Learner Agency is an outcome, not a pedagogy
There’s a lot of talk in education at the moment about Learner Agency (aka student agency). In the name of agency we are supposed to give students “voice and choice” in their learning. But there’s…
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Where to begin with Habits of Mind
I began my work with the Habits of Mind more than 20 years ago. It was a time when the education system was undergoing major curriculum changes. We had three “new” curriculums in five years.…
Where do the Habits of Mind fit?
Last week, I discussed how staff at my school were able to “find” the Habits of Mind in the curriculum, as well as in their big-picture visions of student learning. By doing so, they realised…
Four Pathways to a Fixed Mindset
There is a common assumption that someone with a Fixed Mindset is a low achiever, and someone with a Growth Mindset is a high achiever. This is simply not true. In the first chapter of…
Authentic V’s learned Mindsets
How you get your Mindset makes all the difference! Recently, I was re-reading the first chapter of Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, and something extraordinary struck me. In just the first…
The True value of a Picasso
There is a fable about Spanish artist Pablo Picasso that goes along these lines. Picasso was sitting on a park bench when a young woman came up to him and asked, “Could you draw me…
How Growth Mindset became last years initiative?
As the new school year starts, I find myself reflecting on the past few years and asking why the Growth Mindset has become “last year’s initiative”. It’s seems like only a few years ago that…
Your Whole School Approach To Habits of Mind
Plus a bonus interview with Art Costa and Bena Kallick It’s been more than 25 years since Art Costa and Bena Kallick introduced the world to the Habits of Mind. In that time, the Habits…
From Toffler to Today: Why Learnership Is the New Literacy
In 1970, futurist Alvin Toffler wrote a prediction that would prove more prophetic than even he imagined: The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who…
Experience V’s Expertise
Should the people who’ve been in the job the longest be paid the most money? This is the way many businesses work. Employers pay their staff an annual increment based on their years of employment,…