metacognitive Knowledge students gaining awareness

of the thinking and learning strategies, techniques and
skills they use at present

Metacognitive Performance students using that

knowledge to improve their performance, to change
ineffective strategies, try new techniques, learn new skills

Student Self-Regulation of Learning

High

Low

Self initiated task

statements

22 per hour

11 per hour

Questions asked
by students

questioning peers half

the time

mostly asking the

teacher

Task directed
statements from
teacher

2
- encouraging the
childs own thinking
and planning

17
- doing the thinking
and planning for the
child

The Student tries to solve the problem and describe their own problem
solving process - out loud
I see ......

I imagine ....

Im having trouble with ..

I think .......

I notice ........

I would like to

I know ......

I am trying to ........

I just cant work out

The Teacher keeps the student talking by only asking questions:

focus on the process not the solution

draw out problem solving strategies from the student

ask process focused questions how are you? what are you thinking..?

DO NOT HELP THE STUDENT FIND THE ANSWER

The aim of the exercise is for the student to use the

Tengram puzzle to investigate their own problem
solving strategies for visual puzzles

The teacher is trying to help the student to get

clear about their problem solving, thinking and

learning strategies

The observer is trying to keep them both on task

1) What are the content objectives for today?

To create vertical and horizontal plans of C-C Skills articulation across

KS3

To gain more understanding of the key issues involved in C-C Skills

implementation

2) What are the processes and C-C Skills that will be focused on today?

Effective group and team work

Application of logical analysis to planning process

Using reflection to develop more (metacognitive) awareness of the

processes of learning

3) In achieving our Content Objectives?

Have made a viable plan for vertical and horizontal articulation

of C-C Skills across KS3

Will be able to answer colleagues questions about some of the

key issues of implementing this plan

4) In achieving our Process Objectives? How do you demonstrate:

Effective group and team work?

Logical analysis?

Using reflection to develop awareness of the processes of

learning?

C-C Skills are the learning skills students need

to succeed at school
C-C Skills are a combination of:

Cognitive and
Affective

- processes, skills, techniques and strategies

Organising and transforming information

Asking good questions

Taking good classroom notes

Using memory techniques

Goal setting

Reviewing information regularly

Time management

Organising the study environment

Persistence and perseverance

Focus and concentration, overcoming distractions

Self-motivation

Mindfulness

Reducing anxiety

Delaying gratification

Managing impulsiveness and anger

Developing resilience

universal

essential to the learning process

not age specific

they persist throughout the life of the learner as

the most fundamental skills

they do not change in nature but may well

increase in complexity with the age of the
learner

Time management classes, assignments, exam study

Listening accurate reception, following instructions
Note making - recording information accurately and personally
Concentration, focus, perseverance, persistence - staying on
task
5. Group work and team work cooperation and communication
6. Goal setting and task management
7. Information search, retrieval, comparison, verification
8. Writing for different purposes essays, reports, creative writing
9. IT skills word processing, spreadsheeting, creating
presentations
10. Gaining understanding reflecting, remembering, review,
formulating questions
11. Learning from mistakes resilience, failing well
1.
2.
3.
4.

Critical thinking

Creative thinking

Problem solving

Are these skills in themselves or clusters of

skills?
Do they need to be added in?
Are they Cross-Curricula Skills?

At the entry into KS2 end of Year 2?

At the entry into KS3 end of Year 6 ?

Entry into KS4 end of Year 9?

Entry into the IBDP?

At the completion of the IBDP?

Do students need to be taught those skills before they make

the step-up or will they learn them after they do?

On entry at the end of Year 6?

End of Year 7?

End of Year 8?

On exit at the end of Year 9?

When do students need to be taught those skills

before they make the step-up or after they do?

1. Form 8-10 interdisciplinary groups

2. Take one Cross-Curricula Skill (or group of CCSs)

3. Consider the development of that skill through all the
key step-ups
4. Map out the evidence of the proficiency of that skill at
each key step up (write on butchers paper) what do
children need to be able to do in order to be
successful at that level?

5. Cut your page into appropriate strips

6. Stick all the skills evidence statements together on

individual Key Step-up pages

7. Consider the development of each CCS across the years are there any obvious skill gaps?
8. Consider the challenges and opportunities represented by

this plan

Having identified what and where CCS need to be taught

now you need to discuss:

When - is there room in the timetable where CCS

lessons can be placed?

How can you ensure agreement on consistent models

of how each CCS will be taught?

How can you get every teacher to reinforce the same

model of each CCS in their classroom?

Have we achieved our first content goal?

To create vertical and horizontal plans of C-C Skills

articulation across KS3

What is your evidence?

What questions do you have?

Metacognition 1 Reflection on Content

Evaluate understanding of subject matter, identify gaps
What I dont understand is .......................
How do I .................?
What do I have to do to .......................?
What I need to know is .....................?
The thing I just dont get is ....................?
What do you mean when you say ................?
What questions do you have so far?
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

We have achieved our first content goal, have we achieved our

process goals?
Effective group and team work
Application of logical analysis to planning process
Using reflection to develop more (metacognitive) awareness

of the processes of learning

What is your evidence?

How proficient do you feel at each?

How can you measure Cross-Curricula skill proficiency?

In pairs:
Assume the other person has no knowledge at all

of this skill (they have to pretend) and teach them

how to - tie a tie or lace a shoe
Note down what the key steps are in the process
Are there universal steps needed to teach any skill

up to mastery level?

Demonstration

(Watch)

Copying

(Copy)

Independent practice, failure and

improvement, up to mastery level (Do)

Teaching others

(Teach)

Johnny

1 never gets to class on time

2 sometimes gets to class on time
3 about half the time gets to class on time
4 most of the time .
5 always ..

What are you actually measuring?

Frequency not proficiency.

SKILLS HEIRARCHY

Level 1
The Novice
Observation

Level 2
The Learner
Emulation

Level 3
The Practitioner
Demonstration

Level 4
The Expert
Self-Regulation
Can perform the skill without
thinking through the process
first

Observes others performing

tasks and using the skill

Copies others performance

of the skill

Can demonstrate the skill on

demand

Gains an understanding of
how the skill
operates and what the
distinguishing characteristics
of the skill are

Works through the skill in a

step by step fashion, seeks
clarification for correctness
of performance

Flexibility of skill use in

different contexts is
developing

Automaticity is established
Automaticity is developing

Consolidation of learning is
occurring through
experience

Gathers procedural
information about the
performance of the skill, asks
questions to clarify
Is very conscious of
procedure
performing the skill and
correcting errors with
Errors are frequent
deliberation
High levels of scaffolding
from teacher needed explanations, training,
structural support

Can teach others the skill

Performs skill only with

known content in known
context
Medium level of scaffolding

Errors are corrected quickly

Can perform skill either with
different content or in
different context
Minimal teacher scaffolding
required setting directions,
goals, assessable outcomes

Can use skill with unfamiliar

content in unfamiliar context
High levels of performance
occur
Any errors are corrected
automatically
No teacher scaffolding
needed

Novice

Learner

Practitioner

Master

Watch

Copy

Do

Teach

Can watch others Can copy others

performing tasks performance of
and using the
the skill
skill
Medium level of
High levels of
scaffolding
scaffolding from needed
teacher needed

Can demonstrate Can teach others

the skill on
the skill
demand
No teacher
Minimal teacher scaffolding
scaffolding
required
required

Could Johnny assess himself?

Could you use this for parent feedback?
C-C Skill

Time Management
getting to classes
on time

Novice

Learner

Practitioner

Expert

Watch

Copy

Do

Teach

Watch

Copy

Practicing

Getting
there

Got it!

Teach

Metacognition 2 Self-Assessment of C-C Skill proficiency

C-C Skills

Novice Learner
Watch

Practitioner

Expert

Do

Teach

Copy
Practicing

Effective group and team

work
Applying logical analysis
to the planning process
Using reflection to
develop more
awareness of the
learning process

Getting
there

Got it!

In Languages researching, reading, writing, note making,

key word summarising, paraphrasing

In Science critical thinking, creating research questions,

researching, designing experiments, gathering and analysing

data, drawing conclusions, reporting findings

In Maths logical, analytical thinking?

In the Arts creativity, imagination?

In Technology software management skills?

In PE co-ordination, balance, physical skills?

Developing metacognitive performance:

3) through a focus on teaching/learning strategies:
learn by:

thinking in:

sensory
mode:

looking

pictures

Visual

listening and
talking

sounds

Auditory

doing

feelings

Kinesthetic

Visual

Auditory

Kinesthetic

- using video, film,

photographs
- pictures, posters, diagrams
and graphs
- creating flowcharts of
processes
- using mind maps and
THOrTmaps
- using colour on the board
- highlighting key words in text
- using gestures, facial
expressions
- being aware of non-verbal
(body) language
- using visualisation,
imagination
- accessing video based
websites

- talking, describing, dictation

- asking and answering
questions
- playing recordings
- playing quiet instrumental
music
- reading out loud
- creating discussions or
debates
- having students teach each
other
- inviting in guest speakers
- using word games, puns,
jokes
- formal and impromptu
speeches
- telling stories, myths,
legends, parables, metaphors
- accessing websites with
podcasts, audio

- using real life examples

- making mindmaps of key
points
- field trips, workshop and
laboratory sessions
- visiting museums, exhibitions
- using interactive dvds
- providing things to touch, to
pull apart and put together
- allowing for physical
comfort, thirst, hunger
- using role play, drama
- allowing standing,
movement, stretch breaks
- creating question and answer
games
- accessing websites with
games, interactive

One new thing

that I learned
today/yesterday
was

Where was I?

What time of
day was it?

How was I
taught pictures,
diagrams,
listening,
discussing,
hands-on,
activity?

Who helped me
to understand
and learn?

I learnt well
because?

what an isosceles
triangle is

in maths class

11am

reading, drawing
looking at a model

my friend

I could see what

was needed and
talk it over with
someone else

One time I noticed I

wasnt learning well
was

Where was I?

What time of day

was it?

in Geography on
Tuesday

in class

2.30pm

How was I taught - I found it difficult to

pictures, diagrams,
learn because
listening, discussing,
hands-on,
activity?

watching a video

I got distracted and

sleepy

I seem to learn best when

.........................................................................
.........................................................................
.........................................................................

Helping students to understand their own

learning preferences from reflection on

experience, not from questionnaires

Metacognition 3 Reflection on Teaching/Learning

Strategy Effectiveness
Topic
Students learning skills

Learning/Teaching
Strategy
Data presentation

Learning skills at Dulwich Group discussion

Think Alouds

Tengrams

Key Step-Ups

Discussion

Mapping Cross-Curricula
Skills
Metacog 1 reflection on
content

Group work

Teaching skills tie a tie

Skill teaching activity

Metacog 2 self-assess
skills proficiency

Individual reflection

Learning logs

Demonstration

Individual reflection

Metacog 3 reflection on Individual reflection

teaching/learning process

Worked well
for me

Worked OK for
me

Did not work

for me

Decide which skills are most important?

Consider asking students

Gather evidence of present skills levels

Run skills tests

Get teacher agreement on:

What skills are needed
Positioning of skills teaching when, who, how

Help teachers develop a dual focus in the classroom

This year you made the step-up from Year 6 to

Year 7
We know that this can be a big change for some
students and we were hoping that you might be
able to give us some advice on how to make this
change easier for next years Year 7 group
Have a look at the skills listed below and put a
tick next to any of them that you think would be
useful to teach to this years Year 6 group to help
prepare them for Year 7
How to make notes in class
How to write a scientific report etc

Additional skills of:

-

Scientific literacy?

Mathematical literacy?

Creative literacy?

Artistic literacy?

Language literacy?

Technological literacy?

Physical literacy?

Do they occur at the same points as the C-C Skill stepup points?

Entry into KS2 end of Year 2?

Entry into KS3 end of Year 6 ?

Entry into KS4 end of Year 9?

Entry into the IBDP?

At the completion of the IBDP?

1. Form disciplinary/subject groups

2. Decide what the key step-up points are for your
subject
3. From your lesson plans, pull out all the Subject
Specific skills (outside of the C-C Skills) that are
already taught within your subject up to each step-

up point
4. Are there any other skills specific to your subject

that students need by each key step-up point

5. Draw up your Subject Specific Skills specification for each key

step-up point, label it with your subject, and post it on the

relevant page on the wall

6. Take a gallery walk around all the charts and highlight any
Subject Specific skills that appear in more than one subject
7. Consider who takes responsibility for those duplicated SS Skills

Having identified which SSS need to be taught in

your subject at each point now you need to
discuss:

Who takes responsibility for each one?

How will you get the same model of each skill

reinforced by every teacher within your subject?

Implicitly by embedding the skill within the subject

teaching

Explicitly by teaching the skill directly either within

or outside of a subject based lesson

Experientially by creating experiences for students

where practice of the skill becomes necessary

Peer Teaching having skilled students teach other

students

Use self-assessment to rank students as Novices, Learners,

Practitioners and Experts

Ask the Experts if they could teach the rest

Provide learning opportunities across the class for:

Watchers
Copiers

Doers
Teachers

 Define the parameters of the skill - characteristics,

examples of high and low proficiency
Describe best practice in the field how do the
best students do it?
Break each skill down into strategies and
techniques
Teach them through practical examples

Allow for personal difference

1) Buy or make a full year planner, put on it

- whole school year with all semester/term dates & holidays
- all test and exam dates

- all assignment due dates

2) Doing assignments break each one down into steps:

a) as soon as you get an assignment mark the due date in your

phone calendar and later transfer that date to your year
planner
b) timeline every assignment

What are the stages of completing an assignment?

i. Research - finding the information

25% of the time?

ii. Processing the information reading

25%?
iii. Planning the piece of work sequencing ideas

5%?
iv. Doing the writing

40%
v. Proof reading, making corrections and handing it in?

5%

c) Mark on your year planner when you need to

have each stage of each assignment completed

3) Overcome procrastination by treating each stage as a
deadline due in the next day
4) Create To Do lists each week
5) Update your To Do lists regularly cross off everything

done as soon as it is done

6) Make your year planner a living document

When and

Where

are there opportunities to teach cognitive

Cross-Curricula skills?

 Define the parameters of the skill - characteristics,

examples of high and low proficiency
Remember a time when you were exhibiting this
skill
Describe your experience in detail focusing on
strategies and techniques
Practice using those techniques deliberately when

next you need to exercise that skill

 What does courage mean?

.. doing something that you know is going to be hard
What is the hardest thing you have ever got
yourself to do?
How did you get yourself to do it?
That is your courage strategy write it out
Practice it

Then when you need it, do it on purpose

Setting up experiences for students that bring about the

development or use of Affective Skills like self-motivation,
resilience, perseverance, concentration, focus, leadership,
bouncing back after mistakes and failures

PE many aspects of Physical Education can be used to

highlight the development of affective skills

Outdoor Education taking students out of the classroom

can create opportunities for the development of affective

skills

What gets the highest praise at your school?

Process or Outcomes?

What if high praise was meted out to process

courage, determination, perseverance, resilience,

self-motivation.

Who would be celebrated then?

How could that influence your school culture?

When

Where and

How

- could you create lessons or experiences to

help develop affective skills?

Look at all your present lesson plans

Work together with your subject team and

decide on the Cross-Curricula Skills to

emphasise in each unit/lesson

Write in your skill descriptor in the

appropriate place

Keep it as simple as possible

decide on the C-C skills to focus on

make the skills clear description, examples

have students self-assess skill proficiency

analyse class results for general skill deficiencies

develop lessons to bring all students up to the same

skill level

build skill practice into subject lessons

encourage students to regularly self-assess

proficiency up to Mastery level

What is one thing you have learned today?

How did you deal with that information?

Reception how was the information presented to you?
Processing what did you do with the information in order

to understand it?
Storage how have you stored the information in what

form are you now bringing it out of memory?

Why do you think that particular thing stuck with you rather
than other things?