Effective learning and effective learners

Getting your students to learn effectively can be quite a challenge. Here are some helpful pointers.

Think of a particular learner who (as far as you are able to tell) seems to be an effective learner. What can you see/hear that learner doing/saying which makes you think they are an effective learner?
This reflection regularly leads teachers to identify areas such as:

• making connections (between experiences, ideas, people, contexts)
• using a range of sources and resources: people
• offering a commentary on the process of learning
• being able to plan, review, change strategy etc
• demonstrating curiosity and risk-taking.

Such qualities are rarely given explicit support or development in many aspects of school life, yet they are core features of what is understood to be an effective learner. The word 'effective' is rarely defined, despite being used frequently. In order to define it we need to recognise the context and the goals: effective for when? Effective for what? In current times:

• the knowledge base in society is increasing rapidly, and now doubles every 373 days
• a wider range of the population process and generate knowledge - information is not the possession of a few 'experts'
• employment prospects relate more to the ability to enhance and transfer learning - the accumulation of qualifications is not enough
• the landscape of learning is much wider and richer, involving multiple contexts, modes and sources - learning is no longer the province of special institutions: it is a way of being.
• In such a context, the goals of learning need to focus less on 'acquiring knowledge', and more on generating knowledge with others - less of LBT, and more of LBKO.   

Effective learning in classrooms
The typical classroom is not necessarily the best-designed environment for what we now know about learning. The busy, public, multi-dimensional nature of classroom life makes it one of the most complex environments on the planet. Classrooms sometimes seem to develop a life of their own in which learning is a neglected focus. Yet, against the odds, there are times when effective learning occurs in that context. So, what can we learn from the best of those times?

Take a few minutes to think of a classroom you know, in which the sense of learning has been really positive. Maybe there has been engagement, excitement, reflection, and so on. Choose the best experience you can. When you have identified that situation, do all you can to reconstruct it in your mind's eye - recall the room, the conditions, the people and so on. Capture in concrete detail the things that made that experience possible. Now ask yourself: what was positive about the learning? How do you make sense of this positive occasion, how was it made possible? Try to capture some of what you have identified into a provocative proposition about this classroom: To me, effective learning happens when...' The themes which emerge from this 'appreciative inquiry' relate closely to those listed in the table below. Of the four items in the table, the first three could be found in reviews of effective classroom learning half a century ago. The fourth, learning about learning, is one of the crucial additions for our developing understanding of learning in the changing world.

No single (or simple) learning strategy
Effective learners have learned how to become effective learners. This involves not just the acquisition of strategies, but the monitoring and reviewing of learning to see whether particular strategies are effective. No one strategy works for all goals and purposes (although some of them are sold as though this was the case!).

Learning is:
• an activity of construction, not one of reception
• handled with others, or (even when alone) in the context of others
• driven by learner's agency (intentions and choices).

Effective learning is all of these at their best, plus the monitoring and review of whether approaches and strategies are proving effective for the particular goals and context. How can you help learners become more effective at checking whether their strategies are effective?

How can I teach for effective learning?
When planning teaching for learning, our task as teachers, is to focus on the experience for learners, rather than on what we are going to say and do.

Learners go through four phases: 

Do   Review   Learn  Apply   

in a circular, ever-developing manner.  The following matrix plots these four phases on each of the aspects which evidence has shown to promote effective learning.

	Active learning	Collaborative learning	Learner responsibility	Learning about learning
Do	Tasks are designed for learner activity, using or creating materials, texts, performances	Tasks in small groups connect to create a larger whole (by roles or by parts)	Learners exercise choice and plan their approaches	Learners are encouraged to notice aspects of their learning as they engage in tasks
Review	Learners stop to notice what happened, what was important, how it felt, etc.	Learners bring ideas together and review how the group has operated	Learners monitor their progress and review their plans	Learners describe what they notice and review their learning (goals, strategies, feelings, outcome, context)
Learn	New insights and understandings are made explicit	Explanations of topic and of how the group functioned are voiced across the group	Factors affecting progress are identified and new strategies devised	Richer conceptions of learning are voiced and further reflective inquiry is encouraged
Apply	Future action is planned in light of new understanding. Transferring that understanding to other situations is examined	Future possibilities for group and community learning are considered	Plans are revised to accommodate recent learning	Learners plan to notice more and to experiment with their approaches to learning

Resources

• Learning a sense-makers guide, Pdf document, 3294 KB