Learner Threads

What if being stuck is actually an invitation?

Not for being rescued with more instruction, but to reach for learning dispositions, and thus grow those fundamental ways of being we all possess: being curious, persistent, imaginative, attentive, collaborative, thoughtful, and caring about quality.

In a world that increasingly outsources thinking, helping students develop trust in their own inner ‘senses’ is a profound act of resistance. Every time they choose to be curious instead of passive, persistent instead of dependent, they’re asserting their power as learners, and people.

Whether someone becomes a brilliant scientist, creative artist, or innovative mathematician, they all draw on the same fundamental learning powers: curiosity, persistence, imagination, attention, thinking, collaboration, and craftsmanship.

#learningdispositions
#edusky

We live in an age of outsourcing. Google remembers facts for us. Algorithms choose our content. Increasingly, education systems mirror this dependency model.

But learning is an insourcing process. It’s how students develop their own intellectual resources and gain trust in their own thinking power.

Reflecting on learning helps grow student thinking and identity as a powerful learner.

The Learner Threads Hub supports this process by guiding students through a reflective process that helps them see the connection between what they did and the dispositions that drove it.

#edusky

Great to have Wellington Girls College and Sacred Heart College sign up to the Learner Threads Hub.

#learningdispositions
#learningstories

From Cognitive Debt to Purposeful Learning: Reimagining Education with Prof. Martin Westwell S9E8 (128) — The Learning Future 🔥 What if our obsession with achievement is actually limiting our students’ potential to become adaptive, purpose-driven learners? 🔥 What would education look like if we genuinely trusted teach...

SA public education is undergoing a transformational systems change led by CEO, Prof. Martin Westwell.

Good for anyone looking for a good news story, about how a shared focus on knowledge, dispositions and capabilities can create meaningful learning.

www.thelearningfuture.com/the-learning...

Last day to try out the Learner Hub.

Comprised of two tools that enable learners to engage with the dispositions framework I developed with Guy Claxton, the Hub supports the growth of learner agency and metacognition.

Just as relevant to the two voluminous English curriculum documents being thrust upon schools in NZ.

These are excellent, and here’s two reasons why:
1) They are genuine maths games, not the gamification of maths, and so, like all games, elicit focus and persistence.
2) They lead learners into a space where they naturally exercise their thinking ‘muscle’.

#learningdispositions

So, whether they’re in English or Science, etc, the Navigator is there to help them think metacognitively about what dispositional approach will really help them: Is it time to be curious or attentive, etc?

And the Navigator offers suggestions for how.

You can access it here, free until 16/7.

I created the Learning Navigator after doing something similar in my own classrooms.
I called them disposition boards, and the Navigator takes the idea a bit further.
It is there to help kids find their next ‘learning move’ in a subject by organising actions by disposition.

To think like a scientist requires attention.

Here’s one learning move learners can make to grow their scientific attention: Create detailed, focused observations through drawing. The act of drawing forces you to look carefully and notice details you might otherwise miss.

#learningdispositions

Learning stories are wonderful.

But writing them for every kid in your class is overwhelming.

Now, with the Learner Threads Hub 'Learning Reflections' app, students can take ownership of their own reflection and story creation.

#learningstories
#learningdispositions
#edusky

I love this. It’s a wonderful way to help kids stretch their powers of attention.

#learningdispositions

The extent to which a learner has the opportunity to engage positive learning dispositions comes from the kind of environment they are in.

To think like a scientist requires imagination.

Here’s one learning move learners can make to grow their scientific imagination: Make the invisible visible and touchable, by building models or demonstrations that show how scientific processes work.

#learningdispositions
#edusky

“We must sit with things to know them well enough to think well about them. We need to feel what’s going on – essential for knowing. We need to mull things, turning them over to glimpse them from all sides. And that means we need to control the amount of time we spend Thinking.”

Learner Threads is where @bevanholloway.com talks education, esp #learningdispositions, #learningstories & #eduplay.

Learner Threads is also where Bevan brings his knowledge and experience about education together in the form of products that support learners and learning.

Insourcing Insourcing: a way to nurture the inner power and agency of learners, fostering connections and authentic expression, countering today’s efficiency-driven, outsourcing culture that stifles ind…

Latest post on the blog, in which @bevanholloway.com explores the idea of insourcing and how it opens for learners "the opportunity to gain knowledge of who they are, find the threads that help them relate to the world, and who aren’t afraid to participate in it."

#learningdispositions
#edusky

Take a tour of the Learning Reflections tool.

The tool guides learners through a reflective process, focused on dispositions, that leads to a learning story.

And, it has the option of including teacher/parent voice.

#learningstories
#edusky
#eduplay

To think like a mathematician requires curiosity.

Here’s one learning move learners can make to grow their mathematical curiosity: Use manipulatives, drawings, or physical objects to explore the problem.

#learningdispositions

Nice learning move!

Inviting learners to use their imagination as they engage in poetry analysis is a great way to help them stitch together their ability to 'think like' a lover of literature.

#learningdispositions

Magic happens when a learner chooses a learning disposition (like curiosity) in a subject (like science) & discovers specific ways to express it through their head, heart, & hands. This is how they develop their identity as someone who can think like a scientist, artist, historian, or mathematician.

Mathematics isn’t just a grind through numerous exercises.

To think like a mathematician requires imagination.

Here’s one learning move kids can make to grow their mathematical imagination:
Visualise the problem in a different way - graphs, diagrams, or models.

#learningdispositions

"I don't know what to do next" → We've all been there!

The Learning Navigator helps students find their next learning move when stuck. 504 disposition-aligned strategies across all subjects.
Learning Reflections guides them to create learning stories.

Free trial until 16 July.

#edusky

Learners can make powerful progress not just by doing the work harder, but by learning to ‘think like a …’

For instance, a student in English can harness their curiosity and gather collections of interesting words from poems, powerful photos from magazines, or cool facts from articles.

Free trial with unlimited use.

Code: TRYME2

No account, no c/c required to access the trial.

Check out the Learner Threads apps:
- Learning Navigator, to help learners find their next 'learning move'.
- Learning Reflections, to guide student through a dispositions focused reflection.

#edusky

The Learning Navigator is there to help learners 'think like a ...' by helping them choose a learning disposition (like curiosity) in a subject (like science) and discover specific ways to express it through their head, heart, and hands.

Try it for free until 16 July.

Access code: TRYME2

Unlock Learning Superpowers: Introducing the Learner Threads Hub (and a FREE Trial for Your School!) Want to nurture student learning without the usual tech headaches? Meet Learner Threads Hub—your digital Swiss Army knife for lifelong learners. Dive in and explore!

FREE TWO WEEK TRIAL.

No cc. No account reg. No data collection.
Works on any browser.
Two apps to support learner agency, grow dispositions, and support reflection.

Trial access code is in the blog post.

#learningdispositions
#learningstories
#edusky
#eduplay
#playbasedlearning
#inquirylearning