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Maths & Memory - for Years 6-8

- establishing the patterning base of maths and memory

Learning About Learning for Years 7-10

- noticing and improving learning strategies and
techniques, developing personal learning style for success at
school

Exam Confidence for Years 10-13

- practical study and self-motivation skills for high
achievement in all tests and exams

Learning Resilience for Years 12 & 13 & GATE

- developing flexible thinking, understanding intelligence,
becoming a resilient learner

Structure:
Time management
Phones
Refreshment, Bathroom

Teaching/Learning Methods
Objectives Content and Skills
Nomenclature every lesson is a language lesson
Process logs metacognition by reflection
Memory - Summerisation and Review

1) What are our first content objectives and how will we

know we have been successful?

Become aware of learning skills programmes in place

worldwide
view evidence

Become familiar with IB MYP ATL framework

Scan framework

Consider ATL at my school

reflective exercise

2) What are our first ATL Skills objectives and how will we know we
have been successful?

Effective communication and collaboration in groups?

2i Listen actively to other perspectives and ideas - How will you

know?

Creative thinking
9h Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or

processes - How will you know?

Critical thinking
8j Revise understanding based on new information and evidence -

How will you know?

Learning Skills programmes in place

worldwide

IB MYP ATL framework

The new words for this lesson are:

Translated into all the primary languages in

use in this room

To help students:

To help them become:

gain good qualifications?

self-motivated

get into a good university?

self-directed

get a good job?

self-regulated

prepare for life?

autonomous

develop into brilliant

independent

learners?

lifelong learners?

and if so, how do we measure our success?

 Could part of the problem be a lack

of the right skills to be able to learn
successfully in a self-regulated

learning environment?

up to 73% of university students report difficulties preparing

for an exam

most tertiary students have been found to have weak or

ineffective strategies for processing information both in the
classroom and in their own study

when making notes from lectures or from text most students

miss 60 - 70% of the key points
-

good note making is positively correlated with

academic achievement

material omitted from notes has only a 5 - 15%

chance of being recalled

Even when they have good notes many students

still have great difficulty organising the
information they have collected.

52% admit that their notes are disorganised

61% report having trouble sequencing the ideas to

make coherent sense

At the secondary level, even given well organised, well

structured notes with summaries provided:

two thirds of students study for tests purely by

rereading their notes

more than half of them do that reading the day before

the test or exam

around 12% of students do nothing more than recopy

their notes verbatim

50% use passive repetition of key points as their single

study technique.

 setting learning goals

planning out study, managing time well
asking good questions
generating self-motivation and perseverance

processing information effectively skimming, sifting,

sorting, comparing, verifying, paraphrasing, recording

overcoming procrastination, working to deadlines
reflecting on learning progress process and content
learning from every mistake and bouncing back
making changes to learning processes where necessary
and trying again

What are your students like?

Do your students have all these skills?

How do you know?

Is achieving good grades and passing exams

good evidence of the use of effective, selfregulated learning skills, techniques and
strategies?

In the USA - 400 top corporate recruiters look for:

1) Oral and written communication skills
2) Critical thinking and problem solving skills
3) Professionalism and work ethic

4) Collaboration across networks

5) Ability to work in diverse teams
6) Fluency with information technology
7) Leadership and project management skills

Knowledge of mathematics came 14th on the list just ahead of science

knowledge and foreign language comprehension

Ways of Thinking
Creativity and innovation
Critical thinking, problem solving, decision making
Learning to learn, metacognition
Ways of Working
Communication
Collaboration & teamwork
Tools for Working
Information literacy
ICT literacy
Living in the World
Citizenship local and global
Life and career
Personal & social responsibility including cultural awareness and competence

(Binkley, Erstad, Herman, Raizen, Ripley & Rumble, 2010)

2008 QCA - A Framework of personal, learning and

thinking skills that are essential to success in learning,
life and work:

Independent inquirers

Creative thinkers

Reflective learners

Team workers

Self-managers

Effective participators

CCSS Common Core State Standards adopted by 47 states

Critical Thinking:

Analyze, Evaluate, Problem Solve

Creative Thinking:

Generate, Associate, Hypothesize

Complex Thinking:

Clarify, Interpret, Determine

Comprehensive Thinking:

Understand, Infer, Compare

Collaborative Thinking:

Explain, Develop, Decide

Communicative Thinking:

Reason, Connect, Represent

Cognitive Transfer of Thinking:

Synthesize, Generalize, Apply

Learning Skills and Work Habits:

Responsibility

Organization

Independent Work

Collaboration

Initiative

Self-Regulation

Poland
Belgium
Italy
Korea
Singapore
Mexico
New Zealand
The Slovak Republic
Spain
and Turkey
have all developed (or are currently
developing) curricula of essential learning
skills for students

Communication
Skills

Selfmanagement
Skills

Communication

Organization

Information
literacy

Creative
Thinking

Affective Skills

Media literacy

Transfer

Reflection

Thinking Skills

Critical
Thinking

Social Skills

Collaboration

Research Skills

Communication

Interactive - the skills of effectively exchanging thoughts, messages

and information through interaction
Language - the skills of reading, writing and using language to
communicate information

Collaboration
Organization

The skills of working cooperatively with others

The skills of effectively managing time and tasks

Affective skills

The skills of managing state of mind

Reflection

The metacognitive skills of re-considering what has been taught

and learned by reflection on content, ATL skill proficiency and
learning strategy use

Information
literacy

The skills of finding, interpreting, judging and creating information

Media literacy

The skills of interacting with different media to compare and

contrast different representations of information

Critical thinking

The skills of critique of text, media, ideas and issues

Creative thinking

The skills of invention developing things and ideas that never

existed before

Transfer

Utilising skills and knowledge in multiple contexts

Reflection
Divide the outer circle into as
many people there are in your
group. For each persons section,
write how you implement ATL in
your classroom.
Write how you
implement ATL into your
subject department.
Write how you
implement ATL as
a whole school.

Content understandings?
3 Key points?
Any inspirations, implications, questions?

Skills proficiency?
2i Listen actively to other perspectives and ideas
8j Revise understanding based on new information and evidence
9h Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or

processes

Teaching/learning processes effectiveness?

What strategies have been used so far?
How have they worked for you?

1) What are our next content objectives?

Understand significant issues with respect to metacognition

How will we know? Be able to answer what, why and how

questions
2) What are our ATL Skills objectives?
2i Listen actively to other perspectives and ideas
9h Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or

processes
8j Revise understanding based on new information and

evidence

ATL Skills are not subject matter in themselves, they

are a collection of the processes - skills, techniques
and strategies - needed to learn any and every subject.

ATL Skills are not more content to be learned they are

processes to be noticed, experienced and improved.

Metacognition thinking about thinking - helping students

to notice their own learning and thinking processes:

Metacognitive Knowledge students gaining awareness

of the thinking and learning strategies, techniques and
skills they use at present

Metacognitive Performance students using that

knowledge to improve their performance, to change
ineffective strategies, try new techniques, learn new skills

Student Self-Regulation of Learning

High

Low

Self initiated task

statements

22 per hour

11 per hour

Questions asked
by students

questioning peers half

the time

mostly asking the

teacher

Task directed
statements from
teacher

2
- encouraging the
childs own thinking
and planning

17
- doing the thinking
and planning for the
child

The Student tries to solve the problem and describe their own problem
solving process - out loud
I see ......

I imagine ....

Im having trouble with ..

I think .......

I notice ........

I would like to

I know ......

I am trying to ........

I just cant work out

The Teacher keeps the student talking by only asking questions:

focus on the process not the solution

draw out problem solving strategies from the student

ask process focused questions how are you? what are you thinking..?

DO NOT HELP THE STUDENT FIND THE ANSWER

The aim of the exercise is for the student to use

the Tengram puzzle to investigate their own

problem solving strategies for visual puzzles

The teacher is trying to help them get clear

about their thinking and learning strategies

The observer is trying to keep them both on

task

Content understandings?
What, why and how? One key point per table

Any inspirations, implications, questions?

ATL Skills proficiency?

2i Listen actively to other perspectives and ideas
8j Revise understanding based on new information and evidence
9h Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or

processes

Teaching/learning processes effectiveness?

What have we done so far?

How has it worked for you?

1) What are our next content objectives?

To understand how vertical and horizontal plans of ATL Skills articulation

could be developed across your school

To investigate issues of implementing an ATL Skills programme key skills,

assessment, teaching practice, reporting and relate them to your own
school environment

2) What are our ATL Skills objectives?

2i Listen actively to other perspectives and ideas
9h Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or

processes
8j Revise understanding based on new information and evidence

Have experienced the process of mapping ATL Skills across the

key skill step-up points in enough detail to be able to implement

a similar exercise at your own school

Have enough understanding to be able to answer colleagues

questions about some of the key issues of implementing such a
plan

universal across all subjects

essential to the learning process

not age specific

they persist throughout the life of the learner as

the most fundamental skills

they do not change in nature but may well

increase in complexity with the age of the
learner

Time management classes, assignments, exam study

Listening accurate reception, following instructions
Note making - recording information accurately and personally
Concentration, focus, perseverance, persistence - staying on
task
5. Group work and team work cooperation and communication
6. Goal setting and task management
7. Information search, retrieval, comparison, verification
8. Writing for different purposes essays, reports, creative writing
9. IT skills word processing, spread-sheeting, creating
presentations
10. Gaining understanding reflecting, remembering, review,
formulating questions
11. Learning from mistakes resilience, failing well
1.
2.
3.
4.

At the entry into the PYP or junior school?

At the entry into the MYP or middle school ?

Half-way through the MYP or middle school?

Entry into the DP or senior school?

At the completion of the DP or graduation?

Do students need to be taught those skills before they make

the step-up or will they learn them after they do?

Which of the Core Generic ATL skill practices will they

already have?

Which are going to be the most critical for students to

be able to succeed at the DP level - in your classroom?

What are the implications for skill acquisition for that

student at Year 10?

At Year 7?

1. Form 5 10 interdisciplinary groups

2. Select one of the most important Core Generic ATL
Skills at the DP level
3. How would a student exhibit proficiency in that skill at
the DP level - what do you expect a DP student to be
able to do in order to be successful?

4. Look back at previous years and map out what

proficiency in that skill would a student need to have at

Year 10 and at Year 7?

5. Cut your page into appropriate strips

6. Stick all the skills evidence statements together on

individual year level pages

7. Consider the development of each ATL Skill across the
years - are there any obvious skill gaps?

At the junior school or PYP level - Awareness:

raising awareness of the existence of learning skills

At the middle school or MYP level - Acquisition:

teaching specific skills, strategies and techniques

At the senior school or DP level - Amalgamation:

utilising skills in concert
many skills in operation in the completion of every task

Challenges vs. Opportunities

in implementing a coherent and viable

learning skill framework in your school

Content understandings?
To understand how vertical and horizontal plans of ATL Skills articulation

could be developed across your school

Any inspirations, implications, questions?

Skills proficiency?
2i Listen actively to other perspectives and ideas
8j Revise understanding based on new information and evidence
9h Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or

processes

Teaching/learning processes effectiveness?

What have we done so far?
How has it worked for you?

Johnny

1 never gets to class on time

2 sometimes gets to class on time
3 about half the time gets to class on time
4 most of the time .
5 always ..

What are you actually measuring?

Frequency not proficiency.

In pairs:
Assume the other person has no knowledge at all

of this skill (they have to pretend) and teach them

how to - tie a tie or lace a shoe
Note down what the key steps are in the process
Are there universal steps needed to teach any skill

up to mastery level?

Demonstration

(Watch)

Copying

(Copy)

Independent practice, failure and

improvement, up to mastery level (Do)

Teaching others

(Teach)

SKILLS HEIRARCHY

Level 1
The Novice
Observation

Level 2
The Learner
Emulation

Level 3
The Practitioner
Demonstration

Level 4
The Expert
Self-Regulation
Can perform the skill without
thinking through the process
first

Observes others performing

tasks and using the skill

Copies others performance

of the skill

Can demonstrate the skill on

demand

Gains an understanding of
how the skill
operates and what the
distinguishing characteristics
of the skill are

Works through the skill in a

step by step fashion, seeks
clarification for correctness
of performance

Flexibility of skill use in

different contexts is
developing

Automaticity is established
Automaticity is developing

Consolidation of learning is
occurring through
experience

Gathers procedural
information about the
performance of the skill, asks
questions to clarify
Is very conscious of
procedure
performing the skill and
correcting errors with
Errors are frequent
deliberation
High levels of scaffolding
from teacher needed explanations, training,
structural support

Can teach others the skill

Performs skill only with

known content in known
context
Medium level of scaffolding

Errors are corrected quickly

Can perform skill either with
different content or in
different context
Minimal teacher scaffolding
required setting directions,
goals, assessable outcomes

Can use skill with unfamiliar

content in unfamiliar context
High levels of performance
occur
Any errors are corrected
automatically
No teacher scaffolding
needed

Novice

Learner

Practitioner

Expert

Watch

Copy

Do

Teach

Can watch others Can copy others

performing tasks performance of
and using the
the skill
skill
Medium level of
High levels of
scaffolding
scaffolding from needed
teacher needed

Can demonstrate Can teach others

the skill on
the skill
demand
No teacher
Minimal teacher scaffolding
scaffolding
required
required

Could Johnny assess himself?

Could you use this for parent feedback?
ATL Skill

Novice

Learner

Practitioner

Expert

Watch

Copy

Do

Teach

Watch

Copy

Practicing

Getting
there

Got it!

Teach

Having identified what CG Skills are and at what levels they

need to be taught now you need to discuss:

When - is there room in the timetable where CG skills

lessons can be placed?

How what is the best teaching method for each CG skill?

Who who will develop the model or method of

implementation of each skill

Do you need to guarantee consistency of reinforcement of

each CG skill in their classroom? If so How?

Implicitly by embedding the skill within the subject

teaching

Explicitly by teaching the skill directly either within

or outside of a subject based lesson

Experientially by creating experiences for students

where practice of the skill becomes necessary

Peer Teaching having skilled students teach other

students

Have we achieved our content goals?

To understand how vertical and horizontal plans of ATL

Skills articulation could be developed across your school

To investigate issues of implementing an ATL Skills

programme key skills, assessment, teaching practice,

reporting and relate them to your own school environment

What is your evidence?

What questions do you have?

Metacognition 1 Reflection on Content

Evaluate understanding of subject matter, identify gaps
What I dont understand is .......................
How do I .................?
What do I have to do to .......................?
What I need to know is .....................?
The thing I just dont get is ....................?
What do you mean when you say ................?
What questions do you have so far?
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

Have we achieved our ATL Skills goals?

2i To listen actively to other perspectives and ideas
9h To apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas,

products or processes
8j To revise understanding based on new information and

evidence

What is your evidence?

How proficient do you feel at each?

Metacognition 2 Self-Assessment of ATL Skill proficiency

ATL Skills

Novice Learner
Watch

Practitioner

Expert

Do

Teach

Copy
Practicing

Listen actively to other

perspectives and ideas
Apply existing
knowledge to create
new ideas, products or
processes
Revise understanding
based on new
information and
evidence

Getting
there

Got it!

Developing Metacognitive Performance

3) through reflection on teaching/learning strategies
(ATL Skills 5g)
learn by:

thinking in:

sensory
mode:

looking

pictures

Visual

listening and
talking

sounds

Auditory

doing

feelings

Kinesthetic

Visual

Auditory

Kinesthetic

- using video, film,

photographs
- pictures, posters, diagrams
and graphs
- creating flowcharts of
processes
- using mind maps and
THOrTmaps
- using colour on the board
- highlighting key words in text
- using gestures, facial
expressions
- being aware of non-verbal
(body) language
- using visualisation,
imagination
- accessing video based
websites

- talking, describing, dictation

- asking and answering
questions
- playing recordings
- playing quiet instrumental
music
- reading out loud
- creating discussions or
debates
- having students teach each
other
- inviting in guest speakers
- using word games, puns,
jokes
- formal and impromptu
speeches
- telling stories, myths,
legends, parables, metaphors
- accessing websites with
podcasts, audio

- using real life examples

- making mindmaps of key
points
- field trips, workshop and
laboratory sessions
- visiting museums, exhibitions
- using interactive dvds
- providing things to touch, to
pull apart and put together
- allowing for physical
comfort, thirst, hunger
- using role play, drama
- allowing standing,
movement, stretch breaks
- creating question and answer
games
- accessing websites with
games, interactive

One new thing

that I learned
today/yesterday
was

Where was I?

What time of
day was it?

How was I
taught pictures,
diagrams,
listening,
discussing,
hands-on,
activity?

Who helped me
to understand
and learn?

I learnt well
because?

what an isosceles
triangle is

in maths class

11am

reading, drawing
looking at a model

my friend

I could see what

was needed and
talk it over with
someone else

One time I noticed I

wasnt learning well
was

Where was I?

What time of day

was it?

in Geography on
Tuesday

in class

2.30pm

How was I taught - I found it difficult to

pictures, diagrams,
learn because
listening, discussing,
hands-on,
activity?

watching a video

I got distracted and

sleepy

I seem to learn best when

.........................................................................
.........................................................................
.........................................................................

Helping students to understand their own

learning preferences from reflection on

experience, not from questionnaires

Metacognition 3 Reflection on Learning Strategy Effectiveness

Topic

Learning/Teaching
Strategy

ATL Practice

Circle diagram

Think Alouds

Tengrams

Setting Content and

ATL Skill Objectives

Direction and
discussion

ATL Step-Ups

Discussion

Mapping DP Core
Generic ATL Skills

Group work plus

discussion

Assessing Skills

Tie-a-tie exercise

Metacog 1 - Content

Reflection

Metacog 2 ATL Skill

Proficiency

Reflection

Metacog 3 Learning
Strategies

Learning Logs

Worked
Worked OK
Did not
well for me
for me
work for me

Content
3 Key points?
Any inspirations, implications, questions?

Skills
2i Listen actively to other perspectives and ideas
8j Revise understanding based on new information and evidence
9h Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or

processes

Teaching/learning processes
What have we done so far?
How has it worked for you?

decide on the ATL skills to focus on

make the skills clear description, examples

have students self-assess skill proficiency

analyse class results for general skill deficiencies

develop lessons to bring all students up to the same

skill level

build skill practice into subject lessons

encourage students to regularly self-assess

proficiency up to Mastery level

How important is taking good notes today?

How do you teach note-making at present?

What are your existing models?

Discuss at your table and see if you have any consensus

Do you need to have consensus of how all notes need to

be taken in class and for study or can they be different
for different subjects?

Will you allow for personal difference?

Youtube Summarization 1-4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIyB1ffhBzM
1)

Establishing a learning focus

2)

Explicit teaching

3)

Interactive writing

4)

Check for understanding

1/3

THOrTmaps

2/3

Divide into four groups

Within each group
watch one of these
Summarization
YouTube clips
Create a written
summary of the key
points and report back
to the whole group

Where in your own teaching can you see a

need and an opportunity to teach note

making skills?

Which type(s?) of note-making skills would

you teach?

What is concentration?

What would someone who was really good at concentrating

be able to do? Someone who was really bad at it?

Remember a time when you were concentrating really well.

What was that like, what were you thinking of, saying to
yourself, imagining?

What do you have to do to get yourself to concentrate really

well? Especially when you dont want to but you have to.

Write down how you do it.

What could you practice doing to get better at concentrating?

Where in your own teaching can you see a

need and an opportunity to teach

concentration?

How would you do that?

What would you focus on?

Work in pairs.
Your goal is to solve the following puzzle:
You have 12 cannon balls, all the same weight
except one. You know one is a different weight
from the rest but you dont know if it is heavier
or lighter. You have a balance big enough to
hold all the cannon balls if necessary.
Your task is to find the odd-ball by using the
balance a maximum of 4 times.

You have 2 minutes.

I failed at .
How I am feeling now about that is
What I am going to do about that is ..

 nothing, ignore it
blame the presenter for an unfair test
blame the seminar/weather/my mood/my tiredness/Kiwis in
general, for setting me up
accept my failure as an expected result due to my own inherent
lack of ability in this area
forget about it, put it behind me, carry on regardless

weep, moan to my partner, feel useless, get depressed

make a commitment never to attend stupid sessions like this one

again
accept that failure is ubiquitous, universal and completely out of
my control . or something else??

Failure is - the state or condition of not meeting

a desired or intended objective
1)

Think of a failure in your life, one for which

you were responsible, when through your
own action or inaction you failed to achieve
your goal, your objective

2)

Then think of how you responded to that

failure, how did you process that failure
afterwards, what did you do subsequently?

One time when I set a

What I did after that
goal and didnt achieve it was
was

The most significant difference between the

high achievers and the underachievers was

that all the high achievers had

learned how to fail well
-

whereas all the underachievers were

failing badly

Failing Well

Acknowledge your failures

Failing Badly

Shift blame to others the

- take responsibility for your

school, the teachers, other

own actions

people

- work out what you did

Ignore or deny failure

wrong

Catastrophise add drama to

- make changes, and

- have another go

failure to avoid dealing with it

Avoid any activity that could

possibly result in failure

Universalise failure

What are some of the reactions to failure that you

observe in your classroom?

Are you comfortable with the word/concept of

failure?

How can you help your students to become more

comfortable with the word/concept of failure?

What could you do to make sure in your class that

every failure is reprocessed and learned from?

For students to learn how to:

1)

Manage the emotional response to the idea, the

concept and the word failure?

2)

Take action to re-process failure to turn any failure into

a learning experience

For teachers to learn how to:

1)

Stop rescuing students

2)

Allow students to fail

Failing Well

Failing Badly

Emotional reaction to failure is short lived Emotional reaction to failure is long

and fuel for improved performance
lasting and debilitating

Expecting to experience some failure in Denying failure exists or believing that

new learning situations
everything is failure
Using strategies to learn from failure

No strategies to learn from failure

Being adaptable and making changes Focusing on own shortcomings, believing

where necessary
it is impossible to change
Using perseverance, organisation and Eliminating any subject or task in which
effort to minimise the possibility of failure failure is experienced
Establishing complete control in some Avoiding situations where failure is
areas
possible

Viewing failure as temporary and specific Viewing failure as pervasive

eg. lack of effort
permanent eg. lack of intelligence

and

Taking responsibility for own actions in Being content with underachievement

failure situations

IF AT FIRST YOU DONT

SUCCEED,
MAKE SURE YOU
FAIL WELL

Encourage students to take on new challenges and to use

failure as feedback

Help students to see any academic failure as a failure of

process not of the individual and as an important step to
success process focused classroom

Always allow for the reprocessing of failure

Celebrate learning from mistakes

Teach the skill of failing well

How to fail well

describe what
happened
list the facts

take
action

DO

LOOK

make a
change and
have
another go

what will I do
differently next
time?

take
responsibility
for your own
actions

PLAN

THINK
what did I do that worked?
that didnt work?

Can they be learned?

How?

By exposure to adversity?

Does all adversity create resilience?

Resilient Students

Helpless Students

Goals

set learning goals

set performance goals
learn for understanding learn for grade

Tasks

to test themselves

to gain approval or avoid

disapproval

Challenge

seek out new

challenges

avoid new challenges

To achieve success

believe effort is more

important than ability

believe ability is more

important than effort

Reaction to failure

take responsibility,
learn from mistakes

take no responsibility,
repeat, give up

View of intelligence

is flexible, can be
developed and grown

is fixed, unalterable with

definite limit

Locus of Control

internal

external

Future expectations

optimistic

pessimistic

Locus of Control Rotter (1966)

Learned Helplessness Optimism/Pessimism

Seligman (1975)

Positive

Takes no
action
- External
LOC

Locus of

Thinking

Optimism and Pessimism

The
Gnostates

Negative
Thinking

Control

Takes
action
- Internal
LOC

Positive
Thinking

HOPEFUL

RESILIENT

Takes
no
action

Takes
action

VULNERABLE

STOIC

Negative
Thinking

Takes no
action
- External
LOC

Locus of Control

Takes
action
- Internal
LOC

External:

Internal:

Theres
nothing I can
do
Takes no
responsibility

Absolute need to
be in control
Uninterested in
others opinions

All success and

failure is due to
outside forces

LOCUS OF CONTROL
The belief
that you can
take action
to affect your
own life

Takes full
responsibility for
own success and
failure

Makes no
changes in
response to
failure

Makes changes in
response to
failure

More helpless

More resilient

Locus of Control
1) You are in a taxi in a big city when it stops in traffic and waits,
about 1/2 mile from your destination, 10 minutes pass with no
movement. Do you:
a) just wait patiently
b) ask the taxi driver to find another route
c) pay off the taxi, get out and walk
d) get out, walk to the front of the traffic jam, find out what
the problem is, fix it, get back in your taxi and carry on
Ext.
a
b
c
d Int.
LOC

LOC

2) You are on the footpath and someone is struggling to parallel

park their car . Do you:
a) keep on walking
b) ask them what their problem is
c) guide them in using hand signals
d) tell them to get out of the car so you can park it for them

3) You are in a project team at work. What is your normal role?

a) leave it up to everyone else to do all the work
b) focus on doing your own part only
c) help manage everyone elses tasks as well as your own
d) complete everyone elses tasks as well as your own
a
b
c
d Int.
Ext.
LOC

LOC

4) Your family is going to New Zealand for the next school holidays.
What is your normal role
a) let someone else organise everything
b) just look after yourself
c) organise the flights and accommodation and make sure
everyone in the family knows what they need to do to get ready
d) pack everyones bags for them, organise every minute of
the holiday, keep hold of everyones passport and tickets and herd
them all along like sheep

Take control of their own learning - what factors are

in a students control?

Take action to achieve their own goals?

Take responsibility for their own successes and

failures?

1)

Creating goals

2)

Making plans

3)

Taking action

4)

Following through until the job is finished

5)

Taking responsibility for all outcomes

6)

Making changes in response to failure and trying again

7)

Building on any successful outcomes, learning from any

unsuccessful outcomes

Positive

Optimism and Pessimism

Thinking

Negative
Thinking

Optimistic:

Pessimistic:

I create my
own good luck,
any bad luck is
due to others

My bad luck is
my own fault,
any good luck is
due to others

Challenge
seeking, risk
taking
Bounces back in
response to
failure
More resilient

LEARNED
HELPLESSNESS
Your
beliefs
about the
origins of
good and
bad luck

Challenge
avoiding, risk
averse

Gives up in
response to
failure
More helpless

Optimistic and Pessimistic Thinking

1) You park in a car-park building and go shopping. When you return
you see that there is now a big crease all the way down one side
of your car where someone has crashed into you.
What do you say to yourself?
a) Some idiot has run into my car! Where is the carpark
attendant, he should have prevented this.
b) Bad stuff happens
c) This is all my fault, I knew I shouldnt park here
Opt

Pess

a
b
c
2) As you get closer to the car you notice that you have also got a flat
tyre and you know you dont have a spare.
What do you say to yourself now?
a) OK, thats enough bad luck, something good has to
happen now
b) Sometimes I have a bad day
c) Why does this always happen to me? Every time I go out
in the car something bad happens

3) You manage finally to wrench the drivers door open and as you do
something falls down from behind the dash onto the floor. You
pick it up and discover it is a piece of jewelry of great personal
value that you had thought was lost which because of the crash
has now been found.
What do you say to yourself?
a) Even my bad luck is good
b) Sometimes good things happen
c) Maybe I should find the culprit and thank him for crashing
into me
a
b
c

Opt.

Pess.

4) You settle into the car and notice a piece of paper on the
passenger seat. You read it and see it is from whoever crashed
into your car offering to pay to fix up your car and also to lend
you another car until yours is fixed.
What do you say to yourself now?
a) I knew it would all come out right in the end
b) Sometimes I have a good day
c) Something terrible is bound to happen now

OPTIMISTIC
THINKING

personal

pervasive

permanent

I caused it

Everything
will be like
this now

It will last
forever

Bad Luck

Nothing else
will be
affected

It is already
over

Good Luck

Good Luck

Bad Luck

Someone or
something
else caused
it

PESSIMISTIC
THINKING

Optimistic thinkers have:

better physical health
50% more antibodies in response to vaccine
reduced risk and less severe disease
less depression and mental illness
longer life
more happiness
more resilience after failure
Pessimistic thinkers are:
more accurate judges of their own abilities
less inclined to take risks
less likely to blame others for their mistakes
but they suffer from:
poorer health
more depression
more helplessness

Overcome their I cants?

Choose the most efficacious response in different

situations?
Optimistic responses are most useful in most

situations except in situations of:

Self-judgement of critical abilities

High risk
Making mistakes, admitting blame, taking
responsibility

1) remembering past successes

.(list them)...

2) looking for the positives in everyday life

.(list them)

3) taking chances, being more spontaneous

4) challenging myself
5) celebrating all my successes and any good luck
6) making positive future plans
7) encouraging others to be more positive

Optimistic

HOPEFUL

RESILIENT

External
LOC

Internal
LOC

VULNERABLE

STOIC

Pessimistic

Gnostates
HOPEFUL

RESILIENT

17%

33%

13%

37%

VULNERABLE

STOIC

Take the Gnostates test at:

www.taolearn.com/gnostates/index.htm

Practice optimistic thinking

HOPEFUL

RESILIENT

positive attitude
easy-going, relaxed
risk taker
procrastinator
prefers the easy
option
self-promoting

bounces back
takes control
always learning
leader
takes calculated
risks
self-motivated

accepting
passive
depressed
I cant
helpless
self-limiting

conservative
pessimistic
solid, reliable
frustrated
diligent, persistent
self-blaming

VULNERABLE

STOIC

Take
control
where you
can

Advantage effort over ability as the key to academic

success

Focus on learning for understanding rather than

learning for grades

Develop internal LOC and an optimistic outlook

Make resilience a high value attribute in the school

Celebrate the overcoming of adversity

Directly teach the process of failing well

Content
Key points of the day?
Any inspirations, implications, questions?

Skills
2i Listen actively to other perspectives and ideas
8j Revise understanding based on new information and evidence
9h Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or

processes

Teaching/learning processes
What has stood out for you?
Why was that the most significant point content or method?

Forgetting Curve

Review Curve

Start every lesson with a closed book preview of the

previous lesson what did we do last time?

Finish every lesson with a closed book review of that

lesson what did we just do?

At the end of each week have students create a

summary of the content covered in that week open

book

At the end of each month have them put their weekly

summaries together into a one month summary

BLOOMS REVISED TAXONOMY