Effective Learning

Also available in the Ideas in Action Series

Behaviour Management – Tony Swainston

Encouraging Reading – Susan Elkin
Creative Assemblies – Brian Radcliffe
Creating an Inclusive School – Mal Leicester
Teaching Critical Thinking Skills – Mal Leicester
Emotional Literacy – David Spendlove
Putting Assessment for Learning into Practice – David Spendlove
Teaching NLP in the Classroom – Kate Spohrer
Effective Learning

Gavin Reid and Shannon Green

Ideas in Action

Illustrated by Tessa Lee

Continuum International Publishing Group
The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane
11 York Road Suite 704
London, SE1 7NX New York, NY 10038

[Link]

© Gavin Reid and Shannon Green 2009

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced

or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or
retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the
publishers.

Gavin Reid and Shannon Green have asserted their right under the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors
of this work.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 1847065325 (paperback)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Reid, Gavin, 1950
Effective learning / Gavin Reid and Shannon Green.
p. cm. – (Ideas in action)
ISBN 978-1-84706-532-2 (pbk.)
1. Effective teaching. 2. Learning. 3. Motivation in education.
I. Green, Shannon. II. Title. III. Series.

LB1025.3.R444 2009
371.102–dc22 2009006448

Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India

Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Contents

About the authors and illustrator viii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 – Identifying and dealing with barriers to learning 2

Layout of the classroom 2
Use scaffolds 6
Information Processing 8

Chapter 2 – Learning to learn 10

Introduce a metacognitive cycle 10
Develop independent learning 14
Help students identify their learning style 16
Identifying learning style through observation 18
Recognize the importance of attribution theory 20
Stress proof the student 22
Develop cooperative and collaborative learning 24

Chapter 3 – Memory 26
Do not overload 26
Prioritize 28
Organizing information 30
Framework for organization 31
Use headings and subheadings 32
Chunk 34

v
Make connections 36
Re-enact 38
Discuss 40
The 5 R’s – recognize, revise, review, recall and reflect 42

Chapter 4 – Motivation 44
Stimulate to motivate 44
Locus of control 46
Make individual education plans motivating 48
Make motivation intrinsic 50
Encourage creativity 52

Chapter 5 – Reading and creative writing 54

Practise blending sounds 54
Encourage inferential reading 56
Encourage critical comprehension in reading 58
Encourage creative thinking 60
Develop reading goals 62
Selecting books for students 64
Use art and visuals for creative writing 66
Use prompts for creative writing 68
Provide a comfortable place for students to read 70
Expand vocabulary 72
Creating and using a personal word bank 74

Chapter 6 – Successful learning 76

Use peer interaction to develop learning competencies 76
Time management 78
Maths strategies 80

vi
Use multiple intelligences 84
Chapter 7 – Whole school approaches 88
Promote emotional literacy 88
Becoming emotionally prepared for the task 90
Double F, P, R formula 91
De-stress the school 92
Prioritize effective learning through staff development 94

Further reading and other sources of information 98

vii
 About the authors and illustrator

Authors
Gavin Reid is the author of 23 books on teaching and learning. Formerly
a senior lecturer, University of Edinburgh, he is now consultant to the
Centre for Child Evaluation and Teaching in Kuwait, Red Rose School
in the UK, the charity ASK in Geneva and has been visiting professor at
the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Shannon Green holds a degree from Simon Fraser University in British
Columbia and a post-graduate diploma in Difficulties in Literacy
Development from the Open University in the UK. She is an experienced
international trainer in literacy and learning and is the founder and
director of a learning centre in Canada.

Illustrator
Tessa Lee is a freelance artist living on a farm in Alberta, Canada.

viii
Introduction

This book is intended to provide the busy teacher with ideas for stimulating
effective learning in the classroom. Focusing on how students learn and
how to make learning more effective is particularly important in view of
the heavy emphasis often given to curriculum content. It is perhaps too
easy to become totally absorbed in ensuring that every part of the
curriculum is taught at the right time. This in itself can put considerable
pressures on teachers. Often they simply do not have time to reflect on
how the curriculum should be delivered and more importantly the actual
learning experiences students are gaining from education. Are these
experiences meaningful? Can they be utilized for future learning?
Do they make the student a more efficient and effective learner?
These are important questions that every teacher needs to consider,
plan for and reflect on in terms of their own practice. Yet, often, ‘learning’ is
not given a high priority – results are often seen as more important. Many
students can perform and obtain good results, but that itself may be
insufficient to make them effective learners. Often the distinction between
performance and learning is blurred and many students have difficulty
reflecting on how they can learn to become better learners. This is one of
the key themes of this book – to help students develop independent
learning skills so that they can become self-sufficient in learning at school
and at home, and importantly beyond school.
In addition to encouraging teachers to reflect on the need to develop
students’ learning skills, this book also provides ready made examples
that can immediately be applied to classroom learning. The ‘idea’ part of
the book focuses on the reflection and justifies the importance of the idea
while the ‘action’ part of the book provides tried and tested examples that
can be used in the classroom.
We also see effective learning as not only a teacher’s responsibility but also
the concern of the whole school. It is important that everyone, including
the school management, should be involved in attempting to make the
school an exciting and stimulating learning environment. The final section
of the book emphasizes that point. We have also considered the teachers
perspective and have referred to ideas for reducing stress in the school.
We feel a school that is immersed in, and prioritizes ‘effective learning’ is
not only a successful school, but also a happy one.

1
 Identifying and

1 Self-awareness
dealing with the
barriers to learning

Layout of the classroom

The learning environment is important for effective learning. It is too easy
to overlook this as other areas of learning may seem more urgent and
more important.
Yet, some learners may be underperforming because they cannot
concentrate, or may not feel relaxed with the classroom layout. For some,
the environment can be stifling and restricting yet for others the same
environment can be seen as secure and structured giving them the
security and support they need when learning. Some of the factors that
can be considered when you are planning the learning environment
include:
z layout – the organization of classroom furniture
z the design of chairs and desks
z the position of teacher’s desk in relation to the students
z the arrangement of the students’ desks
z the flexibility in being able to move and adjust the layout of the
classroom
z location of the classroom in relation to other classrooms in the school
z colour and shape of the room
z amount of light and
z amount of available space.

2
Consider the barriers that can prevent students from succeeding.
These can be wide ranging – classroom environment, the task,
memory, pace of work and understanding. It is a good idea to
individualize the barriers by observing the student during
learning.

Some types of learners, particularly auditory learners, will prefer desks to

be in a conventional layout and will prefer sitting in an upright chair when
learning. Others – particularly global, right brained learners – will prefer an
informal classroom design and may even prefer to sit on a cushion on the
floor rather than an upright chair. It is important to be flexible in the
arrangement and the design of a classroom. This would mean that a
number of different preferences can be accommodated. Ideally, the design
should not be fixed and there should be scope for adaptations depending
on the preferences of the current students in the class.
Before changing the layout of your classroom give consideration to the
kinds of classroom environment you want to create – for example, highly
structured environment with clear rules and routine to a very informal
environment with considerable amount of freedom on the part of the
students to move around and select learning materials. Some points you
may want to consider are:
z the level of predictability
z the type of routine you want to impose
z class rules and the students’ awareness of class rules
z the extent of freedom to move around the classroom
z how easy it is to locate items
z how stimulating is the environment.
z arrangement of the students desks – rows, groups, pairs, horseshoe
shape and the position of the teacher’s desk

3
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When organizing the classroom I need to consider the following:
Factors
Desk layout
z are the desks individually placed, in pairs or grouped together
z is there desk space for individual work as well as a central work table
Wall displays
z Is there space for children to display own work themselves
z Are they informative, decorative, inspirational and current?
Space
z Are all the corner’s used purposefully –eg reading corner, craft
corner, reference corner etc.
Sound
z Is there music in the classroom – soft background music can
help children work more effectively.
Light
z Are there different types of lights – table lamps as well as the
main lights
Group dynamics
z How are the groups arranged – it is worthwhile experimenting
with different types of groups.
Potential stress factors
avoid
z children being isolated from others
z too many classroom rules
encourage
z music, discussion, working together

5
 Use scaffolds
You can’t know a man until you have walked two moons in his
moccasins.
Anon
Scaffolds are bridges that help to connect the learner with the task. They
are essentially supports and it is important to select appropriate supports
at the right level for the individual student. The term ‘Zone of Proximal
Development’ (ZPD) is useful in this respect. Vygotsky (1978) suggested
that there can be a significant difference, at any stage in learning, between
what a learner can achieve unaided, compared to the situation where there
is an instructor/teacher present and interacting with the learner. Vygotsky
suggested that at any moment there are skills that are attainable, given the
learner’s current knowledge at that time, but these skills may not be
accessible because the learner is not at a stage of preparedness to
understand/absorb/implement these new skills. The set of skills that are
currently attainable according to Vygotsky can be described as the ‘Zone of
Proximal Development’ (ZPD). This means that one of the key aspects of
effective teaching is to ensure that the learner is presented with tasks
within his/her ZPD.
For teachers, the crucial question is how can a child’s ZPD be identified and
utilized effectively so that new information can be absorbed and then
located within the ZPD. One of the starting points is to ensure that learners
are introduced to the task so that they have a clear understanding of what
the task is about (the purpose). Importantly, the teacher needs to be aware
of the learner’s previous knowledge within the area to be tackled (existing
skills and knowledge). One way to obtain this is through the procedure
called scaffolding. The process of scaffolding is like a series of steps that
help the learner reach the ZPD needed in order to tackle the task
effectively.
Each step will help the learner accommodate to the new learning
experience. It is important to decide when to remove the scaffold –
removing it too soon might result in failure; however, keeping the
scaffold in place can result in an over dependency on the teacher/
instructor. This is an important decision and is as important as deciding
what type of scaffolds should be used.

6
In order to create appropriate scaffolding, it is important to have an
understanding of the learner’s previous knowledge and current skills
such as: reading level, ability to locate informational text and background
knowledge related to the topic. Once this information is known, the
teacher can begin to create appropriate materials to support the topic
the student is working on. These may include developing background
knowledge or related information through group work, teacher
questioning and field work followed by discussion to ensure that learning
has taken place. A reciprocal question and answer technique with the
student can be useful to ensure that the student has the same
understanding of the task and related concepts as the teacher. The
important point in relation to scaffolding is the language of the shared
communication. Essentially, scaffolding involves a more skilled individual
trying to impart knowledge to a less skilled person through the use of
language exchange. The idea is to arrive at a shared understanding
through the use of language. This is why Vygotsky suggested that the role
of language is crucial to learning and to cognitive development. At the
same time Vygotsky emphasized the role of the mediator (the teacher).
The interaction between the teacher and the student is very important and
this is an essential part of using scaffolds to identify the student’s ZPD
and develop the student’s learning skills.
Make a list of the scaffolds you might use for the following teaching
situations
z riding a bike
z learning letter sounds
z reading a book
z writing an essay
z learning to swim
z learning to skate
z giving a talk in public.

7
 Information Processing
It is important to view each learner as an individual. Cognitive theory can
be helpful as it relates to the role of information processing and the areas
involved in processing such as memory, organization and the cognitive
connections a learner makes when processing information. It can be
argued that, to a great extent, effectiveness of learning can depend on
the ability and skills the learner has in making these cognitive connections.
When a student is able to make connections during learning it is usually
an indicator that he/she has a good understanding of the learning process.
Being able to make connections makes learning meaningful and helps to
develop an understanding of concepts and the ‘ideas’ that underpin the
new learning. An effective learner can make these connections. The main
area for making connections is between previous learning and new
learning. Questions the learner could consider are: is there anything about
the new learning that is familiar? How can I use this information to help
with the new learning? Asking these questions will help learners connect
between the previous learning and new learning and make learning more
efficient.
Yet, many learners often fail to make these connections and this means
that almost any learning activity becomes a totally new piece of learning.
Often learners do not realize how they can make learning easier by utilizing
the strategies and skills they used in prior learning.
The learning process involves input, cognition (thinking) and output.
Some learners can experience challenges at all of these stages and
therefore it might be useful to view these separately. For example are
they actually taking in the information (input), are they able to understand
it(cognition), are they able to demonstrate competence (output). It is good
practice to get the student to look at his/ her strategies during each of
these stages. It also helps the student to see learning as a process rather
than facts that have to be learnt.

8
When tackling a learning activity, give the student a process to make
learning more efficient. For example, if the question relates to reasons
for the popularity of Shakespeare in seventeenth-century England the
process might be as follows:
a. Resources – library, internet and group discussion – note the order in
which materials are accessed. Some learners prefer to do the discussion
first to get a better understanding of the question. Once they have this
they may narrow it down by going to the library and then they will have
a better idea of what to locate in the internet.
b. Culture – look for information on the culture in seventeenth-century
England: poverty, pastimes, living accommodation.
c. Politics – what was the political situation like?
d. Entertainment – how was it viewed and what types were enjoyed/
available?
e. Other authors at the time.
f. Link these together and suggest three main reasons for the popularity
of Shakespeare.
It is important to note this process as the same process can often be used
in other questions on history, geography and English. It is also important to
ask students to reflect on how they tackled the question and, importantly,
how they may make the process more efficient.
This process can help to develop a structure for learning and this will
make it easier for the learner to make connections between different
areas of learning and become more aware of learning as a process and,
importantly, the barriers and challenges they experience. Many students
do not realize that the strategies and procedures they use in, for example,
science can also be used in other subjects. This aspect is really related
to study skills and it is never too early to introduce study skills to children.
Teaching children ‘how to learn’ is just as important as the ‘what to learn’
question. This is also a good opportunity to introduce the need to use
different parts of the brain for learning and how the brain can become
more efficient when you use it for different areas of learning. You can even
engage the student in some practical activities such as making up a song
about learning or doing an annotated drawing.

9
 2 Self-awareness
Learning to learn

Introduce a metacognitive cycle

The term metacognition refers to the abilities of the learner to maximize
his/her learning potential. Metacognition means ‘thinking about thinking’.
The extent to which learners are aware of the thinking and learning
processes they are using will have an impact on the learning outcome.
Four important aspects of this relate to:
z how learners can direct their learning
z how they can monitor the learning experience
z how they can assess the results of their learning and evaluate the
learning experience, and
z the extent to which they are able to transfer this learning/knowledge
to a new learning situation.
The learning experience is often overlooked, yet it is extremely important.
The learning experience refers to how learners feel about the learning
situation and how they can use the resources and their previous
knowledge to understand and access the material/skills that are being
taught.
Learners who have a high degree of metacognitive awareness
z are usually efficient and successful learners
z have some appreciation of their own learning style since this
knowledge can help to make learning more efficient
z would ask themselves how they arrived at a particular response
z would be able to understand the information they needed to obtain
that response

10
Two key areas in learning to learn are metacognition and
learning styles. Metacognition is the ability to know how to
tackle a task and learning styles relates to all aspects of the
learning experience. These can make learning more effective.

Using the metacognitive cycle outlined here will take the student through
the learning process and will try to provide the student with insights on
effective learning as well as providing the student with some ownership
over his/her own learning. This is more appropriate for students further up
the school, but with teacher input it can also work with younger students.
1. Questioning – ask yourself about new information – why/how is it
relevant? What do I need to know? Do I understand it?
2. Clarify – ask yourself questions to clarify any concepts or vocabulary.
3. Understanding – ensure that you have a good understanding of the
new information, as this will help you to remember it and use it much
later.
4. Monitor – ask yourself if you are on the right track. How do I know?
5. Assess – Try to assess your own performance in whatever you are
doing. Ask yourself – have I answered the question that was being
asked? What else might I have done?
Throughout this process you can get the student to think aloud as this can
help the teacher find out how the student is actually engaging with the
task. It also helps the student too as often students are unaware of their
own learning processes. During this process the teacher should be able to
ask questions such as: Can you describe the task itself? Why are you doing
this? How does this relate to the task? How did you arrive at this? Do you
understand the relevance of the task?
It is important that the student is able to reflect afterwards on how they
did the task. The teacher should then discuss with them if the process was
successful, how it could have been more efficient and what the student
might want to do next time.

11
 z would be aware of which strategies were successful and which
were not
z would know how they could use specific strategies to tackle future
problems.
Some students, even those who obtain a correct response, are often unsure
how they obtained the actual response. It is important to help learners
become aware of the processes they are using and, importantly, why they
elected to use a particular approach.

12
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 Develop independent learning
What we are suggesting in this chapter is that independent learning is
essential for effective learning. We are also indicating that students need
to know the right questions to ask before and during the learning process.
But the important point is that not only do they need to know the right
questions to ask but they also need to know how to answer them! To do
this they need to have an understanding of the task – if they do not, they
need to know how to obtain that understanding. For example, which
books or websites to refer to and which questions they need answering.
This investigation of finding out what to do and how to tackle a question is
important. Students would usually be inclined to rely on the teacher to
provide this information. We need to look for ways of encouraging students
to do this on their own. This can be done by devising a checklist of
available resources for the students, and having them decide which ones
would be useful for the task they are working on. In other words, the
teacher could provide a structured work plan with some spaces so that
there is a degree of autonomy but the students are not left totally on their
own. There could also be some guidance and discussion so that the
students can come up with questions they need to answer before they
can complete the task.
It is too easy for students to become dependent on a teacher or even on
other students in the class. Some students find it difficult to break this
dependency, particularly students who have any kind of learning
difficulties. It is important, therefore, to try to empower learners by giving
them the confidence, opportunity and resources to work out their
problems themselves – otherwise teaching and learning can become
prescriptive, repetitive and may not stimulate the student.

14
A part of the classroom can be identified as a ‘no hands up zone’. This
means that when the student enters this area they know that they will not
be allowed to ask questions. Structured study plans could be provided for
the student to begin with to help them tackle the questions without
prompts from the teacher. It is possible for two or more students to enter
this area together to collaborate with each other.
The no hands up zone can also be a fun type of activity for the student and
some might even see it as a reward. Get the children to draw posters
showing it is a no hands up zone and why it is a no hands up zone.
The emphasis is on thinking skills and children working things out
themselves; therefore, emphasis could be made on the fact that questions
are not permitted while in ‘the zone’.

15
 Help students identify their
learning style
Learning styles is an area that does attract some controversy. The critics
of learning styles argue that it is impossible and misleading to identify
students with a particular learning style and they raise doubts on whether
the instruments that are currently available actually do measure learning
style. There has been criticism on the lack of validity and reliability. In this
section, we are seeing learning styles not as a precise science but as a
guide for both the teacher and the learner. We would prefer to use the
term learning preferences as it suggests a more flexible approach to
learning and does not seem to be as fixed as the idea of a learning style.
We are, therefore, suggesting that for classroom and teaching purposes
it is beneficial to use some form of identification for learning ‘preferences’,
even if it may not be a precise, or infallible measure of ones learning style.
This should be seen as a guide. Most of the instruments assessing learning
style are based on self-report and are essentially questionnaires. While
questionnaire and self-report instruments can be useful, they only provide
a guide and need to be supplemented with other means of assessment
such as observation.
It is also important to view learning styles or learning preferences
in a comprehensive way. That means there needs to be a focus on:
z the cognitive area – that is, how students process information
z social learning – whether they prefer to learn on their own or with
others
z environmental preferences – classroom layout, desks, light and sound
in the learning environment – all can have some impact
z intrapersonal/metacogntive style – this relates to the degree to which
the learners are aware of their style and of how to learn.

16
Asking students the following questions will provide a quick learning
styles summary. For younger children you can read the questions out to
them or find pictures to describe the different situations in the questions.
Some students may need some explanation for each of the questions.
It is important to consult with the student over the responses. We have
used the term responses rather than results as this indicates that there
is no right or wrong answer.
z Do you prefer to work when it is quiet – does background noise disturb
you?
z Do you like to talk with people while you are working or work quietly
by yourself?
z Do you like to listen to music while you are working?
z Do you prefer to work with a dim table light or bright lights?
z Do you like to work with something warm on such as a sweater or
fleece, or do you prefer to be cool?
z Do you like a lot of space in the classroom?
z Do you prefer learning through listening to someone?
z Do you like to make or do something when you are learning?
z Do you like to move around when you are working on something?
z Do you prefer to take time to think about something before doing it or
do you want to do it now?
From the responses to these questions you will obtain some idea
of the student’s cognitive preferences, for example, visual, auditory,
kinaesthetic and also their environmental preferences – space, sound,
light etc. This information can be used as a starting guide, and through
observation (see next page) and questioning you can find out more
information about their preferences. This should help you in your
planning and in the acquisition and allocation of resources.

17
 Identifying learning styles
through observation
There are many different types of instruments that can be used in
observation. Some of these involve the use of a checklist that can
monitor the student’s style, motivation, social skills and listening and
comprehension skills or indeed almost any area of learning. This type
of checklist, however, may be restrictive as it may not apply to your
classroom and may not focus on the student’s learning style.
Ideally, observation should be diagnostic, flexible and adaptable.
Furthermore, it should take place in a natural setting such as the classroom.
Observation can be diagnostic because they can provide on-going
opportunities to analyse student responses in different learning situations.
These responses can be noted and a learning styles profile developed for
the student.
An observational framework rather than a checklist may be more helpful.
A framework can be adaptable and can be customized for different ages,
classrooms and learning situations. It is important to observe the student
in the learning situation. This is a more natural setting and you can note the
students’ social behaviours, academic performance and study habits across
a range of tasks which provide information on the student’s learning style.
By using a framework, it is also possible to be interactive – so, you are not
only observing the student, but you are also interacting with him/her.
This can make observations more illuminating as it can facilitate asking
metacognitive questions about the learning process. (This is also dealt
with in this chapter.) These questions can include asking students how
they tackled a particular learning task and asking why they did this. This
can provide insights into the student’s awareness of learning and can also
give some insights into the students’ learning style which will also be
covered in the next chapter.

18
Develop a framework for observation to collect information on the
student’s preferences for learning. The framework below offers a
suggestion of how this can be developed.
z Motivation – What topics, tasks and activities interest the student?
What kinds of prompting and cueing seem to increase motivation?
z Persistence – Does the student stick with a task until completion
without breaks? Are frequent breaks necessary when working on
difficult tasks?
z Responsibility – To what extent does the student take responsibility for
his/her own learning? Does the student attribute successes and failures
to self or others?
z Structure – Are the student’s personal effects (desk, clothing, materials)
well organized or cluttered? How does the child respond to someone
imposing organizational structure on him or her? When provided with
specific, detailed guidelines for task completion, does the student
faithfully follow them, or work around them?
z Modality preference – What type of instructions – written, oral, visual or
experiential – Does the student understand most readily?
z Impulsive versus reflective – Are the student’s responses rapid and
spontaneous or delayed and reflective?
z Mobility – Does the student move around the class frequently or
fidgets when seated?
z Time of day – During which time of the day is the child most alert?
z Sound – Does the student seek out places to work which are
particularly quiet?
z Light – Does the student like to work in dimly lit areas or do they say
that the light is too bright?
z Furniture design – When given a choice, does the child sit on the floor,
lie down or sit in a straight chair to read?
z attention – does the student attend better when listening or doing
something, working on his/her own or with a group

19
 Recognize the importance of
attribution theory
Attribution theory suggests that one of the most important motivating
factors in people’s lives is the sense they make of their perceived successes
and failures. The theory suggests that people can attribute their actions –
successes and failures – to either internal reasons, that is, ‘due to the
individual’; or external reasons, that is, ‘due to external forces or influences’.
They may also see some outcomes as changeable or fixed and controllable
or uncontrollable.
This means that the student can attribute his/her success to the teacher
or to another member of the group or to a book or resource he/she was
using. If students are experiencing a difficulty with a task, for example,
a maths problem, they may see the outcome as fixed and out of their
control and decide that they cannot do maths and give up. Attribution
theory, therefore, relates to the extent the student attributes success to
him/herself or to some other factor.
Some students may perceive a difficulty they are experiencing as being
due to limited intelligence (internal locus) or to poor teaching (external
locus). They may see themselves as capable of developing their learning
skills by hard work (controllable), or they may see themselves as simply
unable to learn however hard they try (uncontrollable). This latter example
is often called learned helplessness and can be a destructive influence in
the student’s self-esteem. The idea is to try to get the student to attribute
success to him/herself. That would mean they have control over the task
and over their learning. It also means that if they fail they can do
something about it – the answer is in their hands. This can pave the way
for the development of self-esteem. It can also promote independent and
more confident learning.

20
Get students to develop their own personal learning plan. This helps to
give them ownership over the task and the learning that is taking place.
This means they will, more likely, attribute the outcome to themselves
rather than displace the responsibility on something else. It is important
that they are giving guidance to themselves in working out their own
personal learning plan and profile.

My Personal learning profile

My preferred learning style is

My preferred learning environment includes
When I am studying independently, I prefer to
My preferred way of making notes includes
My preferred revision techniques are
My preferred time of day is
I will need to review my learning plan every
After reviewing my plan, I propose the following changes

This can lead on to the student being able to develop their own final study
plan for each activity they are working on.

My study plan
Activity Things that help Things to avoid
Reading
Spelling
Creative writing
Remembering
Information
Brainstorming

The idea behind this is that students, by devising their own learning plan,
are able to take control of the learning situation and therefore will be more
likely to attribute the outcome of learning to their own efforts.

21
 Stress proof the student
It is important to get the student in the right frame of mind for learning,
and it is necessary to ensure that students realize that they need to
prepare themselves for challenging learning. Although this may seem
more appropriate for students further up the school, it is important that it
is implemented when they are in the early stages so that they realize and
appreciate the importance of relaxation and preparation for learning.
This again helps to pass the responsibility for learning to the student and
helps them appreciate that they can influence the outcome. It is a good
idea to introduce them to a range of different relaxation techniques, but it
is best to keep it simple. This will mean that they can use the approach
when they are on their own and at home.

22
Following is a list of ideas that will help with guiding students through
relaxation.

Preparation
z Ensure that all items that may be distracting are out of sight.
z If relaxation is to take place in the classroom, ensure that the desks are
cleared.
z Dim the lights as this will minimize distraction and aid visualization.
z If you are giving instructions, speak in a softer voice than usual.
z When coming out of the relaxation period increase the volume of your
voice gradually.

Techniques
z Eyes are closed while listening to classical music.
z Visualization techniques – imagine a scene such as a beach or holiday
destination.
z Free time – allowing time for favourite activity without any form of
structure or demands.
z Exercises involving body flexing such as yoga and stretching.
z Introducing games and sports activities.
z Puzzles – word searches, colouring and other activities.
It is a good idea to get the student to think about his/her own preferred
relaxation techniques. This indicates that the same technique may not work
for everyone so it is okay to have your own preferred technique. You can
reinforce this by getting students to make a chart and a timetable for
relaxation.

My favourite relaxation techniques are:

My best time for relaxation is

23
 Develop cooperative and
collaborative learning
Students need to practise working collaboratively. For some students this
may not be easy. But some tasks can be tackled more effectively if it is a
product of group work. This helps students recognize not only their own
strengths but also, importantly, recognize the strengths in others. This is
essential for effective group work.
It is an idea to try to introduce group work from the ‘supporting others’
perspective. Each group member will have a responsibility to support one
other member of the group. This underlines the fact that the group,
although it is made up of individuals, needs to take on a group identity.
This may not be easy but with practice each member of the group can
become aware of the skills and the challenges of others in the group and it
may be important to discuss this with the group before and after the task.
It is important to emphasize that the cohesion of the group is as important
as the task they are embarking on. Some members of the group,
particularly older students, may be familiar with reality TV shows that now
increasingly feature groups of people – whether in a house, the jungle,
beach or business venture – who have been thrown together and have to
gel as a group. This might be a good analogy as the object of these shows
is to identify those who can work for the group rather than for themselves.
Group dynamics is also an important factor and it is good to ensure that
there is a mix of learning styles in the group and that you monitor how the
group is working together. Perhaps one person is too dominant or some
are left out altogether? Try to ensure that each member of the group has a
role to play.

24
The students are all part of a television network station working on a TV
news programme featuring live interviews. The stages they will need to
consider are:
z Preparation: choose a range of topics to research.
z Props: identify background props and images for the interviews and
reports.
z Responsibilities: each group member has to take on a role that could
include reporters, researchers, anchor people, producers/directors,
interviewees and any other role the group may wish to identify with.
Visit a TV studio if this is possible.
z Programme: the students should set actual programme timings. There
may also be ‘breaking news’ stories that are introduced by the producer.
z Plan a team-briefing meeting wherein one meeting is held before the
programme and another is held after the programme to reflect on how
it progressed. This is very important as the reflection meeting would
also include pointers for future group work. The group should look at
the good points of the exercise and discuss on how they may improve
in the future.

25
 3 Self-awareness
Memory

Do not overload
For simplicity, memory can be divided into two main aspects, both of
which are important for learning – short-term memory and long-term
memory. Short-term memory, or working memory, as it is sometimes
called, deals with the very short-term stimuli which is then processed
and transferred to long-term memory. The process involves
understanding, organization and storing information for retrieval.
The degree of ease of retrieval depends on how well the student has
understood and organized the information. It should be noted that
memory is not synonymous with learning. Many students make this
association and almost give up learning because they believe they
have a poor memory. It is important to emphasize this point to students
and also indicate that it is possible to improve memory. One of the key
aspects of memory relates to how well the information is understood.
It is important that the student spends time understanding rather than
attempt to cram and memorize information without full understanding.
If there is no real understanding, then the information will only be
retained for a short period and may not be used appropriately.
Understanding, therefore, is a key aspect of long-term memory.
Giving one piece of information at a time can be helpful, particularly
for short-term memory. Short-term memory is an important part of the
learning process because it signals the initial stage of the learning process
and if information is not effectively processed in short-term memory then
it will be lost and will not be processed into long-term memory and
therefore it will not be as readily recalled. Attention is also an important
factor in memory, particularly short-term memory. Many students will
lose attention if too much information is being presented to them at the
same time.

26
There are many memory techniques but the key to a successful
memory is to personalize these for the individual – what works
for one person may not work for another. Self-knowledge is
important for an effective memory.

One way of assisting the student to attend and to process information in

short-term memory is to present only one piece of information at a time.
Many students are capable of holding more than one piece of information
at a time and in this case more than one can be presented. The key point
is – do not overload. This can be worked out on an individual basis in order
to gauge the student’s short-term memory capacity.
The student can keep a chart of information retained. For example, they
may have a heading ‘important points about this information’ and then list
the points.
I like doing memory strategies because I always forget.
Lisa (aged 10)

27
 Prioritize
Students usually always have too much to learn – or so they might think!
But feeling overburdened is common for students particularly as the
curriculum appears to becoming more and more crammed and often
students, even young students, have much more to learn than they
have time for. Often they have to be selective and make choices. We are
surrounded by choices and decisions everyday, and in everyday life it is
necessary to prioritize. It is no different for students when they are
studying.
They need to gain practice in doing this. When a student has a list of things
to achieve, it can be difficult for him/her to decide what to do first and
what is less important. This can apply to daily tasks as well as to specific
areas of study. It is important that students are presented with dilemmas
that requires decisions to be made and practise prioritizing the different
tasks to be carried out.
Problem solving tasks can be helpful for this – this can be done by
providing the student with dilemmas over how to spend money or
how to spend their time.
Prioritizing actions can help to clear the mind of competing tasks to be
carried out and this will allow the student to focus exclusively on the task
in hand and not worry about the other things that have to be carried out.
It also helps with self-organization and this is important for effective
learning. Prioritizing can therefore be a step towards thinking and
learning independently. The popular ‘to do list’ types of activities
can also help students to prioritize their work.
Remember – small steps can lead to giant leaps!

28
Help the student develop a daily or weekly priority schedule.

My weekly priority schedule is

Day Task Carried out Comment
Monday Read chapter 1 Completed and Need to find out
of the novel reread twice about the social
study for with notes conditions at the
English time the novel is
set – nineteenth-
century Europe
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Weekend

This schedule can be used to keep track of progress as well as to help

with prioritizing and forward planning. The comment section of the table
can be used to identify any challenging aspects of learning and to suggest
what else is needed to complete the task.

My daily to-do list

29
 Organizing information
One of the reasons why some people have an effective memory
is because they are able to organize the information at the time of
learning and immediately afterwards. Many students concentrate on
getting the information down on paper through note-taking and then
at some later point they start to rearrange the information. This can be
effective as the student is personalizing the information to make it more
meaningful to him/her. But it can be more effective if students can
organize the information at the time of learning. That is, as they are making
the notes they should be arranging the information into some sort of
meaningful manner. Not only is this a more efficient way to study, but it
can also enhance comprehension.
Organizing the information at the time of learning can be easier for
students if they use some sort of framework.

30
 Framework for organization

Topic – Novel study

Headings I can use for key points
Why are these key points?
Main themes – i.e. the general points
Implications of each theme for the novel
Background
Political
Social
Economic
Connections with other topics/subjects
Prioritize information – most important to
less important

Student should use this chart not only to help with organization but also to
monitor their progress. They should be able to use this as a template for a
number of different topics.
The key information should be the same – that is, key points, main theme,
identify headings, implications, any additional background information,
connections with different areas and placing the information into a list that
can be used to organize and assess the importance of each piece of
information. This can also form the beginnings of a study plan.

31
 Use headings and subheadings
Organization is important for memory – the key to organizing information
is the ability to identify the general theme of the information and to
arrange the information so that it can be understood and retained.
Students have to learn all sorts of information and these units of learning
may seem disparate and diverse to the student. This will make it more
difficult to learn, to understand and to recall. The use of headings and
subheadings can not only help to organize the information but also it can
help to put the information into some kind of meaningful context. It
should be possible for the student to go through pages of notes by just
looking at the headings and subheadings and be able to understand the
whole piece. Visuals can reinforce this – perhaps a visual for each heading
as an aide memoire. This helps to personalize the information and this is
crucial for retention and recall.
Reading other people’s notes may not be too helpful – notes need to be
personalized and that includes handouts from teachers. The students need
to write down their own comments on the printed sheet. These comments
should include what the student thinks the implications are. So, they can
have the heading ‘implications’ in the margin and write the implications in
a phrase next to each paragraph. It is important to practise using heading
and subheadings.

32
 Whether you think you can or think you can’t you’re probably right.
Henry Ford
Select a piece of text and identify some possible headings and
subheadings.
Ideas for headings – each of the questions below will provide an idea for a
heading or a subheading.
z Ask yourself – what is it about? (That will provide one heading.)
z Who is it about?
z Where does it take place?
z What do you know about the background?
z Is there anything unusual or different in the story?
z What will help me remember it?
z What are the implications?
z If I had 10 seconds to tell someone about it, what phrase would I use?

Example
Suggested headings are in brackets and bold. (Children’s perception
of reading.) It is worthwhile emphasizing that children’s perception of
reading is an important element in how successful and motivated they
will be with reading. (Motivation and reading.) One of the most
successful means of motivating children to read is to ensure that the
reading material is age appropriate, culturally appropriate and of
interest to the child.
It is good to provide opportunities for individual selection of books
of the child’s own choice.
(Strategies) This is one of the main aspects of paired reading. In this
reading procedure it is crucial that the child chooses his/her own
reading material.
Get students to keep on practising at making up headings for their notes.

33
 Chunk
Chunking is an excellent strategy to organize information and to help with
retention. It is interactive and personal – you decide what items should be
chunked together. We might suggest a possible way of chunking
information here but it may be different from the one you might choose.
It is important that chunking is personalized, but some students may need
a structure to help them. There are some items, however, that might be
better going together. For example, if you are studying the Harry Potter
books you might put information relating to the location, the characters
and the school together. Giving students possible headings to help with
chunking can be useful. Ideally, the items to be chunked together should
be related in some way. This is where the organization comes in as the
student has to actively think about the information and try to understand
it at the time of learning so that it can be effectively chunked. This means
that the student will need to interact with the learning and not just try to
retain in through rote learning. That is why it is better to get students to
put the information into chunks themselves rather than providing them
with a list.
Chunking can be useful if the student is giving a talk to the rest of the
class – it is a more efficient way of learning than writing down lists
of items. Chunking can also help with making connections (which was)
discussed earlier in this chapter. Essentially these are all part of the
process of learners taking responsibility for their own learning. That is
why it is best to get learners to practise doing their own chunking as it
will be individual to them and by personalizing it in this way they are
more likely to understand the information and retain it. The key to this
strategy is practice.

34
Place all similar pieces of information into one group – for example,
if you are studying the geography of a country, make a chunk of all the
facts relating to climate. Then make a list of all items within that climate:
rain, sun, effects, global warming etc. You should be able to chunk
at least four items together. So, find at least four items that have a strong
connection.
Try to make chunking fun – and personalize it as much as possible. The
more personal it is to you, the easier it will be to remember. For example, in
the diagram below, the student had to remember all the countries of
Europe and their capitals. A list of some 26 countries can be formidable but
by chunking the countries into geographical locations, the task will be a lot
easier.

Sweden
Stockholm Iceland
Norway Reykjavik
Oslo Estonia
UK Denmark Tallinn
London Copenhagen Latvia
Ireland Riga
Dublin
Switzerland
Bern
The
Hungary
Netherlands
Budapest
Amsterdam
Austria
Belgium
Brussels
o p e Vienna

E ur Czech Republic
Prague
Poland
Malta Bosnia-
Warsaw
Valletta Herzegovina
Macedonia Sarajevo Liechtenstein
Skopje Croatia Vaduz
Moldova Zagreb Slovenia
Cessna Yugoslavia Ljubljana
Belgrade Albania
Tirana

35
 Make connections
You need to make connections all the time when learning. This makes
learning meaningful and aids understanding and the development of
concepts. An effective learner is one who is able to make these
connections. The main connection is between previous learning and
new learning. Questions learners need to consider are – is there anything
about the new learning that is familiar? What is familiar and why? How
did I tackle this before? Should I do the same again or can I improve on
this? This will help learners connect between the previous and new
learning and by asking themselves questions about how they tackled it
previously, they can help to make learning more efficient.
Connections also help with understanding and can make learning more
efficient. We should encourage learners to do this all the time by getting
them to ask themselves questions such as those above, all the time, when
they are tackling learning.
Making connections also helps with self-monitoring while the student is
engaged in the task. This is essential in order for the students to take
responsibility for their own learning. This means that students need to ask
questions for themselves as they are learning. They need to know the
questions to ask themselves such as: what have I to do here? How does this
relate to what I already know? What else do I need to find out? These types
of questions provide scope for self-reflection and provide evidence that the
students are to take responsibility for their own learning and will be in a
position to make the kind of connections needed for efficient learning.
Many students, particularly in secondary school, see learning within
the parameters of the subject area. They often have difficulty in cross
referencing between different subjects. In many cases similar words
and concepts can occur but the student may not realize this unless it is
explicitly pointed out by the teacher.

36
As indicated in the previous page many students will need to be shown
how to make connections. This can be done by using a mind map or a
spidergram. To begin with, provide examples of connections for different
topics that can be readily connected such as: the weather chain, animal
food chain, money chain.
Then move on to make connections with information within the same
subject, such as: animals of the jungle, pets, garden plants, types of fruit
and vegetables. For more advanced students you can suggest the link
between social conditions and political change, workers oppression and
social unrest.
You can then move to make connections with topics and events drawn
from across the curriculum such as: history and English literature,
geography and science, design technology and physics.
If you can make the connections fun filled and personalize them, then
you will be more likely to remember them and remember the significance
of each connection.
Mind maps are a good way to make connections because they present
only relevant material in a clear and memorable form. Unlike linear text,
mind maps show not just the facts but also the relationship between
those facts giving the students a deeper understanding of the subject
and thus helping the student to make connections.
Mind maps are a good way to use visuals, make connections and also to
help with organization. Some advantages of mind maps are shown below.
z Mind maps can inspire interest in the students making them more
receptive and cooperative in the classroom.
z Because mind maps tend to present only relevant material in a clear
and memorable form, students tend to get better marks in
examinations.
z Unlike linear text, mind maps show not just the facts but also the
relation between those facts, thus giving the students a deeper
understanding of the subject.
z The physical volume of notes is dramatically reduced.

37
 Re-enact
Drama lessons have brought me ‘out of my shell’.
David (aged 11)
Drama has helped me talk in front of people because I never used to
have confidence but now I have become a lot more expressive.
Kelly (aged 13)
Learning should be active. The more active the learner; the more likely
the information will be understood and retained. The activity could be in
the form of discussion but it could also be in drama form and first person
speech. This can be done more easily in some subjects such as history
where first person and drama can be used to re-enact historical events.
Feelings of frustration can be quite common when children are learning
something new and challenging. Even able students can experience these
feelings. This can be demotivating and destructive. They may lead to anger
and subsequent behavioural difficulties in the classroom. Drama can
provide an outlet to prevent this. When the voices of children with dyslexia
are heard and their views and feelings are understood, frustrations can be
minimized.

38
Create simple improvizations from freeze-frames. Begin by asking the
class to form simple freeze-frames in small groups, for example, photo
album snaps. Ask the whole class to produce two large-scale freeze-frames
of first day at school and end of term (facial expressions are important).
Split the class into two large groups. Ask each group to create a photo
freeze-frame from the members of the other group. Give each group until
the count of ten to mould the opposite group into the picture and give
the finished product a title. From the picture, each group must produce
two minutes worth of improvization, either before or after the freeze.
Now you are ready to bring the freeze-frames to life. Get the students to
relax and ask for volunteers to show their freeze-frames and role-play to
the class. Ask each group to hold their freeze-frame, count down ‘3, 2, 1
GO!’ After about 30 seconds say, ‘and freeze’. This can be a fun activity and
a number of different aspects of learning can result from this, as well as
the fun and the peer interaction from collaboration.
Students may now feel more able to participate in role-play activities.
Get students in groups of four and get them to talk about a memorable
event that happened during the holidays. If nothing interesting happened
tell them to invent something! Decide on a freeze-frame to start the
drama. You are going to bring it to life for 30 seconds and use words this
time. You have 3 minutes to practise it. The events can be quite
commonplace (like going shopping with friends) or extraordinary incident
(like witnessing an accident). This time they have to talk about what they
are doing but they are still working in conjunction with their peer group.

39
 Discuss
For some learners discussion is the only way in which they can retain
and understand information. Discussion can make the information
meaningful and can help the learner experiment with ideas and views.
It is this experimentation that helps the learner extend their thinking
and learning. For some learners discussion can be like thinking aloud.
It is important that there are opportunities for discussion – it may be
useful to actually timetable discussion time and split the class into
smaller groups.

One of the good points about discussions is that it involves listening

and reflecting as well as talking. This is a good exercise for many students
as it enhances sharing of views and listening to other’s opinions. It can be
useful to provide the class with group tasks rather than individual tasks –
even for assignments – as this would mean that they need to discuss the
points and agree on a joint opinion. This has value for younger children
as well as students further up the school.

40
 .

Introduce discussion words such as: describe, compare, analyse, judge,

provide. Indicate what each word means with examples and get them to
try it out. Start with material that is very familiar to them to begin with and
then move to more abstract and complex material.
Combine the benefits of drama with improvization by introducing some
scenarios that they may be familiar with or even some that may not be
known to them. The benefit of the latter is that it can help to inspire
creativity. Ideally the students should work in pairs. The situations work
best if the students get straight into them and avoid long discussions.

Possible scenarios for improvization

z Hairdresser and customer (after hair disaster)
z Photographer and awkward supermodel
z Two strangers on a train – one is smoking in a non-smoking
compartment
z Suspect being interviewed by the police
z Boss giving employee the sack
z Door-to-door salesman and lonely pensioner
z Job interview
z Parent and teenager – teenager three hours late, parent waiting up
z Two cars meet, coming from opposite directions, down a narrow
country lane. One belongs to a farmer, the other to a wealthy
businessman – who moves first?
z Pupil sent to Head Teacher for bad behaviour.

41
 The 5 R’s – recognize, revise,
review, recall and reflect
Students often remember the process better if you use acronyms such as
that above.
z Recognize – identify your own preferred way of learning.
z Revise the information that is to be learnt. The important point is that
this revision can take a number of different forms but will work more
effectively if there is a revision plan and timetable.
z Review – this is important as it is the reviewing that consolidates
memory and ensures understanding and retention in long-term
memory. This will make it easier to remember.
z Recall – this also needs to be practised – simply the more you use
a skill or piece of information the more easily it will be memorized
and recalled in future use.
z Reflect – this can be done through the use of reflective questions
such as why and how, and also through thinking and even thinking
aloud. But reflection is important for effective learning and to help
the learner become more efficient as a learner so they can use an
effective strategy the next time they are learning something similar.
The important point about this process is that it provides a framework
for the student that can be individualized and students can utilize
their own individual strategies within the framework. This can be more
effective than providing the student with a range of random memory
strategies.

42
Take a sample of students’ work and help them to use the 5 R’s and how
they can incorporate this into their study pattern.
Draw a board game with the 5 R’s interspaced through the game – leave
blanks for the student to show how he/she has used these.

Reflect

Recall

Review Revise

Recognize

43
 4 Self-awareness
Motivation

Stimulate to motivate
Many of the techniques for effective learning are based on providing
motivation and stimulation to ensure that students want to learn. There are
a number of points to consider when developing motivation. These can
included ensuring that:
z the task is related to the students’ interests
z the student appreciates the value of the task
z the student can achieve the task
z feedback is available throughout the task and immediate feedback at
the end
z the student is emotionally prepared for the task
z the student is comfortable in the learning environment.
Each of these points can represent good teaching practice. But it is
important that each of the points be considered in relation to motivation.
It is also important, therefore, to consider the individual characteristics of
the student. This can be done from a pre-planning perspective. We need
to find out the areas that interest the student and give the task some value
by attaching some kind of motivational weighting to the task. The
importance of the task has to be clear to the student but what is of
greatest importance is that the task must be achievable. The student has to
have a perception of success in that he or she is able to perceive the task as
achievable. This can be a great motivator. It is also important to consider
the student’s needs from a holistic perspective. That means we need to
ensure that students are emotionally ready for the task. Emotional factors
can have an impact on motivation and these should be considered at all
stages of learning.

44
Motivation is essential for effective learning, it is crucial to try
to make motivation intrinsic so that learners become self-
motivated. You can use extrinsic motivation such as rewards,
but try to shift this to intrinsic motivation as soon as possible.

Make up a motivation checklist such as the one below, but you may want
to contextualize it for your own work situation.

Motivation checklist

Interest Task Differentiation Emotional factors

How students’ How does the Are there How do we know
interests student’s different that the student
have been previous forms of the will be able to
considered? understanding task for the tackle the
enable him/her less able and learning in a
to complete the more positive frame
the task? able? of mind?
List points
here
1.
2.
3.

45
 Locus of control
The concept of locus of control is an important one for motivation. Locus of
control can be internal or external and it is important to appreciate the role
played by both in motivation.
An internal locus of control means that the student has accepted that he/
she has responsibility for the outcome. This means that they will more likely
attribute the success of an outcome to their own efforts. This is helpful for
motivation.
An external locus of control means that he/she would shift the
responsibility to some external influence. The student can then attribute
success or (failure) to some external factor and this can prompt an ‘opting
out’ of responsibility over the learning situation. It is important, therefore,
that the student develops an internal locus of control and this will pave the
way for accepting responsibility and developing independence.

Example
External locus of control
I failed my essay because . . . the teacher did not tell us what to do.
Internal locus of control
I failed my essay because . . . I did not study the relevant pieces of
information.

46
Get the students to develop their own study plan including a list of things
that will support them in studying and things that may interfere with their
studying.

My study plan
Activity Things that help Things to avoid

Reading

Spelling

Creative writing

Remembering

Information

Brainstorming

My favourite strategies

1.

2.

3.

4.

47
 Make individual education plans
motivating
When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the
goals, adjust the action steps.
Confucius
The development of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) indicates that a
degree of forward planning has been put into place. The range and nature
of IEPs can, however, vary considerably. There is usually a focus on student
outcomes, but it is important that motivation be kept in mind as the plan is
unfolding. Are the activities motivating? How can they be made more
motivating? What types of resources are motivating for the student? Some
key points that can be kept in mind include:
z The need for formative reflection – that is, to look ahead and be
proactive rather than merely summative reporting – that is, recording
what has happened or will happen.
z The need for student and parent involvement in addition to the school-
based team.
z The importance of using a variety of instructions.
z The importance of peer involvement.
z The need to recognize the students’ individual learning preferences.
z Are the resources multi-sensory?
z Are they accessible and stimulating?
z Is there inbuilt monitoring of the student for reviewing progression –
this is necessary for motivation.
IEPs should offer a means of checking and monitoring the student’s
progress and can help to provide pointers for motivating the learner.

48
Develop a motivating IEP by personalizing it – ask students the following
questions:

Reading Spelling
• Do you enjoy reading? • Are you a confident speller?
• What sort of things do you • If not, which words do you find
like to read? difficult?
• Are you confident reading aloud • How do you go about learning
in class? new words?

Writing Mathematics
• Do you like writing? • Do you like maths?

• Can you write down what you • Can you remember tables and
want to say on paper? number facts easily?
• Is your writing neat? • Do you get anxious in maths
lessons?

From this, you will get information that can be used in the development
of the IEP. Then obtain some information on how they perceive themselves
as learners by asking them questions about their learning:
z List four things that help you to work well.
z How well organized are you for learning?
z When do you learn better?
z Tell me about your strengths. . . .
z How do you motivate yourself?
z What are your own learning goals?
z Who could be there to help you achieve these goals?

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 Make motivation intrinsic
Anyone who stops learning is old whether twenty or eighty.
Henry Ford
Ideally, motivation should be intrinsic as this will help the learner
become self-motivating. To achieve this, the learner needs to have a
goal and some intrinsic determination to succeed. Some students who
experience repeated failure can easily become demotivated. This state is
often referred to as ‘learned helplessness’. It is crucial that the learner
does not reach this level and for that reason early success is important
when tackling new tasks. It is also important that both extrinsic (rewards)
and intrinsic (self-motivation) are taken into account in the planning of
learning. Intrinsic motivation can, however, help students take control
over their learning.
For intrinsic motivation students need to:
z understand what they are learning
z be inquisitive
z be able to see new learning as part of a bigger picture which can be
more motivating
z enjoy the learning experience
z have an appetite for learning.
To begin with, extrinsic motivation can be used in order to engage the
student but every effort should be made to shift this gradually to intrinsic
motivation.

50
Develop a questionnaire to help students discover their own learning
goals. This type of questionnaire is more effective if given orally just after
a talk or a lesson. Some younger students may need some prompting
so that it can form the basis of an individual discussion after a lesson.
Below are some questions you may want to include:
1. What was my teacher talking about?
2. Some questions that can help me understand the lesson better.
a.
b.
c.
3. What have I got to do now?
4. Do I need any other information?
5. How well can I work on my own now?
This type of discussion with the students will empower them to work
independently and assure both the teacher and the students that the
students understand the task.

My learning plan and learning goals

Plan Goals

51
 Encourage creativity
The art of creativity is making the illogical, logical.
It is interesting to reflect on the fact that many students can only develop
their creativity after they leave school. Many, in fact, may fail at school.
The examination system often does not reward creativity. The pace of
learning seems to prioritize the content and ensures that all examinable
areas of the curriculum are covered. This means that there may be less
scope for digressing and for encouraging creativity. For many learners,
creativity is the principal motivating factor. To encourage creativity it is
important to consider the learning styles of the student. It is also
important to encourage students’ responsibility as this can help students
take control over learning and encourage them to use their own ideas.
Anyone can be creative – certainly some students will find creativity easier
than others but with encouragement and opportunity every student has
the potential to create something that is their own and unique. This is the
essence of creativity – to put a stamp of individuality on whatever it is you
are working on. This can be seen in montages developed by very young
children – when you ask them why they did certain things in a certain way
they always have some answer that you might not have thought of – to
you it may seem illogical but the art of creativity is making the illogical
logical – it is surprising how children can do that.

52
Game activities are excellent to encourage creativity. Word games,
such as brainstorming, where you have to think of many different uses
for an object can be a great way for students to show their creativity.
For example, uses of a teaspoon, a ball of wool, a hockey stick and so on.
You can also have additional dimensions to this by trying to connect a
range of objects that seem to have little in common, such as the list above.

53
 5 Reading and
Self-awareness
creative writing

Practise blending sounds

Blending is smoothly joining phonemes to make a pronunciation close
enough to a word to access the word. In competent readers, blending
becomes an automated skill. This helps to provide the reading fluency
needed for text comprehension. For some readers, however, and
particularly beginning readers blending needs practice and tuition
before the different types of sounds (phonemes) and letters (graphemes)
can be accessed automatically and blended smoothly.
Blending should begin with simple consonant-vowel-consonant (cvc)
words using continuous sounds and then gradually move to more
complex patterns such as ccvcc using stop consonants. A continuous
sound is a sound the student can hold, such as sssssssss or nnnnnnnn.
The following sounds are continuous: f, h, l, m, n, s, v and z. Some of these
phonograms can also occur in blends making them continuous blends
such as sm, sn or pl. All of the short vowel sounds are continuous and
so they are easily blended into the final consonant or consonant blend.
In a consonant blend two or three consonants are smoothly blended
together, each consonant sound may be heard in the blend and it may
occur at the beginning or end of a word. Some examples of beginning
consonant blends are: bl black, cl clap, spl splat, sn snip,
sm smash, br brick. Examples of final consonant blends are: mp
jump, nd hand, lt felt. In an effort to move from simple to complex,
it is best to begin with continuous sounds as opposed to stop sounds as
the sound can be held and smoothly blended into the vowel. Eventually,
students will be able to blend syllables rather than phonograms.

54
Reading and writing can make the student a more effective
learner, but they also can have a spin-off effect on other
factors such as self-esteem, motivation, social confidence
and self-fulfilment.

sm nd

h a p

n e t

pl o ck

Provide students with different types of blending exercises for both

nonsense and real word reading. For a beginning reader, start with
torpedo drills using sounds known to the student. In a torpedo blending
drill the letters are spaced apart beginning with continuous sounds in
the left column, short vowels in the middle column and final consonants
in the third column. It is important to have the student hold one sound
and smoothly blend it into the next sound that is easiest when using
continuous sounds. It is important to have the student synthesize the
sounds by voicing what ‘word’ they made. The goal is to blend and
synthesize but not to create or search for real words. It is just as beneficial
and maybe more fun to identify nonsense words.
From torpedo drills the student can progress to blending wheels and
tachistoscopes that are great for word families, syllables and affixes. All
blending exercises should be created using sounds the student has
previously learned.

55
 Encourage inferential reading
Inferential reading refers to looking for inferences when reading. It is
sometimes referred to as ‘reading between the lines’. Inferential reading
leads to inferential comprehension, which is a synthesis of information
the reader obtains from clues in the text (literal content), intuition,
personal knowledge and imagination.
A student may be asked to infer a sequence of events where they are
asked what action or incident may have happened between two explicitly
stated incidents. They may be asked to describe the nature of a character
based on clues in the story or the motives of characters and their
relationship with others.
Inferential questioning would include questions such as: What do you
think will happen next? Why do you think he said what he did? How do
you think . . . ? What kind of person was . . . ? Why did . . . happen?
Although this is a higher-level skill, it needs to be practiced with
younger children as well as students further up in school. It helps the
reader develop insights into the text and provides a deeper sense of
understanding. Many students tend to read at a literal level and may
not be able to note the insights that can be obtained from inferences.
It is important to ensure that inferences are taught even with students
who find reading text challenging.
Some key considerations on teaching inferences relate to encouraging
active reading to help the student make sense of the text, monitoring
one’s own comprehension and resolving misunderstanding as one is
reading.

56
Modelling how to make inferences to students can be an effective way of
strengthening a student’s own ability to make inferences. Initially asking
the questions and leading a discussion are the responsibility of the
teachers but with consistent modelling and encouragement, the student
will gain confidence in themselves and their ability to know how and
when to ask questions themselves. Teachers can model how they
themselves draw inferences by:
z thinking aloud their thoughts as they read to pupils
z asking and answering questions that show how they monitor their own
comprehension
z making their own thinking processes explicit.
It is important, after modelling, to provide students with ample
opportunity to practise as, for many, drawing inferences is more
challenging than literal comprehension. This can be done in many
ways that are quick but effective.
z Discuss how people make inferences in everyday situations.
z Choose an article and write down sentences that are either facts
from the story or inferences. If the sentences are facts they can mark
them in one colour, and if the sentences are inferences use a different
colour. Have students highlight the passage in the article that
shows why their selections are correct.
z Choose a short movie clip and discuss with the students what could
be inferred from the clip.
These quick exercises help to develop the skills in using inferences that
can then be transferred to reading.

57
 Encourage critical comprehension
in reading
Quite a number of children can read fluently but may not be fully
accessing the deeper meaning of the text. It is through deeper levels
of processing that enhanced comprehension can be achieved. A critical
level of comprehension encourages reflection and asks the student to
evaluate or make a judgement about the reading. Teachers can facilitate
critical comprehension by asking key questions that foster student
reflection such as: What did you enjoy about the book? Was there anything
you found confusing about the book? Was the plot easy to follow – why/
why not? What do you think the author was trying to tell the reader by . . . ?
Did you like the way the author described the setting? What could have
been done to create a better picture for you? Was this a believable . . . ?
Has the information in the text been distorted or over simplified? Is there
any reason to doubt . . . ?
Asking questions that encourage critical comprehension allows the
student to have some personal ownership over the passage and
facilitates insights and opinions. These can help strengthen overall
comprehension, retention and recall. To maximize opportunity for the
student, it may be more effective to look at many short passages
involving real-life experiences rather than focus on a novel or longer
story when you are working on strengthening critical comprehension
skills.

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Propaganda can be an effective way of encouraging students to use
critical comprehension skills. Give students a variety of advertisements
in different media and ask them to identify the target audience, to pick
out the words that hold emotion and to identify what it is that is being
‘sold’. How is the advertisement influencing or manipulating the audience?
Is it effective? What would make it more or less effective? Are there facts
missing? Is the information true and accurate? Will people react
emotionally or rationally to this advertisement? (Discuss the propaganda
techniques that have been used.)
Another idea for encouraging critical comprehension is to give the
students a product, the target audience and a list of criteria. Ask them to
brainstorm facts that could be included in an advertisement about the
product. Then have them create a leaflet or poster, which would encourage
people to buy this product.
For example, have the student create an advirtisement for a new soft drink.
Ask them to name it, describe it, create a label and then design a poster to
advertise the new product.
Students could also watch or listen to a commercial and then brainstorm
ideas for why it is or why it is not effective. It may be useful to have them
compare a piece of propaganda with a news item and ask them to list the
key differences between the two. They could also compare and contrast
a variety of news headlines.
Using critical comprehension skills in the activities given above can be
useful not only in the development of these skills but they can also be fun.

59
 Encourage creative thinking
Think outside the box
Creative thinking can provide the learner with opportunities to develop
their own style of reflecting and presenting information. It can also
release the learner from the restrictions of following a process or
sequence, perhaps suggested by the teacher or the textbook. Creative
thinking for many learners can be a liberating experience. For some
learners this freedom to think creatively can be fun and invigorating
and provide a vehicle for emotional expression.
In terms of developing learning skills, creative thinking can promote
independent learning. It is also important to acknowledge the
self-confidence that can come with independence in learning. Thinking
independently and creatively can also help students appreciate other
perspectives particularly if they are involved in a role-play activity.
It can be surprising to see how motivated some students are when they
are given a free reign and allowed to think ‘outside the box’. At the same
time, many students will need to be supported in developing their
creative thinking skills. This can be done by providing an intriguing first
sentence to a piece of work and the students have to finish the paragraph.
Other activities to promote creative thinking are shown in the following
page. One important consideration in relation to creative thinking is that
sufficient time must be allowed for the activity. Thinking ‘outside the box’
takes time as the student often considers additional aspects that may seem
unrelated to the problem. This type of tangential thinking can require more
processing time and perhaps more drafts of the final response.

60
Providing structured activities can actually help students to develop their
creative thinking skills. Some ideas include:
z Provide a story without an ending to the students and ask them to
finish the story using their own ending. This can be a useful group
activity. The topic of the story could be, ‘no one could even guess
what would happen next’. They can then be asked to finish the story.
z Give an article or story without a title, and individual students
or a group need to suggest an unusual title for the story.
z Suggest that students draw a picture, but suggest a place to start
such as ‘draw a ranch’. Then they can, one-step at a time, add to the
picture by going through a list of questions that pertain to the ranch
such as: Is there a house? Is there a barn? What type of animals are
there, do any people live on the ranch, is there a lake or pond on the
ranch, what types of activities take place? What is the weather like?
How do people get to and from the ranch? These questions, given
one at a time, can help the student develop a picture of the scene
without it feeling overwhelming. From here, you can create all sorts
of writing activities such as: write a story of something that happened
on your ranch, write a descriptive paragraph about your ranch, describe
one of the characters on your ranch, have your character send a
postcard from your ranch etc.
z Draw a photo of a made-up character which could be human or animal.
Encourage the students to use colour and add a lot of detail. Then ask
the students to write a descriptive paragraph describing the character,
their friends, favourite things to eat, activities they enjoy etc.
z Working in groups, each student should write a phrase about anything
at all and see if all the phrases can be joined together to make a story –
they can use other phrases and join them together but they must
include all the phrases suggested by each member of the group.

61
 Develop reading goals
Learning will be more effective if you have a goal in mind when you are
reading with a student or having a student read aloud.

Possible reading goals:

z Fluency: involves the rate of reading as well as the ability to read
connected text smoothly, accurately and automatically with voiced
expression and comprehension.
z Comprehension: the level of understanding one has after reading
a passage.
z Word attack: the ability to convert graphemes into phonemes.
z Punctuation: stopping at and acknowledging punctuation through
voiced expression when reading. Often, students who struggle
with punctuation will read to the end of the line rather than taking
a breath when they reach the punctuation.
z Intonation: the variation in the voice when reading aloud.
z Voiced Expression: reading without voiced expression can indicate lack
of understanding. Ask yourself if the student is reading in a monotone
or if their voice is too loud or too soft
z Postural Habits: take note of how the student handles the book as well
as the position they sit in. Is their body strained or tense, do they hold
the book too close or too far away? Is the book floppy in their hands,
do they drop it frequently or loose their page?

62
Choose an approach to reading that is reflective of your reading goal. For
example, if your goal is:
z Fluency: choose a book that is slightly below the student’s reading
level or one that the student has read or heard before. Paired reading1
is an approach that works well when working on improving reading
fluency.
z Comprehension: teacher and student take turns in thinking aloud
and asking questions at each level of comprehension (critical, creative,
literal, inferential). Reciprocal reading2 is an approach that works well
for strengthening reading comprehension skills.
z Word attack: immediately prior to the reading, give a list of vocabulary
from the text that you think the student may struggle with. Write these
words or phrases on cards for the student to read. This way, when the
student sees them in the reading, he/she will be familiar.
z Punctuation: tap at the end of each sentence when the student
reaches a period, question mark or exclamation mark. This will draw
their attention to the punctuation and eventually they will pause and
wait for the tap. The student can also be encouraged to take over the
tapping.
z Intonation: using poetry or text with dialogue will help with this skill.
z Voiced expression: reading of plays or other readings with many
dialogues having quotations are very useful for encouraging voiced
expression.
z Postural habits: let the student handle the book after good modelling.

1 Paired reading: a reading approach involving the parent/teacher and the child (see
Topping, 2001). It is a structured systemic approach that follows a series of steps involving
the parent/teacher and the child reading aloud together.
2 Reciprocal reading: this involves extended question and answer discussions
between the parent/teacher and the child throughout the reading of text thus
helping to develop a deeper understanding.

63
 Selecting books for students

Appropriate selection of a book is crucial to stimulate reading and to

sustain motivation for reading. Children, when selecting a book, are
actually thinking, evaluating and may be using some critical learning skills
such as making judgements and formulating opinions through the process
of book selection. There is a wide range of criteria that may or may not be
appropriate for every student but the following can act as a general guide:
z Title – is the title of the book catchy and meaningful?
z Use of language in the book – avoid confusing vocabulary and long
words.
z Presentation – is the size and type of font, front cover, visuals, length of
the chapters of the book presentable?
z Index at the end – is there an index with vocabulary provided in the
book?
z What is the interest level of the student?
z Is there an audio and/or video version available to the student?
z Is there an abridged version of the book?
z Are there any teacher’s notes for the book?

64
A reading log is a great place for students to keep track of the titles and
authors they have read as well as recording their reactions to the text.
You can create your own list of criteria to record. The chart given below is
only a suggestion.

My reading log Date:

Title Author Type of reading My thoughts on the book.

Did I like it?
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

This type of chart can be used in many different ways. You may want to use
it as a motivational chart to keep track of books over vacation periods. You
may want to use it as an expanded exercise where the students can first
record the books they read with a brief description and then organize the
list from most recommended to those they wouldn’t recommend and why.
The students could then present their list to the class and share their
opinion of why others should read it or not.

65
 Use art and visuals for creative
writing
Students who may have difficulty coming up with ideas for writing may
be more successful if they begin with an activity that leads to writing.
Often, the difficulty is in coming up with the ideas and so it can be very
useful if the activity is more concrete. It may also be useful to make the
activity very structured, but allow for flexibility within the structure. You
can begin with an art activity by asking the students to create something
and then design a series of writing activities around the student’s creation.
For example, students can create a number of three-dimensional
characters and then when they are finished with the models they can be
asked to write a series of stories based on these characters. Join a few of
the characters together with others in the class and they can then start
creating stories about the characters that perhaps describes some sort of
newsworthy event, good or bad. The idea is to make the activity of writing
more alive and more real and this can be done through art and the use of
craft materials. There are a number of different ideas and tasks that can
stem from this. One such idea is to produce a newspaper using the stories
from the class. This is developed on the next page.

66
Have the students work together as a class to develop and produce a
newspaper based on the characters they created themselves (see previous
page). Begin by having the students come up with all of the different types
of columns in a newspaper – news, features, adverts, entertainment,
classified advertisements, sport, cartoons, kids corner etc – and then have
them decide which will be appropriate for their newspaper.
Choose groups of two or three students to take a section each and they
have to be responsible for that part of the newspaper. Appoint an editor,
a deputy editor and a photographer for the newspaper. Everyone else
will be reporters and have to develop the stories into articles or
advertisements. You can have the class photographer photograph the
characters the students created as well as the editor, deputy editor and
journalists (students).
The articles will of course be ficticious but you can encourage the
students to look at a local newpaper for story ideas. It could be fun to
have a cartoon strip as well as an advice column where one student
writes a letter from a character with a problem and the letter (and the
problem) is answered by another character. This is the type of activity
where different learners can all come together because there are so
many possibilities within the project.
You can also have a ‘reader’s letters’ page and get the class to write
individual letters to the editor about some community topic and
provide a prize for the winning letter.

67
 Use prompts for creative writing
For many students creative writing can present a real challenge. Often
they have difficulty in actually getting started. This can in fact be the
toughest part of the creative writing process. This difficulty can be
overcome by using prompts as well as providing structure words that
can help to inspire, expand and develop story lines.
A prompt can be a keyword, a story line, a title, the first sentence in
a story an event that can be developed into a story or a description of an
event that the writer has to put into context and expand on. Prompts may
get the story started but students will need guidance to sustain the story.
This is where writing frames can be useful as they can help to develop
story lines but the prompt is necessary to generate the initial thoughts on
the story.
Some prompts can include the following:
z Close your eyes and describe an object in the room.
z Find an old picture from a book or an art gallery and write about the
people in it and the type of life you think they experienced.
z Select four words randomly from the dictionary and see if you can use
these words in a story.
z Choose a poem that you like and take one of the lines from the poem
as the opener to your story.
z Write about a weird day at school.
z Write what you would do with three wishes.
z Write about your first toy – or at least the one you can remember most
vividly.
z Begin the story with the phrase ‘I wish someone would have told me’.
You can build up a bank of prompts and get the students themselves to
compile a list of prompts as they find that quite a fun activity.

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Develop a matrix with numbers such as:

1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25

Write out 25 prompts under the numbers (1-25) in the matrix. If you
have a pocket chart in the classroom you can write the prompts on
paper and insert one prompt into each pocket. The students would then
go and choose a prompt from the pocket chart.
Using the matrix, have the students choose (or assign them) numbers
from 1-25 until each student has a number. The students would then go
and choose a prompt from the pocket chart. Once they have finished their
story they can choose another number and begin the process again with
a new prompt and a new story.
The matrix shown provides a few examples of prompts to get started.

1 2 3 4 5
I wish It was the If I could Yesterday at I am sorry
someone weirdest have the pond I was late
would day…. any pet my friends today but
have told I wanted, … ….
me… I would
choose a…

69
 Provide a comfortable place for
students to read
Reading while sitting on a hard chair in the library may not be preferable
for most of the students. Try to make reading as pleasurable as possible
by providing some choice in where the students sit when reading. It may
be necessary to make the seating arrangements as comfortable as they
can be. Some factors that can be considered include: type of chairs,
lighting, seating arrangement – in groups or individually, length of time for
reading, time of day, students’ individual preferences of reading materials
and environment.
Beanbags are very popular with many children when reading. They can
be comfortable and informal and for some children, particularly those
with reading difficulties, it can remove some of the stress from the
reading activity. They are available in many fabrics including leather which
is durable or vinyl which can be easily wiped off.
Another way to create a cozy and inviting reading area is to lay out a plush
carpet and line it with several big, soft cushions as well as a few smaller
ones. The idea is to provide an area students will gravitate to and want
to stay in. You could ask students to remove their shoes and encourage
them to curl up or stretch out, getting into a comfortable reading position.

70
Creating an environment free of distractions that is cosy and comfortable
where children can recline and put their feet up can encourage the quiet,
calm and relaxed behaviour that is necessary for meaningful reading.
An enclosed quiet area is easy to create with a room divider that could
be a bookshelf, a curtain or a movable, freestanding divider. Putting a soft,
plush carpet in the area with a selection of several big cushiony pillows
will provide a place to sit and a place to lean back on. Carpets with pillows
can be economical, easily rolled up and stored if the space is needed for
something else and can be cleaned regularly.
For younger children, a reading tent is a good idea. It is important that
comfort and potential distractions are considered. A reading tent can
reduce distractions and still provide both novelty and comfort.
It is important to find out what each individual student prefers and to try,
as far as possible, to provide this for the student. If it is not possible to do
this at school, it is still a useful exercise as the student can be encouraged
to use his/her preferences at home when reading.
Key points to consider for the individual student:
z Lighting. Check the lighting there. Is it adequate? You should be able
to see the page without strain. Does the light create a glare?
z Ventilation and temperature. Stuffy rooms put you to sleep. You
should have plenty of fresh air and the temperature should be
comfortable.
z Reading position. An uncomfortable position can create a strain
that results in fatigue. But if you are too comfortable, you read yourself
to sleep. The ideal is a balance between the two but the key is that the
reader should feel at ease and relaxed when reading.
z Distractions. If you sit near a door or window, every movement will
claim your attention. If you have a radio on, your concentration may
wander from book to sound. Reading with the television on in the
background will cause distractions.

71
 Expand vocabulary
Many students have difficulty with writing because they cannot access the
words they need and may have difficulty using a dictionary. It is important,
therefore, to teach dictionary skills and these are highlighted in the
following page. It is also a good idea to provide students with a list of
keywords that they may want to use in a piece of writing. These words can
be divided into different categories such as descriptive words, names,
places, ‘feeling’ words etc.
To begin with, you can give the student a passage with some words
missing (cloze passage) and get them to fill in the blanks. To help students
with this, some words can be placed at the top of the page and they have
to select the words from this list.
It may be necessary to provide many different types of activities to
encourage students to expand their vocabulary. Some students may enjoy
receiving a ‘word of the day’. They can be encouraged to learn the meaning
of the new word and then be challenged to try to use the word as many
times as possible that day.

72
Many students will need to be explicitly taught how to use a dictionary
(and thesaurus). Begin by sequencing the alphabet in order to strengthen
the student’s ability and speed in looking up words in a thesaurus and
dictionary. Give them exercises where they have to give the sequence
of just three letters such as ‘what are the two letters that come after “j”.
They may need a lot of practice with this first step.
Next, teach the use of guide words – first and last word on a page – and
give them exercises encouraging the students to practise using guide
words. For example, create a page with guide words along with a list of
words that would be found on the same page as the guide words and
some words that could come before or after.

Look at the following list of words: banter, build, blimp, both, bite, busy,
boat. If the guide words are bask and bother, will they be found between
bask and bother (thus being on the same page) or will they come before
or after.

73
 Creating and using a personal
word bank
Many readers have difficulty in writing fluently because they have a word
finding difficulty or they have a limited vocabulary. Additionally, some
students may use the wrong word or use the word in the wrong context.
It is useful to provide a list of keywords but, additionally, it is a good idea
if the student created his/her own words. This can be done through the
development of a word bank that is personalized for the student. It is
also a good idea to have the meaning of the word next to the word to
ensure that the word is used appropriately. Most software programmes
have a good thesaurus that can also be used for this purpose and the
student can use this to add to his/her personal word bank.

74
Building a Word Bank
Give the students a topic for writing a story along with a few keywords.
Before the students begin to write, they can create their own personal
word bank to use in the story by looking up the keywords in a thesaurus.
For example, give the students the topic ‘pirates’ and then give them the
words ocean, treasure, boat and shipwrecked. They can also brainstorm
for other words that trigger their imagination when they hear the word
‘pirate’. Using a children’s thesaurus, have the students look up each word
and build a bank of words to use in a story. Then using their bank of words
they can begin to create a storyline using vocabulary that is more
interesting than they may have been able to come up with without the
word bank.
Another way to get students using a thesaurus and adding to
their word bank is to give them a common word in the middle of a page.
Using a thesaurus, have the students fill up the page with words that
could be used instead of the common word. Some common words that
tend to be overused in students writing are: said, happy, sad, cold, hot,
great, fantastic, amazing, mad, pretty.
They can keep all of their personal word banks in a notebook for future
writing.

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 6 Self-awareness
Successful learning

Use peer interaction to develop

learning competencies
It is important to encourage students to work together constructively
to develop their learning skills. They need to appreciate that learning is
something they can have control over. It does not just happen – they can
make it happen. This can be done through working together and they
need to be encouraged to reflect on the learning processes they are
engaged in. Too often, students are preoccupied with the result and
the end product but it is important to get them to engage in the process
of learning and to share in each other’s skills and abilities. This process of
peer interaction can be made more effective by providing students with
a framework for questioning so that they know whether they are on the
right track or not, and very importantly which questions to ask of each
other. The idea behind this is that it provides the group with reflective skills
and encourages them to respect each other’s ideas and styles. It may be
necessary as a teacher to reflect on the group dynamics. Either group the
students with similar learning styles to make the collaborative process
smoother or mix different styles within the group ensuring the styles
complement each other. It is important that students do get practice
working with others for different styles. Peer interaction can be a useful
way of encouraging students to reflect on their own learning style and to
appreciate other students learning preferences.

76
It is important to have a range of strategies and techniques to
assist with successful learning. Demonstrate these to students
and allow them to become proficient at using the ones they like
to use.

Provide a 4-point group framework for questioning during a group task.

1. What have we got to do here?
This encourages the learners to reflect on the task. Too many students rush
into a task and then realize midway through that they have not fully
understood the question. This allows them to analyse the task and
provides the opportunity to plan a response.
2. What is each person in the group responsible for?
Who is good at leading the discussion, taking notes, reflecting and
asking the questions, finding the resources, doing the visuals, organizing
the information, presenting the information, reporting on the output.
3. What is our plan for completing this task?
Identify the beginning, middle and end part of the task, allocating how
long each part of the task will take, giving the group some control over
the process.
4. Reflective meeting
At the end of the project/task the group should have an open
discussion on how well they did, what they may have done differently
and what they learned from doing the task both as individuals and
as a group.

77
 Time management
There is always more information and tasks to complete than students
have time for. Everyone has to practise time management. It is important
to discuss this with students – even young students – as it is never too
early to help students organize how they plan to use their time. You might
want to keep these 6 steps to time management in mind.
1. Wanting to use time more efficiently is the motivation part and is really
very important as the student has to be organized and has to use his/
her time efficiently.
2. Planning what needs to be done will need practice and you could
start by giving the student a template of a plan and get them to
complete it.
3. Organizing what needs to be done will involve making a ‘To do’
list – using colour and patterns can make it a fun activity for
students.
4. Doing what needs to be done is the action part and the student may
need some initial support with this.
5. Self-monitoring what is being done is important for developing
independent learning.
6. Evaluating what has been done can help to make learning more
efficient and help the student to be able to use effective strategies for
new learning.
All the way through the learning process, students should be encouraged
to ask themselves questions such as how can I do this more effectively
and how can I use my time more efficiently.

78
Get students to follow the routine below:
z Write down tasks as they are received including due dates.
z Construct a weekly list based on order of importance.
z Allocate tasks to appropriate time slots during the week; encourage
students to consider their personal activity schedule when thinking of
due dates.
z Undertake more thought-orientated tasks at times when freshest.
z Divide long tasks into smaller units allocating time for each.
z Look for tasks that can be discarded.
z Identify sources that can enable successful completion of tasks.
z Avoid taking on more than is reasonably possible to complete.
z Checking off tasks once they are completed is an important part of the
process as this gives them self-satisfaction.

To Do:
Time Task Completed

Monday †
Tuesday †
Wednesday †
Thursday †
Friday †
Saturday †
Sunday †

79
 Maths strategies
Students can often experience difficulties in maths even though they
are competent in other subjects. These difficulties can include memory,
speed of working, literacy and understanding diagrams and graphs.
Some students are also challenged because of their lack of conceptual
understanding in maths and understanding the very specific meaning
of mathematical terms, which can also be confused with everyday
non-mathematical meanings. Weak understanding of mathematical
concepts plus an uncertainty about procedures and methods can result
in a lack of confidence in writing tasks, for example, explaining, discussing,
working out and making notes.
Some students are able to cope by following instructions during the
lesson, but when they try the same procedure for homework, they have
forgotten what to do. Often transferring their own notes on to index
cards with examples can help them to remember the procedure in
further problems. If the index cards are filed under the topic heading
then they are easily located for future reference.

80
Develop a chart such as the one below with a column for difficulties and
one for response. Support the student in developing one of their own that
they can keep adding to it. An example is shown below.

Difficulty Response

Difficulty with mathematical Use floor mats or carpet tiles

language, e.g. horizontal, vertical, arranged in a square and allow
diagonal students to make a diagonal line
corner to corner
Verbal instructions are forgotten Give instructions one step at a time.
quickly Chunk information. Encourage the
student to highlight each step in
a written maths problem
May forget a long sequence of steps Develop a sequence checklist for
calculation methods and
procedures
Difficulties with remembering the Teach times tables in a multi-
sequence of times tables sensory way looking for patterns,
using colour coding, verbalizing
using rhythm and rhyme, finger
tables and listening to tables with
music
Difficulty remembering formulae Teach formulae in a fun way. Use
mnemonics and rhymes, colour
coding and jingles
Unable to remember details of the Give out the homework at the
homework beginning of the lesson when
there is time to check that the
student has all the information
Allow the student extra time and
ensure that he/she is not under
pressure to read and respond
quickly

81
 Many mathematical terms are multi-syllabic, for example, isosceles,
vertices, multiplication; for some students it can be difficult to read fluently.
Also, in maths text, the flow of reading is not always left to right as some
questions contain tables and diagrams. It can be important to check the
readability level of the maths books.

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 Use multiple intelligences
There has been a great deal of discussion on the value of the concept of
intelligence and the work of Howard Gardner on multiple intelligences.
Multiple intelligences can help to gain an understanding of the student’s
different learning preferences and can provide some guidance on how to
develop materials and teach a wide range of students. Practical
applications of these intelligences should be explored when teaching
students. Gardner believes each individual has 8 intelligences. These are:
1. Visual/spatial intelligence
2. Verbal/linguistic intelligence
3. Logical/mathematical intelligence
4. Bodily/Kinaesthetic intelligence
5. Musical/rhythmic intelligence
6. Interpersonal intelligence (social skills)
7. Intrapersonal intelligence (metacognitive skills)
8. Naturalistic intelligence (awareness of surroundings and of nature).

84
Make up a chart inserting some practical applications for each of the
multiple intelligences – as in the example below:

Intelligence type Characteristics Practical applications

Visual/spatial Puzzle building, Designing and

intelligence understanding charts producing a folio of
and graphs, sketching, creative and visual
painting, constructing, product
designing practical
objects
Verbal/linguistic Listening, speaking, Explaining concepts or
intelligence writing, explaining answers to questions
without writing it
down
Logical/ Ability to use reason, logic Use formulae and
mathematical and numbers, shapes as well as
intelligence performing complex whole page diagrams
mathematical and flow charts
calculations, working
with geometric shapes
Bodily/Kinaesthetic These learners express Hands-on experience of
intelligence themselves through practical tasks will
movement. provide excellent ways
Experiencing the in which to remember
physical process of a information
task enables them to
remember and process
information
Musical/rhythmic Whistling, playing musical When memorizing
intelligence instruments, recognizing information, the use of
tonal patterns, a poem/rap to do this
composing music, can help jog the
remembering melodies, memory in an exam
understanding the
structure and rhythm of
music

85
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Interpersonal Seeing things from other Group discussion,
intelligence perspectives (dual arguments and
perspective), debates
cooperating with
groups, noticing
people’s moods,
motivations and
intentions
Intrapersonal These learners try to Evaluating work,
intelligence understand their inner developing learning
feelings, strengths and strategies – group
weaknesses work
Naturalistic Studying in a natural Look at connections in
intelligence setting, learning about nature and life cycles
how things work.
Categorizing,
preservation and
conservation

87
 7 Whole school
Self-awareness
approaches

Promote emotional literacy

Emotional literacy is important as it helps learners feel more aware of
their needs and the needs of others and it can help with collaborative
learning. Emotional literacy can be linked to emotional intelligence.
Both relate to the capacity in individuals (and groups) to perceive,
understand and mange emotions in oneself and relating to others.
This is very important for individual and social learning. Emotional literacy,
to have any impact on the education and the lives of children, has to be
fully absorbed and fully included into a whole school ethos. This is
important as it is often the case that emotional problems underlie the
behavioural problems that can be seen in the classroom.
There are five pathways to emotional intelligence – self-awareness,
self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social competence. These are
all necessary for the development of emotional well-being and emotional
literacy. To ensure that schools have an ethos that is conducive to
emotional literacy, factors such as organizational climate, organizational
change, bullying, teacher stress, circle time, communication, motivation,
feedback, thinking skills, developing interpersonal skills and the role of
reflection are all crucial.

88
Effective learning is a whole school responsibility – engage the
staff, create a positive learning climate and make your school a
centre of excellence for learning.

You can help to develop emotional literacy by preparing an emotional

literacy checklist. An example of this is shown below.
z Does the learner show any stress signs?
z Can the student be left to work independently?
z Can the student persist with the task or will he/she require monitoring?
z Can the learner only work for short periods?
z Does the learner require constant reassurance?
z Is the learner aware of the needs of others?
The above can serve as a monitoring or checking sheet to ascertain that
the learner is emotionally ready for the task. It may be necessary to do
some preparatory work on learner’s emotional well-being before they
can work independently on tasks. It is also worth noting that emotional
literacy is a whole school responsibility. Children may well develop
emotional literacy in one class, but if they are in a school which does not
have an emotional literacy ethos then the gains will be lost. The idea of
developing a sound emotional and social ethos should be one of the
school’s priorities

89
 Becoming emotionally prepared
for the task
It is worthwhile taking time to ensure the learner is emotionally ready
for the task. Some learners can feel totally swamped and overwhelmed
by a task and it is necessary to talk this through with them before they
proceed.
They may have difficulty in accessing the learning materials and this can
provide a reason why some learners stumble emotionally when learning –
perhaps the books and other materials they need are beyond their current
level of knowledge and understanding. This needs to be checked out with
the learner.
To ascertain readiness it is important to check out some points before the
task such as: Can the student identify the key points of the topic? The key
points should be discussed with the student individually and new
information should be identified before the student embarks on the task.
At the end of the task learners should be asked if they think they were
successful and what they found easy or difficult. But importantly, they
should be asked what could/should they have known before they started
the task? This question is important as it relates to how prepared they were
for the task.
Although these points relate to individual students and are carried out in
the classroom they should be considered as whole school approaches as
they represent good practice which will benefit all students.

90
 Double F, P, R formula
Use the double F, P, R formula
(Feelings, Feedback, Perspective, Process, Reasons, Realign)
Feelings – ask how they feel about doing the task.
It is important to ensure that the child has a positive view of the task –
any barrier that prevents that should be dealt with at this stage.
Feedback – feedback to them what they have already achieved towards
doing the task.
This is important as it reassures the students and helps them appreciate
that the goal is achievable.
Perspective – put in perspective what they have to achieve.
Process – together with the learner talk through the process – indicate
clearly what has to be done first and then second.
Reasons – identify the reasons for any feelings of being overwhelmed and
why this should be the case.
Realign – this is about goals and expectations – realign jointly with the
learners some suggested goals that can be achieved.
It is important to go through each of these individually with the student.
This process also provides a degree of control for the learner, particularly
the last part where they can devise their own goals for the new learning.
It is important that all new learnings are within the leaner’s comfort zone;
therefore, it is crucial that they have some input in devising their goals.
There is a great deal of research on the importance of emotional factors
in learners and it is worthwhile spending some time in ensuring that the
child is emotionally prepared for the new piece of learning. This may
require some pre-task discussion or a boost to their confidence. This can
come from ensuring that the task is appropriate. Therefore, getting the
child to be emotionally prepared for learning can have as much to do
with the task as the child.

91
 De-stress the school
It is important to consider the relationship between stress and learning.
There is a wide range of reasons why learners can experience stress. This
includes:
z Worry/anxiety
It is important to be aware that children can worry about things that
seem to be irrelevant to the adult. It is important to take all children’s
anxieties seriously.
z Social reasons
School is a social institution but some children find it difficult to fit
into school. This can make them socially isolated and can be a chronic
source of unhappiness for many children.
z Family reasons
Families can occupy the central role in children’s lives. If things go wrong
or changes are made to the family life in whatever way, this can have an
upsetting affect on some children.
z School learning
School can also be a competitive institution. This is fine as it can stretch
children to achieve, but at the same time it can demoralize children who
have difficulty in achieving. Ensure expectations are realistic.
z School friendships
Peer-group friendships are vitally important to most children. A breakdown
in these can be the main source of unhappiness at school for some
children. This should not be taken lightly and activities such as circle time
can help to develop peer-group friendships and understanding. Be on the
lookout for bullying in school.

92
Some strategies that can deal with stress and anxiety include the following:
z Activities
Most types of activities can help to alleviate stress. Children often feel more
relaxed after exercise as long as the exercise is not of a competitive nature.
z Music
It is important that the right type of music is selected – the best idea is to
get the student to try working and studying with different types of music
to work out which, if any, is best.
z Yoga
Yoga involves both mental and physical capacities and has a relaxing effect
on people as it helps them to switch off from their daily routine and helps
them to relax.
z Reflection
Reflection essentially means that children need to take time out from what
they are doing to reflect. Reflection can help them to deal with the pace of
life in school and the expectations.
z Talk
Talking though a problem or a situation can help to clarify the situation in
ones mind.
z Reading
Reading can be relaxing but some children have difficulty in reading, and
for them it can be a stressful activity. It is important to try to engage all
children in reading, and to do this it is crucial that the right levels of reading
materials are found.
z Succeeding
Success can be enjoyed and takes much pressure off an individual. But
children may not be successful in every area of school life. It is important
that the expectations and the task are geared to the individual child. That
way there will be a greater possibility of that child achieving success.

93
 Prioritize effective learning
through staff development
Effective learning should be seen as a whole school initiative and therefore
should be a priority in staff development.
Some key points that should be considered in staff development include:
z the need for opportunities to help all learners develop social learning
skills
z the nature of the learning experience for all learners
z whole school awareness of emotional literacy and stress prevention
z the need to value all students and staff as this will influence the school
ethos and the learning performances of all students.
Some of the issues that can have an impact on the staff relate to the
multi-faceted dimensions of teachers’ roles in schools today. They can
experience both role ambiguity and role conflict. Some teachers may be
unclear of their actual role – for example, the conflict that often exists
between dealing with the learning and emotional needs of the children
on the one hand, and the need to get through a crowded syllabus and
ensuring that the students are equipped for examinations on the other
hand can produce role conflict. Sometimes, conflict can arise due to
misunderstandings and the inability to identify the actual problem.
For this reason, staff development is important as it involves the whole
staff and can provide opportunities to air concerns about the pace and
the nature of the students’ learning experiences and the staff’s teaching
role in development work, planning and teaching.

94
Develop a staff workshop to address whole school needs to enhance
effective learning in the school. An outline of the key points is shown
below and this is in fact a summary of the key points of this book.

Slide 1 Slide 2
Key factors for effective learning Learning to learn

• Identifying and dealing with • Make connections

barriers to learning • Metacognition
• Learning to learn • Promote independent
• Memory learning
• Motivation • Learning styles
• Making reading and writing • Reduce stress
effective • Develop collaborative
• Successful learning learning
• Whole school approaches

Slide 3 Slide 4
Memory Motivation
Key ideas to develop memory
• Stimulate to motivate
skills
• Locus of control/intrinsic
• Prioritize motivation
• Organize information • IEPs and motivation
• Use visuals • Creativity and motivation
• Chunking and making
connections
• Re-enact and discuss
Slide 5 Slide 6
Reading and effective learning • Writing and effective learning
• Inferential reading and critical • Developing creative writing
thinking • Visual planning skills
• Develop reading goals • Expanding vocabulary
• Selecting a book
• Provide vocabulary lists
• The reading environment

95
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Slide 7 Slide 8
Successful learning Whole school approaches
• Developing learning • Emotional literacy
competencies • Self-esteem
• Help students to use self- • School factors – ethos, stress
questioning • Staff development
• The importance of time • The school environment – a
management positive learning environment
• Maths and effective learning
• Multiple intelligence and
successful learning

Ma
ke le ng fun
arni

97
Further reading and other
sources of information
Books and toolkits
Came, F., Cooke, G. and Brough, M. (2002), Learning Toolkit volume 1 and
volume 2 available at Learning Works, 9 Barrow Close, Marlborough,
Wiltshire, SN8 2YY.
[Link]

Ginnis, P. (2003), The Teacher’s Toolkit – Raise Classroom Achievement

with Strategies for Every Learner. Carmarthen, Wales: Crown House
Publishing Ltd.
[Link]

This teacher’s toolkit contains ideas and game activities for teaching and
learning.

Lazear, D. (2004), OutSmart Yourself! 16 Proven Multiple Intelligence

Strategies for Becoming Smarter Than You Think You Are.
This book focuses on the theory of multiple intelligences proposed
by Harvard psychologist Dr Howard Gardner.
David Lazear Products available at [Link] and Arlington
Heights, IL, Skylight Professional Development.

Reid, G. (2007), Motivating Learners in the Classroom: Ideas and Strategies.

London: Sage Publications.
[Link]
Reid, G. (2007), Learning Styles and Inclusion. London: Sage Publications.

Topping, K. J. (2001), Thinking Reading Writing: A Practical Guide to Paired

Learning with Peers, Parents and Volunteers. New York and London:
Continuum International.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978), Mind in Society: The Development of Higher
Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1986), Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Other sources of information
Alistair Smith number of books on learning including Accelerated Learning: A
User’s Guide and The ALPS Approach: Accelerated Learning in Primary Schools.
[Link]
Accelerated Learning in Training and Education, Alite Ltd., Bourne Park Cores
End Road, Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, SL8 5AS, United Kingdom
Barrington Stoke Ltd (10 Belford Terrace, Edinburgh EH4 3DQ; website:
[Link]) provide a range of books for reluctant readers,
including teenage fiction.

Crossbow Education (41 Sawpit Lane, Brocton, Stafford ST17 0TE; tel: 01785
660902; website: [Link]) specialize in games for
children with difficulties in reading, spelling and memory and produce game
activities on literacy and numeracy.

Mandy Appleyard, Educational Consultant, Fun Track Learning Centre, Perth,

Western Australia
Centre address, Fun Track Learning Centre, Unit 2, 590 Stirling Highway,
Mosman Park WA 6012, Western Australia, [Link]