Last week I was engaged in a conversation by a Year 2 student, who having walked past me initially, stopped and came back to tell me how well she was doing with her learning. She spoke about how she was trying much harder this year and felt like she was succeeding. She commented that she was more responsible now that she was in Year 2 and even her parents had commented on this at home as she assumed some responsibility for her younger sister. That conversation made my day and I was keen to share it with whomever would listen. For me, those comments came from someone who now recognised herself as a learner and wanted everyone to know about it. The fact that she stopped to regale her current experiences with me meant that she also recognised that I would be interested to hear the details. I was very interested because that is in part, what it means to be a Visible Learning school. It is about the growth of every individual learner as they are challenged, experience difficulty, find success as well as the skill, will and thrill to go through it all again knowing that it is hard work. It is also about the support offered by inspired and passionate teachers in an environment where learners feel safe to take risks, knowing that mistakes are part of the learning process.

Some people might be under the impression that being a Visible Learning school means that the learners are left to their own devices to discover the knowledge and understanding of each curriculum area.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Visible Learning recognises that at the initial stages of the learning process, the teacher must use highly effective strategies to help learners acquire, consolidate and recall the foundational facts, processes and concepts. As the learning process develops, highly effective strategies are used to deepen the learning by encouraging learners to make connections.  The teacher is key to determining when the scaffolds are reduced or removed entirely, depending on the needs of the students. Teaching is an art and a science.  Next term, we will explore aspects of the learning process in more detail to give parents and carers a greater insight into Visible Learning.

Mrs Sarah Yates