Early learning of skills at home

1
Early learning of skills at home

• Think about a memory of learning a skill at home
  as early in your life as you can remember
• Skills such as walking, dressing yourself or
  using implements
• Make a brief note of what you remember of the
  experience and share it with a person sitting
  near you

2
Early learning of skills at school

• Think about your earliest memory of learning a
  skill at school
• Skills such as finding a place to sit, getting a
  drink or managing your food/toilet needs, reading
  some words or making a model
• Make a brief note of what you remember of the
  experience and share it with a person sitting
  near you

3
Learning skills as an adult

• Think about a skill you have learnt recently
  such as how to operate a new gadget like a mobile
  phone, an MP3 player, a piece of kitchen
  equipment, a power tool or a digital camera
• Make a brief note about how you tackled this and
  share the points with a group of people sitting
  near you

4
Visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning

• Each individual learner has a preferred style
• Visual seeing
• Auditory listening
• Kinaesthetic doing or moving

5
Observing 4- and 5-year-olds

• Do the pupils appear to understand the task?
• Are they confident in the way they approach the
  task?
• How do pupils work together?
• Do they all tackle the task in the same way?

6
Some key aspects of the learning observed

• To be active in learning, pupils need to feel
  confident and competent
• Pupils build on what they already know and can do
• Pupils learn by doing, by talking and by watching
• Learning is a social activity

7
Observing 6- and 7-year-olds

• Do pupils appear to understand the task?
• Are they confident in the way they approach the
  task?
• How do pupils work together?
• Do they all tackle the task in the same way?

8
Some key aspects of the learning observed

• Individual pupils approach learning in different
  ways
• Pupils develop through what interests them
• Pupils learn from working together
• Pupils use language to build their learning

9
Observing 10- and 11-year-olds

• Do pupils appear to understand the task?
• Are they confident in the way they approach the
  task?
• How do pupils work together?
• Do they all tackle the task in the same way?

10
Some key aspects of learning observed

• Pupils have different approaches to learning
• Pupils learn from tackling a task together and
  develop a range of approaches
• Some pupils are active, some pupils support and
  some watch others and then add their suggestions
• Pupils make links between previous and new
  concepts to build or scaffold their learning

11
Assessment for learning

• The main method we use to understand a pupils
  individual learning is through observation
• This forms part of the daily routines of all
  staff who work with pupils
• It is helpful if brief, factual notes can be made
  during observation for sharing later
• These observation notes, together with evidence
  of work produced, can then be used to form
  judgements about how the pupils learning is
  progressing and what they need to learn next

This is termed formative assessment or
assessment for learning
12
Some key aspects of the learning observed

• Learning is an active process
• Each pupil is unique, having their own
  experiences, skills, understanding, knowledge and
  preferred approaches to learning
• Language plays a key role in learning

13
Some key aspects of the learning observed

• Some pupils can work more independently than
  others
• Adults enable progress with learning by observing
  an individual pupils progress and supporting
  their next step

14
Some key aspects of the discussion

• The teacher and TA are working as a classroom
  team to benefit pupils learning
• It is important to find a few moments to share
  observations of pupils learning, orally or
  through notes

15
Some key aspects of the learning observed

• Pupils learning is supported through developing
  their skills in using resources and processing
  information
• Tasks need to be broken down and adult input
  given at key intervals to assess pupils
  understanding and support their progress in
  learning

16
Some key aspects of the learning observed

• Learning is consolidated when it is applied in a
  variety of contexts
• A game format allows practice and repetition
  while preserving motivation and engagement
• Pupils need to feel confident that they can make
  mistakes without criticism

17
Matching assessments and planning to
observedlearning needs

• Match any learning task to the observed learning
  needs of an individual learner
• Identify barriers that prevent pupils learning to
  their full potential
• Respect all learners
• Have high expectations for each pupil