APA News

IGNITE LEARNING 

At St Saviour's Primary we want our learners to STRIVE at LEARNING and at LIFE and they can do that through the following learning dispositions:

For those of you have read my last three newsletter articles, I have written of some different ideas that you can try at home to promote the dispositions of being curious, determined and adventurous. This week, I would like to introduce the disposition of being collaborative.

Collaborative learners work well as part of a team.  They are inclined to listen carefully to others and build on their contributions.  They know there is a time to hold back and listen and not get carried away with their own contributions.  They know that learners that they do not often spend time with are often valuable people to collaborate with as they bring different perspectives to the conversation.  

At St Saviour's Primary School, collaborative and cooperative learning situations are becoming more and more frequent in the classrooms.  Learning in the real world can be a very social process, so children need to practise the skills of collaboration in a school environment.  

Some of these effective skills include; listening attentively and accurative to each other, speaking clearly and looking at others when talking, taking turns to talk, bulding on each others' contributions, knowing how to disagree respectfully, being kind and generous to those who are struggling and having the confidence to think aloud in the company of others.

At the same time, there are several advantages for learners when collaborative tasks are used in a classroom.  They include, but are not limited to; developing social skills, improving speaking and listening skills, creating class cohesion, supporting inclusion, the shifting of classroom ethos from competition to cooperation, deepening empathy for others, developing a growth mindset and sparking new friendships. 

If you are talking to your child about their day, why not ask if any collaborative learning happened at school today and discuss what they learned during this process. 

Sources:

Claxton, G. & Carlzon, B.  (2019).  Powering up Children: The Learning Power Approach to Primary Teaching.  California, USA: Corwin.

Claxton, G. (2018).  The Learning Power Approach: Teaching learners to teach themselves.  California, USA: Corwin.

If you would like to provide any feedback or a story of your child being collaborative at home, please feel free to email me.  sam.hannant@twb.catholic.edu.au