How to learn to learn
CAN teachers teach children to learn how to learn? Not a trick question, but one raised in a report by Demos, the think-tank.
According to the report, the subject of learning is barely touched upon in teacher training, so teachers are left to draw on a mixture of common sense and elaborate psychological theory in order to get their heads around learning. There is also currently no common terminology for discussing issues about learning.
The best teachers, Demos says, “constantly monitor what is happening to students as they set about learning and investigate when things do not proceed as planned or expected”. But the report suggests that both scientific and practice evidence should be considered when deciding which approaches can truly be considered “good practice”.