Teaching and Learning

 

‘Game, set, match.’

At College, we want each student to be the best that they can be.

Being the best requires effort, purpose, preparation and commitment. Being the best means we will make mistakes, we will need to try again, it will be hard work. It does not mean that we are okay with mediocrity – being so-so, half-hearted. Being the best you can be as a learner requires a few simple things, but they are not as complex as you might think. There are three key ideas:

• Show up – be present in each and every class, ready to learn, to listen, to observe.

• Be Curious – be ready to learn new things, hard things, challenging concepts and ideas.

• Be open – be ready to let a new idea percolate, settle and re-emerge in your mind. Sometimes it takes time to understand, know and apply a new skill.

The teachers here at College get excited when students are in that learning zone – showing up, being curious and open to the possibilities that real learning offers.

This week at Assembly we celebrated the efforts of some of our students who have worked hard to learn – in new environments, with a new learning community.

Learning happens when you can be confident that the people around you are supportive of your efforts. For students, it is when you trust your teachers to guide you, your classmates to barrack for you and your parent to encourage you.

In the “Performing Beyond Expectations Project” (2010), a team of international researchers led by Andy Hargreaves and Alma Harris found that relationships were, in fact, a key component of student academic success. There is a lot of emerging research that suggests that strong, positive relationships are core to effective learning. Hattie’s work (2015) suggests that establishing a positive and supportive classroom environment, combined with productive relationships between teachers and their students, will provide a platform in which students are encouraged and motivated to grow both academically and personally.

I know that one of the strengths of this College community is our connectedness. The working relationships between teachers, students and parents are integral to each student’s academic success. This commitment to persevering and doing your best is encapsulated in Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘If’. Kipling was an English poet who lived from 1865-1936.  The poem’s line, “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat these two impostors just the same,” is written on the wall of the players’ entrance at Wimbledon.

Our students are not unlike the famous players at Wimbledon. They are called to persevere on good days and bad, when they feel like winners and when they feel overwhelmed. It is the people around us, the teachers, parents and classmates, who will help each young person on their learning journey ahead.

Susan Bradbeer

Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning