Hands On Heads Literacy Coaching 

Dear Principals, 

Along with many curious educators, I attended The University of Melbourne's Dean's Lectre Series. This week, Guy Claxton's lecture of the topic: The Science of Learning: What Does It Really Tell Us About Teaching? 

At present, the education world feels overwhelming, confusing and full of uncertainty- Are we doing the ‘right’ thing? Did we invest in the ‘right’ resource? Have we made the ‘right’ decision? Have we supported our teachers enough?

Have we done enough for our students? And as a leader, the weight of these questions falls on your shoulders. 

To reassure you, after listening to Guy, I walked away feeling inspired, excited and ambitious about what’s possible….and you can too. Here’s why:

• Learning Sciences is a plural concept, there is no ONE or THE. It's a combination of theories and approaches, not a reliance on one single approach (This connects strongly to my ‘multidimensional approach to literacy’.)

   

• Curiosity, imagination and collaboration are drivers of the learning experience- learning is not just about retaining and retrieving information (I believe effective collaboration is significantly missing in many classrooms.)

   

• Student interests need to be considered in our classrooms

   

• Mistakes and setbacks form part of the learning process and experience, and we should provide a learning environment for growth and resilience

   

• Education should focus not only on knowledge acquisition but also on emotional, social, and collaborative skills (I don’t believe this is balanced in many contexts at the moment and needs to be.)

   

• Science doesn’t dictate how we should teach or run the education system, but science should deepen our understanding of it and inform our choices. (This aligns naturally to my values- ‘grounded in evidence, based on research and informed by practice’.)

   

• We need to consider our values and purpose and how they align to education

   

• What do we want our 'desired outcomes' to be?

As we’re currently in a transitional phase, especially with literacy blocks and English lessons, I wanted to share my top takeaways with you — both as my own reflection and as a recognition of the powerful practices, I imagine, already in place because of your leadership. Apologies, I couldn't keep them to only a few succinct takeaways- sorry! If you’re interested in viewing the lecture, the recording is available to watch.