It has been my pleasure and privilege to collaborate with teachers and leaders at Asquith Girls High School (AGHS) in Sydney since 2019. Together we have created a powerful and innovative program to nurture growth mindsets and develop learnership in their 650 students. And I am absolutely thrilled that Asquith Girls High School has been recognised as a finalist in the 2022 Australian Education Awards for best student wellbeing program.
Known in the school as AIM (Asquith Individualised Mentoring) the program pairs each learner with a teacher mentor to support them in creating and articulating their learning goals. The program draws on my work to nurture a growth mindset, build learnership capabilities and develop the Habits of Mind in students. I have provided staff with ongoing professional learning and the structures and resources to help them effectively implement these ideas in every classroom, every day.
The school has done an...
How learners understand and respond to mistakes is an important aspect of Learnership.
There’s been a lot of well-intentioned hype surrounding the role of mistakes in learning on social media, in parenting groups and even among teachers and administration. And while the concept is good, the application isn’t quite right. In fact, when it comes to the role of mistakes in learning, we’ve been getting it all wrong.
If social media is to be believed teachers should be praising, even celebrating, their students’ mistakes. They should even be encouraging students to make mistakes with the idea that this is the path down which real learning lies. But I think what social media has to say about mistakes has largely missed the point.
Not All Mistakes are Equal
Social media and parenting groups tend to oversimplify the role of mistakes in learning. For example, "every mistake you make is progress" is simply not true. Often a mistake is unintended...
The Habits of Mind are one of the true classics in education. Described by Art Costa and Bena Kallick, these 16 dispositions define the effective, efficacious thinker. They are the dispositions of an expert problem solver, a thoughtful decision maker and a creative thinker. They promote strategic reasoning, insight and perseverance. And they describe how successful problem solvers behave when they are in their Learning Zone.
It’s not surprising that the Habits of Mind should form a central role in Learnership. In fact, fostering a good understanding and appreciation for these Habits of Mind is an important part of how teachers can help students become skilful learners. As part of my Learnership Intensive I’ll show you how to work with the Habits of Mind help your students become more skilful learners.
Habits Of Mind and the Skilful Learner
How do the Habits of Mind help turn students into skilful learners? First, it provides a shared language...