#131 - Releasing Learner Potential

Hi Everyone

Whenever I sit down to create this newsletter, with no AI involved I might add, it’s rare that I already have my topic planned out. My driver each time, is finding a way of turning what I’ve been doing in the world of metacognition recently, into an article that will support you in your bid to learn more about this vital skill and how it works in practice.

That makes it all very personal, with the newsletter coming from the heart as a direct sharing of my experiences, in the hopes it will enhance yours. I appreciate all the messages from longer-standing readers who say how helpful they find the content, and I hope that all of you who are newer subscribers, will also find the support you’re looking for. You are most welcome.

So, for this week, I’m going to share a few ideas from a session I ran recently for K12 Instructional Coaches in Nevada, whose role is to support individual student progress. Over the years I’ve provided all kinds of training for parents, school leaders, teachers and support staff, and enjoy teasing out just how each of those roles brings a different perspective to developing metacognition in learners.

My thanks to Jennifer Loescher, a local trainer from Las Vegas for inviting me to provide this professional development opportunity, as I love working with those who care about making a real difference. I know how much joy I found in supporting individual struggling students as an Independent Success Coach myself, so was happy to share the knowledge and practice that enabled me to gain a reputation for improving student progress.

We looked at how every child, barring serious health problems is born with the ability to learn effectively and therefore has a great deal of intrinsic potential to do well. Very few however are able to achieve academically at the level they’re capable of, once in the school system. Despite an encouraging number of voices currently clamouring for change in education, we still need to be supporting our current cohort of students to get more out of what's available to them right now.

As with any other form of potential (which is stored energy), it will only be released when something triggers an action. An acorn has to be planted before it will become an oak tree, a key has to be turned in a lock to free up the usefulness of what’s stored inside, a coin has to be spent, saved, invested, or gifted to release its value. So how about that potential which is lurking inside all of our students (and I mean ‘all’), but which has not yet become evident? What is needed to trigger its release?

That trigger has to come from within the student, meaning that responsibility for academic progress lies within themselves. The problem is that ‘progress’ of any kind is only achievable via the application of a metacognitive way of thinking, so we have to help them to develop metacognition. Remember that’s what allows us to acknowledge our own thoughts on any given subject, and take responsibility for changing them in order to improve results.

The problem is that many of our learners arrive in school with pre-conceived limitations on what they can achieve, which is one of the mental changes required before progress can be made. Only students who believe that they are capable of engaging with the learning will do so effectively, meaning that self-belief is an essential anchor for improved results and a sense of achievement in school.

Keep in mind that the view anyone holds of themselves, was formed unconsciously during those early years when children just download all their experiences both good and bad. The brain at that point is still working mostly with longer, slower brain waves that don’t allow for comparisons or judgement calls, so experiences get stored as facts, meaning a child’s concept of self has been strongly influenced by others.

Our attitude as teachers towards this is so important. We need to demonstrate an unwavering belief in a learner’s ability to achieve whatever we’re expecting of them, and show endless patience as we strive to override their previous views of what’s possible. We have to place a ‘value’ on every student, ensuring absolutely no put-downs are allowed in our classroom, not even a student saying something negative about themselves.

What we praise, also has a bearing on how much responsibility a student feels able to take on in relation to their own learning. If we reward; completed work, neatly presented work, compliance with the instructional template, always answering correctly, remaining quiet, not asking for help etc, then we're killing off any potential for metacognitive thought. There's also no guarantee with any of the above that ‘learning’ has actually taken place.

A learner who is truly trying to work out the best way of achieving the results, may not finish on time because they were too busy working it out. They may have a page full of work with lines crossed through it, as they experimented with the possibilities. They may have done it their own way, collaborated with others, or asked questions. That’s metacognition in practice. We therefore need to be praising focus, effort and persistence, so that students realise that their role is not to please the teacher, but to take responsibility for their own progress. ?

A great way to kickstart the release of our students' potential then is to check that our attitude towards them, the way we communicate with them, and what we choose to praise them for, always contributes to a positive view of self.

More next time. Take care till then.

Warm regards

Liz