Description of project: Classroom experiences have showed us that each child processes learning in various distinctive ways. For too many years, teachers have prepared lesson plans according to their own preferred way of learning whilst ignoring the fact that all children process incoming information differently. In this way, many children are left behind or build an image of themselves as non-learners. Yet, everyone can learn! But when and how does learning occur? What do we mean by the word ‘learning’? ‘Learning’ is one of those words everyone uses, and seems to understand, but would be hard pressed to define. Learning is a complex process involving different mental processes. We have all experienced it, we usually know it when we see it and we tend to accept its crucial function in life. Indeed learning is part of our being and if one wants to be successful one must understand how one learns. Understandings of learning have advanced significantly in the past few decades and increasing attention has been given to ‘higher order’ processes of understanding. Consequently, the term ‘metacognition’ (awareness of thinking processes/thinking about thinking) has become the latest buzz word in educational settings. This project is going to delve deep into the learning process and it will highlight the Let Me Learn Process® as an effective metacognitive process upon understanding each learner’s distinctive way of learning. In this way, the learners will be empowered to become agents of their own learning whilst equipping the teacher to better understand her students and build a learning programme which would suit each and every learner. The Let Me Learn Process® is theoretically based upon The Interactive Learning Model© developed by Dr. Christine Johnston. This model brings to light that learning involves three mental processes: cognition, affectation and conation. Each of these components is taken into consideration and through their interaction learning patterns are formed namely; Sequence, Precision, Technical Reasoning and Confluence. Furthermore, it reveals that a learner uses all of these patterns during an extant learning event but the degree to which each pattern is used varies from learner to learner. In this project we shall be using the Learning Connections Inventory (LCI) (Johnston & Dainton, 1997), a self reporting instrument which captures each learner’s preferred learning pattern. Unlike other measures, such as learning styles, which leave the learner informed but unequipped to use the information, the Let Me Learn Process uses the LCI to reveal the learner’s interactive processes and then invites the learner to use these processes with intention. This is what makes Let Me Learn Process a truly advanced learning system. Through this project, where children from different European countries will be discussing and sharing work products about how each one of them prefers to learn, we shall be highlighting the fact that learning is universal and no matter who you are or where you come from, if you understand how you process information you’ll be better equipped to make your mental mechanisms work most efficiently for you and be successful! Through this project we shall be creating a common teaching and learning ground where language & cultural barriers may be diverse.
School involved in project: Cooper Perry Primary School,
United Kingdom
St.Joseph, Mater Boni Consilii School,
Malta Age of students: 6-9 years
Aims: Children will discover who they are as
learners and how they process incoming
information.
Develop strategy cards that will help
the children to make use of their full
learning potential.
Create a common teaching/learning
ground between two different European
countries.
Create a common lexicon that
children from two different European
countries will use about their learning
processes.
promote self-expression and language
skills using a blog.
encourage the European dimension in
primary education. develop a holistic European identity.
make use of ICT to enrich teaching and
learning.
promote ICT as a creative tool of
communication and pedagogy.
Work process: In this project the children will talk about the
learning process and through work products
they will share how each of them prefers to
learn while through the children’s
discussions they will create strategies that
will help them be successful in a learning task.
Students’ productions: A blog will be created where the children will
have the opportunity to discuss about the
learning process. They will display their work
products and through videos they can share
and explain how they prefer to learn. A
strategy card will be created by all learners and
this will be displayed and discussed between
the children on the blog. Virtual environment: video and audio conferences publish various work products on blog podcasts
