Jumpstart Learning

There is a lot of pressure on kids to succeed. And whilst some stress can be good - at certain times and in small amounts it can help with focus and attention - too much stress can lead to feelings of overwhelm. And 'success' is a fraught concept too - it so often just becomes about nothing more than a grade on a paper.

At DCC we are working hard to change that paradigm. Our students are made in the image of God, with individual gifts and talents that should be recognised and celebrated. But we also know that they need to learn to persevere when learning gets tough, to push through the hard stuff and to understand that learning is so much more than just their final grade.

This is where Jumpstart Learning comes in. Jumpstart Learning is our bespoke DCC learning program that is all about teaching our kids how to become better learners, and the skills and strategies of what to do when they don't know what to do. A bit of metacognition, a bit of neuroscience and a bit of psychology - all combined to help our students actually understand how the brain learns and how they can harness the enormous potential of their neural networks and cognitive abilities to help them to learn more efficiently and study more effectively.

Jumpstart Learning is currently being rolled out in the Year 10 program, with the goal of establishing a learning program for each year of Secondary school. The Year 10s have so far attended sessions that have unpacked what learning looks like, how the brain filters information, how memory works and the thinking process. This term they will focus on what to do to improve memory retention and how to study more effectively for their upcoming exams. 

Jumpstart Learning was conceptualised by our Head of Learning and Curriculum (Secondary) Rebecca Hunter, and is currently being developed by her and Psychology teacher, Katelyn Reed, with insights and input from our resident doctor, Leanne Benson. It is based on considerable research and is helping students own their own learning, rather than having school being something that is ‘done at them’. 

We thank them all for their work on this exciting project!