About the Collections

This page makes it easy to find information and resources that are relevant to particular concepts, approaches and strategies. Each Collection is curated to serve a particular need and shares a set of resources pooled from The Learner’s Way. In time this set of Collection will grow. In addition to articles from The Learner’s Way you will be able to find resources designed to help you get started with the key concepts presented. The aim is to produce a set of resources which are readily accessible and of immediate benefit to classroom teachers and school leaders.

Follow the Links below to explore each collection.

The Power of Questions

At the heart of learning are the questions to which we do not yet know the answers and the journey to the questions we have not yet asked. We learn via the questions that we ask and we expand our collective understanding of the worlds in which we live through the questions that we discover. Human knowledge is a historic journey of wonderings that have sparked imaginations and a desire to understand. If there is one thing that separates humans from other species it is our deep seated desire to understand why things are the way that they are; our natural curiosity coupled with the capacity and tools to seek answers. This collection explores the power of great questions as tools within the classroom and for life-long learning. - Learn More

Design Thinking

The methodology of ‘Design Thinking’ is the key to its value. It provides a structure and language for collaborative problem solving that allows teams to be more powerful than they would without it. Ewen McIntosh of ‘NoTosh' describes it as the box that gives you a place to work within. 'You want to think creatively, you NEED the box to think inside of. You need a common process to go into new places.' Rather than throwing out the box, ‘Design Thinking’ turns the box into a worthwhile process that facilitates problem solving and ideation. In this model the box is not a constraint but a structure that enhances creativity. - Explore Deign Thinking

Personal Passion Projects

The role that choice plays in motivating learners is well founded and it is essential for engagement in all aspects of schooling and for encouraging students to become the drivers of innovation that we hope they will be. Ryan & Decci (2000) refer to numerous studies that show increased levels of self- regulation can be fostered by providing autonomy (choice), secure connections to carers and supporting perceptions of competence. Their research points to a clear role for choice and autonomy in developing intrinsic motivation and in moving learners from highly controlled extrinsic motivation to what they term ‘integrated regulation’ where the goals and objectives of the learning are in alignment with the individuals. With this in mind, Personal Passion Projects might offer the ideal learning environment and encourage a love of life-long learning. - Investigate Personal Passion Projects

Teaching for Thinking

One of the BIG hurdles for teachers wishing to move towards a culture of thinking is the mindset of our students. It is common for students to come to their learning with the belief that school is about memorising information and reciting correct answers. Having to think, reason, make connections and consider different perspectives is for many new and challenging. Some students will want to be told what they need to know. For students who have only experienced a teaching and learning process that emphasises the transfer of knowledge from teacher to learner, being asked to think can feel like being abandoned and left to one’s own resources. They will see it as the role of the teacher to do the thinking, organise the content and explain the connections between ideas. Changing this mindset is the first step. - Investigate strategies for Teaching for Thinking

Mathematics

Contemplating the effects of traditional mathematics in "A Mathematicians Lament", Paul Lockhart wrote

"If I had to design a mechanism for the express purpose of destroying a child’s natural curiosity and love of pattern-making, I couldn’t possibly do as good a job as is currently being done - I simply wouldn’t have the imagination to come up with the kind of senseless, soul-crushing ideas that constitute contemporary mathematics education.”

This collection is all about finding a better way to engage learners in mathematical thinking and develop a passion for mathematics. - Learn More

Inquiry Based Learning

"What’s conventionally taught may not develop the kinds of citizens, workers, and family and community members we want and need. The basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic, even if strongly developed, aren’t enough. The familiar disciplines in their traditional versions, sitting in their silos, constrained by regional perspectives, and taught to all comers for purely academic understanding aren’t enough. The universe of what’s seen as worth learning is expanding. (Perkins 2014)

Speaking in 2013 at ‘TED’ Sugata Mitra (2013) posed the question ‘Could it be that at the point in time when you need to know something, you can find out in two minutes? Could it be that we are heading towards or maybe in a time when knowing is obsolete?’. This question has merit and far reaching implications for education.

With these statements in mind, what part could Inquiry Based Learning play in a contemporary education and what might it look like? - Read More

Assessment

Assessment is an essential component of the teaching and learning cycle but sadly it is one that is often misunderstood. If we are to have any hope of getting it right we must begin with a sound understanding of what we hope to achieve, what is being assessed, who is being assessed and what will be done once the results are available. Sadly the critical questions that lead to this understanding are too often not asked and the answers not clearly communicated resulting in confusion and for students, anxiety around the entire process. - Read More