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Developing New Understandings of Learning to Learn

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Research Matters
Developing New Understandings of
Learning to Learn

Dr Kate Wall and Elaine Hall

Research Centre for Learning and Teaching
School of Education, Newcastle University

Editor: Jane Reed

Head of International Network for School Improvement (LCLL)
Institute of Education

The Research Publication of the International Network for School Improvement

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2 Research Matters 33

THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT


INSI RESEARCH MATTERS
Number 33 Summer 2009
Developing New Understandings of
Learning to Learn
The ongoing Learning to Learn (L2L) project is funded
through the Campaign for Learning and facilitated by
a research team from Newcastle and Durham
Universities. It explores learning through cycles of
practitioner enquiry in primary, secondary and special
schools across England. It has produced case study
evidence which extends our insights into schools’
research agendas, teachers’ professional development
and learners’ understanding of their own learning.
Kate Wall and Elaine Hall from the Research Centre for
Learning and Teaching at Newcastle University reflect
on the outcomes from Phase 3 and the directions for
Phase 4.
Learning to Learn in Schools (Phase 1 to 4) is funded through
the independent UK charity, the Campaign for Learning (CfL).
Each phase has involved a range of primary and secondary
schools, with regions and schools chosen to represent a wide
variety of socio-economic contexts across England. Currently,
the project is in its fourth phase, which started in May 2007.
Figure 1.
Structure of the project
Developing New Understandings of Learning to Learn 3
This latest phase is aiming to consolidate the work of
previous phases, while also exploring themes relating to
sustaining the professional enquiry through an action research
model, as well as translation across different contexts,
institutions and individuals. In Phase 4 there are 44 schools
involved across four Local Authorities, representing a wide
range of experience and involvement: from teachers and
schools that have participated since Phase 1 through to
schools and teachers who have joined in the last 6 months.
Phases 3 and 4 have been run by members of the Research
Centre for Learning and Teaching at Newcastle University. The
research has moved towards a practitioner enquiry approach
rather than a more traditional university led model (see figure
1) using a model of professional enquiry through action
research (Baumfield et al. 2008). This has meant the
prioritising of cycles of research (based across an academic
year) with case studies completed and written up by the
teachers using an approach based on Stenhouse’s (1981)
model of “systematic enquiry made public”. Within these
THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
4 Research Matters 33

Phases the teachers in the schools have been supported in
completing their own exploration of approaches to Learning to
Learn (L2L) in their contexts. The definition of L2L provided by
the Campaign for Learning has acted as a useful starting point,
but has been taken to be an open and moveable construct:
…a process of discovery about learning. It involves a
set of principles and skills which, if understood and
used, help learners learn more effectively and so
become learners for life. At its heart is the belief that
learning is learnable.
Under this umbrella term of L2L the teachers have drawn
upon a number of ideas including metacognition, thinking
skills, self-regulation, self-efficacy and self-esteem. The
approaches developed by teachers are often eclectic and
include cooperative learning, Assessment for Learning and
Thinking Skills.
At the end of each cycle of enquiry the teachers have
completed a case study template which disseminates their
research and associated learnings to their colleagues in
school, to other project schools and to a wider audience
through publication on the internet1. Currently, there are 85
case studies completed as part of Phase 3 and in Year One of
Phase 4 a further 30 were written by participating teachers.
As Phase 4 continues further case studies will be uploaded as
they are completed over the next two years. In addition to the
teachers’ experiences and reflections, there are also project
reports which explore findings across the project, these are
written by the university team and aim to provide a more
generalisable perspective of Learning to Learn.
In this Phase 4 the following aspects are being explored:
• To develop understanding of progression in Learning to
Learn – knowledge, skills, dispositions and the
development of learners’ autonomy;
• To investigate issues in both scaling up and sustaining
Learning to Learn as a development approach in schools
(drawing in new schools to the existing network);
• To further understand the role of enquiry in teachers’ and
pupils’ learning;
• To develop the role of a Higher Education Institution as a
co-learner in this process and supporting schools in
networks;
• To look at the potential influence of the family and the
community on the development of pupils as lifelong
learners.

Language Skills Knowledge Understanding Dispositions Other effects

Learner

Articulation Use of a range of Attainment (tests) Metacognitive Attitudes Enjoyment

Classroom discourse learning skills e.g. Achievement Skilfulness, strategic Mastery orientation Satisfaction
Meta-language or mind mapping, (performance) and purposeful use of ‘Habits of mind’ Self-concept
‘language for learning’ mnemonics Metacognitive skills and knowledge Retention Self-efficacy
knowledge Self assessment Attendance Self-esteem
Evidence of transfer
Teacher

Classroom discourse Using ‘pragmatic tools’ Marriage of content Critical analysis Motivation Enjoyment
Professional dialogues A range of teaching knowledge with Awareness of Retention Job satisfaction
Staffroom discourse approaches pedagogical tools pedagogical Professional Professional self-
Using pupil feedback Research alternatives engagement concept
Professional enquiry Willingness to
Evidence of transfer experiment
Creative solutions
School

Explicit in Tools and techniques Staff INSET, School policies Time/ resource School ethos
documentation explicitly taught, co-learning SEF, development allocation
Common approaches courses offered Outside support used plans External links
articulated Focus on cross subject Support for Enquiry/ inquiry
pedagogy experimentation orientation
Creative solutions
Wider community

Home/ school links Courses and Attendance at L2L Able to self-support Attitudes Parental satisfaction
Shared language for workshops events and support learners Support
talking about learning Participation Shared responsibility Attendance at events
for learning

Table i Conceptual model of impact in Learning to Learn

1. Further information about the project including project reports and case studies can be found at: www.campaignforlearning.org.uk

THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT


In our analysis of Phase 4, we will continue to use and
develop our conceptual framework of the impact of Learning
to Learn (Table i). The framework is arranged in a way which
implicitly privileges language and this will be validated by the
evidence from the case studies and the cross-project data
collection reported later. It also encompasses knowledge,
skills, understanding, dispositions and affect over four levels:
learner, teacher, school and community. This model has
emerged from our analysis of Phase 3 and allows us to
identify areas of evidence and to constantly revise our
understanding of L2L in the light of new developments from
the schools.
Professional enquiry in the classroom
Ultimately this project is about teachers as learners, finding
out more about what is happening in their own classrooms
and contributing to our understanding of the processes of
teaching and learning in today’s schools. It is also about
developing partnerships between teachers and university
researchers in which distinctions between theory and practice
are challenged and expertise is distributed as we learn
together:
“The whole ethos of the school has turned slightly,
from staff thinking that they have to know what they
are talking about what they have to talk about and feel
in charge to developing to I don’t know and let’s find
out and lets learn together … It sounds silly to say that
they are more confident by saying I don’t know, their
ability to find out and learn with children and as team
together as well.” (Primary teacher, Phase 3)
During the course of their careers teachers acquire a body of
knowledge about teaching and learning which is shaped by
their experiences in classrooms and their values about the
purposes of education. Teachers are therefore often
unrecognised innovators and problem solvers who take both
the raw materials of curriculum and recommendations about
good practice and adapt them to their personal and
professional environments. This capacity to make adjustments
is a recognised feature of not only the most effective teachers,
but also of those who are most satisfied in their professional
lives. However, the judgement regarding the ‘best fit’ of
practice to context tends to be intuitive, based on an absence
of negative feedback and sensitive to considerations of time
and resources. As such it has been described as tweaking or
fine-tuning as it has more of the characteristics of the way in
which a craftsman develops and deploys expertise rather than
those of a professional. In the Learning to Learn in Schools
THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
Developing New Understandings of Learning to Learn 5
project, we have are beginning to explore what happens
when teachers engage in more sustained, explicit processes of
enquiry in their classrooms and the extent to which a more
robust body of professional knowledge that can be shared
across specific contexts is possible.
The evidence provided is not incontrovertible but, clearly,
there is a good chance that a successful enquiry exploring the
way in which learning is made explicit to Year 1 children,
focusing on peer talk and collaboration (for example), might
work again next year, even though the children in the class
will be different. However, the Year 1 teacher has changed,
simply by being involved in the enquiry: her perspective on
learning and metacognition has shifted. She wonders, will it
work across subjects? Will it support children’s awareness of
home-school transfer of learning experiences? The evidence
generated by a single cycle of enquiry is the raw material for
generating the next series of questions, so action research is
conceptualised as a series of linked enquiries. Just as learning
is an ongoing process, which builds and develops from
experience and need, so enquiry can transform not just the
practice of teachers, but their understanding of that practice
and give them a range of tools for reflection and self-
evaluation.
The relationship between research, policy and practice in the
production and deployment of knowledge about teaching and
learning is complex. Nevertheless, current conceptions of
teaching as a profession assume that a productive
relationship between these aspects is both possible and
desirable; although they are often vague as to the exact
nature of the dynamic involved. Our principal concern within
the L2L in Schools projects has been with the interaction of
theory and practice in the engagement of teachers in research
into teaching and learning in their own classrooms; the
research engaged professional:
“… I’d previously viewed my role as to deliver this, this
and this and that the children would be learning this,
this and this, whereas now I’m thinking more about
‘how can I explain to the children about how they’re
going to learn about this” (Primary teacher, Phase 3)
Within this project we have explored how teachers can be
‘research-engaged’ in a way that is both manageable within
their existing professional responsibilities and also sufficiently
robust to effect real change. We have looked at how an
enquiry approach can provide an evidence base that is not
only relevant to the individual but which can also be shared.
This sharing has taken place over an expanding network from
colleagues in school to a collaborative community of
6 Research Matters 33
researching teachers. In this way it has been subjected to
scrutiny and validation. Participants have contributed to a
shared understanding of learning and teaching, including
which strategies work within specific contexts, which elements
are ‘translatable’ between contexts and which underpinning
processes are common to learners. This has powerful
connotations for the way innovation can be implemented and
managed in schools.
In the project we have tried to make the process of enquiry
manageable through two inter-related processes: the
identification of the focus of the enquiry, the generation of
questions and exploration through a cycle of action research.
We believe that a cycle of action research fits alongside and is
complementary to the model of ‘plan-do-review’ underpinning
teachers’ practice (see Baumfield et al. 2008 for further
information). As such, there is no requirement for the teachers
to ‘bolt on’ or overlay another layer of ‘research practices’,
rather they select research tools which fit with their teaching
environment and use those to generate the necessary
feedback in a systematic way. In this model of working it is
only a short step from feedback that informs the next stage in
the enquiry to evidence that is open to public scrutiny.
Phase 3 findings
Phase 3 of the project ran in schools from 2003-2006,
building on work from Phases 1 and 2. It involved 32 schools
from three Local Authorities: Cheshire, Cornwall and Enfield.
In March 2007 the final report of this three year project was
published.
A total of 85 case studies were written representing the
context specific research of the teachers, providing an
evidence-based, cumulative approach to developing their
understanding about Learning to Learn. At the meta-level, the
University team completed cross project research on different
themes:
• What is Learning to Learn?
• Pupil learning
• Teacher learning
• School learning
• Wider community learning
• Development of ICT
The findings on these themes from each year of the project
have been written up as annual reports and each was
presented to the teachers in order to provide feedback about
the progress of the research and to validate the emerging
THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
findings. In this section a summary of the support structures
used as part of the project will be provided, followed by some
of the findings from across the three years of the project in
relation to the six themes above.
Support structures in the project
Each year of the project the schools and teachers involved
had the opportunity to attend two regional professional
development days in the Autumn and Summer terms and a
two-day national residential conference. Keynote
presentations by leading figures in the area of learning in
schools offered starting points for further investigation and
the teachers were encouraged to work in pairs or small teams
to undertake a professional enquiry into an aspect of Learning
to Learn which they selected as appropriate for their
particular context. As the project progressed the teachers
were also presented annually with the emerging findings of
the project and with copies of each others’ case studies. There
is always a risk that this approach might have influenced the
focus of their further research, but in using an action research
approach and the three cycles of innovation and evaluation,
the research team were committed to support the teachers
with their own professional enquiries and research and to
provide feedback about the broader project in order to
support these professional enquiries as well as their broader
professional development.
Figure 2. Co-constructed diagram of the structure of the project
Each geographical cluster was supported by a co-ordinator
locally identified by the Local Authority or Education Action
Zone in which the regional project was based who organised
additional local meetings and networking between schools (a
diagram which the teachers constructed of this network can
be seen above in Figure 2). The detail of the work undertaken
by schools can be seen in the case studies that they
produced.

What is Learning to Learn?
Learning to Learn is a well-used phrase in contemporary
educational debates, but perhaps lacks conceptual clarity. It is
sometimes equated with lifelong learning or at least the
foundational elements in lifelong learning skills and is widely
acknowledged to require the development of metacognitive
skills and techniques as well as the development of self-
regulation more broadly. In policy terms, Learning to Learn is
firmly part of the skills agenda supporting employability and
increased economic competitiveness. The complexity of what
is involved can perhaps best be captured in the working
definition used by Hargreaves (2005): “Learning to Learn is
not a single entity or skill, but a family of learning practices
that enhance one’s capacity to learn.” With this emphasis on
learning practices, rather than a more individual or
psychological description on skills or even a focus on personal
dispositions (e.g. Claxton and Carr, 2005) the academic focus
has shifted towards learning activities and communities of
practice (e.g. Wenger, 1998) as outlined in some of the
publications from the Teaching and Learning Research
Programme (TLRP): see, for example James and Brown (2005).
Learning to Learn is one of those terms which, having been
used in various forms for over thirty years, now has become
prevalent in common discourse about schools, education and
employability. It is probably only because of its alliterative
qualities that we use Learning to Learn rather than Learning
to Think, Learning to Study, Thinking about Thinking, Thinking
for Learning or many other possible variants which exist out
in the world. Claxton’s four generations of ‘teaching learning’
(Claxton, 2004) provide a helpful way of distinguishing some
of the practices that can often be clustered under the general
banner of Learning to Learn.
First generation Raising attainment
Good teaching is effective delivery of
content knowledge
Second generation Developing study skills
Hints tips and techniques
Third generation Emotional and social factors
Characteristic ways of learning
Concerned with the how of teaching
Fourth generation Involvement of students in the process
Concerned with how students can be
helped to help themselves
Teachers themselves involved in
becoming better learners
Developmental and cumulative
Table ii Claxton’s 4 generations of teaching learning (Claxton 2004)
THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
Developing New Understandings of Learning to Learn 7
It is a term that draws on ideas of metacognition, Thinking
Skills, self-regulation, self-efficacy and self-esteem in relation
to learning. It’s current popularity could be because it is an
idea which meshes well other key trends: with the
development of more personalised approaches to learning;
the growing movement towards a more flexible and creative
curriculum and the strongly expressed belief that every
individual should be supported to be a lifelong learner. Yet,
there is no general consensus about what a Learning to Learn
approach might consist of. There are a diverse group of
educational experts working in this field who have
fundamental agreement about improving teaching and
learning under the umbrella of learning (how) to learn but
cheerfully disagree about how to pursue these goals in
different classrooms and contexts. Meanwhile, teachers in the
project are very aware of the need to talk about the ‘elephant
in the classroom’ that is learning. Where can they go for a
framework (or three) to work with?
Emerging from the ESRC’s flagship Teaching and Learning
Research Programme (TLRP), the Learning How to Learn team
(www.tlrp.org ) have produced ten key principles of effective
learning and teaching which brings together an adherence to
valued forms of knowledge with a promotion of informal
learning; the role of the teacher in scaffolding with the active
engagement of the learner and congruent assessment with
lifelong learning. However, the breadth, complexity and scale
of this programme of research may mean that the teacher
who is seeking guidance may find the translation of these
broad principles difficult. The TLRP provides case studies from
the research programme which are organised under thematic
strands (including Assessment for Learning, Pupil Voice and
ICTs) and focus specifically on the questions from those
strands with a more implicit link to the fundamental
principles.
Teachers who are searching for a holistic understanding of
Learning to Learn principles as well as a sense of how they
translate to individual pupils and classrooms may find
inspiration in a project based in Australia. This collaborative
research and development project
(www.learningtolearn.sa.edu.au) has generated an
understanding of Learning to Learn in social constructivist
terms: their key idea is the transformation of schooling from a
teaching to a learning paradigm by engaging teachers directly
with research and encouraging an inquiry structure in which
learners take an active role.
What these varying perspectives have in common with our
approach is a recognition that Learning to Learn is a social
process: everyone involved has to talk openly about their
8 Research Matters 33
experiences of learning, the purposes of learning activities, the
advantages and disadvantages of learning and teaching
approaches for different subjects, contexts and individuals.
These are often hard conversations to start and harder ones
to control: teachers have to be prepared to confront their own
understanding of why they teach their classes in the way they
do, learners must explore why they are less engaged in some
lessons than others and schools must look beyond
administrative reasons for organisational structures to
reconnect with their pedagogic goals.
For each teacher and each school, Learning to Learn could be
as little a strategy as to support assessment and target-
setting, through an explicit set of criteria and it could be as
much as developing skills and dispositions for lifelong
learning. The key lever for change, whichever ‘brand’ of
Learning to Learn is subscribed to, is the clarity of intent that
the teacher brings and shares with the learners.
Within Phase 3 we are confident we have evidence that
Learning to Learn is not a simple set of activities or
techniques which can be implemented easily by a teacher or
school. A range of methods and approaches can be successful
in supporting the development of effective learning habits and
dispositions. An approach based on collaborative professional
enquiry into Learning to Learn through practical classroom
strategies is clearly supportive of such development. Such
enquiry into Learning to Learn is likely to include the
following:
1. A shifting of responsibility for learning away from the
individual teacher or learner towards more inter-dependent
learning roles where individuals take responsibility, seek
help, support others, make mistakes, reflect and revise their
plans.
2. An exploration of a range of ways to achieve
understanding for different learners: where different
approaches to learning are developed, but which
emphasise the acquisition of a broad repertoire of skills,
learning approaches and active knowledge.
3. An explicit discussion of learning and how this happens,
where the strategies and motivations which underpin
learning become part of everyone’s overt understanding,
part of each learner’s tools and techniques.
4. A focus on communication skills – pupils, teachers and
schools – through which learning is made explicit.
5. A policy of accepting the benefits of change that
acknowledges that the process can be difficult but which
provides supportive and challenging environments for both
pupils and for teachers
THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
Figure 3. Photograph taken in a L2L classroom as part of a formative
assessment pedagogy
Pupil learning
Over the course of the project there has been a steady
increase in consultation with pupils and the inclusion of their
perspective in the case studies. Schools have increasingly used
interviews, questionnaires and pupil views templates to elicit
their opinions about Learning to Learn and their learning
more broadly. These sources confirm the impact of Learning to
Learn approaches on pupils’ motivation and engagement and
are indicative of improvement in their learning:
There is a pressing need to transfer some of the
responsibility and ownership for the direction and
content of their learning to the students themselves.
Our decision to establish this as a future priority for our
school is not, however, solely about increasing student
engagement and motivation. It is about equipping
them with the skills to analyse problems and decide
upon the key issues at stake. It is about giving them
the experience of managing their own work and
experiencing the successes and failures that self-
directed work can bring. It is about coping with
ambiguity and developing the skills and dispositions
that might help when such situations arise in their
future lives. And, perhaps most of all, it is about
redefining successful learning as being less about the
quality of the outcome and more about the quality of
the process. (Secondary teacher, Phase 4)
Overall the analysis of pupils’ response to Learning to Learn is
clearly positive with evidence that learners believe that such
approaches help them to learn and that it supports the
development of positive dispositions towards learning.

The pupil views templates (Wall and Higgins 2006) have
enabled teachers in the project to gain knowledge and
understanding about pupils’ learning and thinking. The
comments written by the pupils provide evidence of both
knowledge and understanding of their own learning. These
pupils not only have the knowledge about their thinking and
learning, but they also know how they are learning in
different contexts. An example of a completed template can
be seen above in figure 4.
In terms of impact on pupils’ attainment, there is evidence
from the case studies that in the majority of schools (65%)
there have seen benefits for Learning to Learn pupils in terms
Figure 5. Learning to Learn students used creative techniques: this drawing
is part of a nurture group project.
THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
Developing New Understandings of Learning to Learn 9
Figure 4. Completed
Pupil Views Template
showing pupils’
metacognitive
perspective of
classroom activities
of their performance as measured by teacher assessments and
national tests. However at school level there is no clear
evidence that Learning to Learn schools can be identified on
the basis on their performance. It should be noted however,
that even after three years, Learning to Learn may not have
been adopted widely enough to have an impact on whole
school results.
Teacher learning
During the course of Phase 3, the importance of the link
between pupil learning and teachers’ own learning, a theme
identified in both of the previous phases (and well established
in the literature, e.g. Day, 1999), was confirmed. For example,
I find it fascinating to have a goal that will specifically
influence my work in the classroom and have a direct
impact on the learners in my class. (Teacher in a Special
School, Phase 4)
The development of Learning to Learn approaches in the
schools through action research has been welcomed by the
teachers involved and has been supportive of their
professional development. They have clearly valued the
professional autonomy it afforded them and the support for
change both in terms of developing teaching and learning
through the exploration of Learning to Learn approaches and
in terms of researching their own practice. It seems
reasonable to conclude that the Learning to Learn Phase 3
project has had a positive impact on teachers’ motivation and
their capacity to manage change. Encouraging signs of the
10 Research Matters 33
growing professional confidence have been found:
“I think this year we have taken on more open ended
research ... there is nothing to put a benchmark against
... I think that it hasn’t been as fixed as in the past and
we are both researching in a different way, each phase
we have gone through we think god is this going to
work and then we think yes it is going to be fine ... I
think that is the fixed way of working, bit more
structured, safe.” (Primary teacher, Phase 4)
Teachers are able to deal with complexity in their classrooms
through a closer engagement with the pupils and improved
means of accessing and understanding their learning. They are
able to manage the processes of change and make decisions
regarding the structure and content of the curriculum. In
many respects their aspirations for the pupils in their
classrooms are matched by their testimony on the impact on
themselves as learners in terms of greater awareness, self
esteem and confidence. For example,
We have all benefited from being involved in the
project; the children because they have had their voice
valued and listened to and because we, as staff, have
looked so closely at their emotional needs and
development; the teachers involved because it has
enabled us to develop our leadership skills and given
us a platform to develop strategies that we believe to
be beneficial to the children on our school, and to
develop and skill other members of staff; the teaching
assistants who have been empowered to developed
their skills and confidence within a project that they
are interested in and wholly committed to. (Primary
teacher, Phase 4)
Questions, as always, remain to be asked regarding the
factors that determine the extent to which L2L has taken root
in a school and the sophistication with which the
opportunities presented have been used. The trends identified
in the first two years have been validated by data in the final
year but much remains to be learned as to how best to fine
tune the processes conducive to teachers’ professional
learning shown to have merit in Phase 3. Future learning will
require us to go beyond, or behind, the teachers’ own
reporting of impact and to seek greater understanding of the
patterns and variance; the challenge will be to achieve this
without jeopardising the freedom and autonomy that have
been a key factor in the success of L2L. These are ideas
followed up in Phase 4.
THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
School learning
There is a wide spectrum of impact as indicated in the
examples cited above. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion
that one key factor is school leadership. Where the leadership
team have values that are aligned with Learning to Learn
some schools have made impressive changes, although the
specific means have varied. Where leadership have good
intentions that were disrupted then the situation is more
complex. So much may depend on the agency of particular
teachers or small groups, who strive to establish some priority
and win resources for Learning to Learn activities. The
Learning to Learn project is indebted therefore to the energy,
motivation and action of particular individuals who struggled
against the tide in some schools.
The exemplars provide a clear account of the constraints that
some schools experience. Predominantly this is related to the
importance assigned to standards in national tests and the
associated accountability. Some head teachers felt bound to
this agenda and responded to it in an instrumental manner.
Others work with it more creatively and see developing
learner autonomy either as more important or as an
alternative route to higher attainment over the longer term.
In some schools there is the convergence of leadership values
and action and teacher agency in sympathy with the
leadership values and the here one can see the strongest
effects. In these schools research culture and processes
emerge as a significant factor. It appears to give schools
greater confidence in terms of their ability to identify factors
affecting attainment and motivation and potential levers for
change and makes teachers more reflective and critical. Such
conditions have been referred to as ‘working space’. These
conditions required the agency of one or more members of
staff to exploit the opportunity offered by leadership
decisions. In some schools or for some teachers these
conditions petered out as individual agency failed. However in
some schools the conditions were capitalised upon and a
learning space was created for the project group. Key
conditions for this progression appear to be:
• dialogue;
• peer support;
• feedback from pupils;
• project support (in the form of help from outsiders to
support the processes of problematising issues, data
collection and analysis, access to good ideas and tools); and
• support from local networks.
Dialogue however is a key element, as peer support, feedback
from pupils, project support and support from and
 Developing New Understandings of Learning to Learn 11

engagement with local networks are all potential sites for

professional interaction - with colleagues, pupils, others
involved in the project and even with oneself (Cordingley et
al., 2003). It is important that this dialogue goes beyond
exchange of ideas and becomes a critical examination of
experience, issues and beliefs about education. In such
dialogue power relationships can fade into the background
and personal relationships come to the fore. What does such
a learning space look like?

There is considerable diversity in terms of the impact of L2L

on schools. It is evident that the structures and cultures of
some schools are a ‘better fit’ for such innovations as L2L. In
some schools L2L has offered a set of practices which are
consonant with the senior leaders’ values. Where there has
been success it has been because of the motivation of such
leaders, the enthusiasm and commitment of key individuals in
the school (not necessarily in leadership roles) and their
willingness to experiment, share experiences across the school
and trust one other.
Development of ICT
Information and Communications Technology played a key
part in the Learning to Learn project. It was integral to the
research approach, which developed the professional use of
technology by the teachers involved. It was also a key focus
for a number of the specific investigations that the schools
have undertaking where the contribution of ICT to developing
more effective teaching and learning has been an integral
part of what was being researched. A number of schools have
also been developing particular approaches using ICT more
directly and systematically, such as investigating the impact of
PowerPoint presentations as effective learning prompts to
lessons, or the use of electronic mind-maps where pupils can
edit the maps and reflect on their developing knowledge and
understanding, and the use of digital learning mats.
Figure 6. PEPI the clown encourages students to learning using the computer
Figure 7. Many schools recruited parents, carers and grandparents to show
that learning is a lifelong and life wide activity.
Approaches such as these have the advantage of developing
both teachers’ and pupils’ ICT skills. ICT clearly has an
important role to play in supporting learners’ personal
reflection on their learning as they understand and develop
their learning capabilities.
Wider community learning
Over time, the focus within Learning to Learn has extended,
from the individual learners and classes, to systems within
schools and inevitably to the world beyond the school. The
focus of engagement with parents in the first year of Phase 3
was shown to divide into two main strands: consultation and
interaction. In the second year key themes were that
consultation needs to be authentic, timely, repeated,
responsive and embedded in the process of re-design and
that interaction needs to be centred on real-world tasks
related to the children’s learning, tasks which motivate
parents to get involved. When these criteria are met, there is
evidence from these case studies that both the level and the
quality of contact between home and school increases. By the
third year it was becoming clear that the engagement with
parents had become more of a focus. Case studies completed
in this area exemplified the effect where engaging parents
leads to a virtuous cycle of increased engagement and better
communication. Key common features include the use of a
common Learning to Learn language at home and school and
a focus on improving students’ experiences of school, whether
in terms of curriculum, assessment or broader questions of
wellbeing and happiness. While the process of engaging

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12 Research Matters 33
beyond the school gate has not been easy and has relied on
the drive and inter-personal skills of key teachers, these
schools have experienced a permanent shift in perspective.
For some teachers engaging parents formed a significant part
of their future plans. They talked about their dissatisfaction
with the status quo of communication through newsletters
and parents’ evenings and expressed the desire to have
deeper and richer interactions, whether face to face or by
making better use of websites and other ICTs. One of the
areas stressed by teachers was the need to raise parents’
aspirations, particularly in areas of social disadvantage. This
appears to be part of a process in which, as parental
aspirations are raised, the attitude of the school towards
parents begins to shift and parents come to be seen less as
hopeless and helpless but as active partners in effecting
change. The process of repeated, authentic consultation has
led schools to recognise that the ‘drive for standards’ is not
always the first priority for parents and that the development
of the school needs to reflect their core concerns.
There does seem to have been a clear shift in the way some
teachers conceptualise parents as part of the school: for these
individuals a whole school approach has to go beyond staff
and children to encompass families and communities. This is a
gradual process but it can result in significant change, both in
school culture and in the level of parental involvement.
Conclusion and looking forward to Phase 4
The impact on pupils and their learning in Phase 3 has been
clearly positive, with both qualitative and quantitative data
providing evidence of improved learning, positive attitudes and
dispositions for learning as well as improved achievement and
attainment associated with the project and Learning to Learn
activities which the schools have undertaken. After three years
of work in their schools the teachers involved are positive about
their involvement in the project and clearly value the
opportunity to develop professionally whilst investigating what
‘Learning to Learn’ looks like in their schools.
Some clear challenges have also emerged during this Phase. It
is difficult to maintain a development focus over three years
in schools with so many competing demands on time and
attention. Where the scale of the development work has
increased, this has created its own challenges as new
colleagues are involved with different understandings of what
is makes Learning to Learn successful. These are facets which
will be explored in Phase 4.
We can conclude that the Learning to Learn project has been
THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
successful in enabling teachers to focus on improving the
quality of learning in their schools and that this can be
identified in pupils’ assessed performance in tests and
examinations as well as in their attitudes and achievements
more broadly and furthermore that the teachers have valued
the opportunity for professional development and enquiry
provided by the project.
Four key research themes will be targeted at school level to
provide some structure to the professional enquiry completed
by teachers:
• Developing a language for learning: through
collaborative learning approaches and the development of
more effective feedback in lessons, pedagogical tools for
learning and enquiry and investigating its impact on
attainment, attitudes and autonomy
• Innovation and change: Comparison of new L2L schools
with Phase 3 schools – teacher and student views; learning
biographies; students’ metacognitive knowledge and skills;
impact on attainment and achievement. looking at
replicability and transferability of research findings.
• Exploring the role of technology: in supporting
learning through enquiry, particularly to support reflection
and action (e.g. use of video; weblogs; podcasting; e-
portfolios) of students, teachers and researchers.
• The world beyond the school gates: exploration of
how better relationships with parents can be developed;
how communication about children’s learning can be
increased; potential benefits of home/school partnerships
Of particular interest in Phase 4 will be the development of
the L2L model as it continues in those schools from Phase 3
that continue to work with us: the longitudinal impacts of the
project on learners, teachers, schools and wider communities
as well as the sustainability of the approaches. This will be
complemented by the experiences of the new schools that
join the project at the start of Phase 4: how well the project
model transfers and the extent to which it is replicable and
how experienced L2L schools can act as more experienced
‘expert’ support.
The diversity of schools, teachers and approaches makes it
difficult to draw clear conclusions about precisely what the
benefits of Learning to Learn are and how they have been
achieved. We believe that a range of factors has contributed
to the success of the project in the schools involved. These
have included the particular Learning to Learn techniques and

approaches investigated by the teachers and the process of
enquiry itself. The Learning to Learn project continues to be
successful in enabling teachers to focus on improving the
quality of learning in their schools and this has been shown
to be identified in pupils’ assessed performance in tests and
examinations and their wider achievements. Further the
teachers themselves have valued the opportunity for
professional development and enquiry provided by the
project, as can be evidenced by the number who have signed
up to continue for another three years as part of Phase 4.
Examples of Phase 4, Year One case studies
Weaverham Primary School, Cheshire
We aimed to support children in acknowledging and dealing
with their emotions in such a way as to promote readiness for
learning and to enable them to acquire the necessary tools to
foster rewarding friendships, in other words to develop
emotional literacy. In this respect we were aiming to improve
readiness for learning and individual resilience through the
use of SEAL materials in Circle Time and the provision of a
Nurture Group.
Carterhatch Primary School, Enfield
This case study explored classroom organisation and asked
which was most effective for learning. After completing the
research, it was evident that children showed greater
progression when working in larger groups. This group work
did create noise that needed to be monitored to ensure it is
productive. When working individually many of the children
were not engaged and lost confidence because they could not
rely on their peers for support.
King Edward VI School, Northumberland
Our aim was to investigate potential tools for learning which
would enable us to support students in developing
responsibility & resourcefulness. Our ultimate aim was to
develop a means of fostering independent lifelong learners
with the skills to fulfil their potential. Learning mats were
found to be a valuable resource that supported students in
becoming independent learners. Year 13 students responded
positively, however they appeared less effective in supporting
less able Year 10.
Tytherington High School, Cheshire
This project aimed to provide students with a reflection log to
support reflection and discussion about learning. It was hoped
this would improve attitudes to learning and make students
more aware of their learning styles and abilities. The project
found that although students were positive about learning
and school life in general, asking them to reflect about a
THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
Developing New Understandings of Learning to Learn 13
whole week of learning was difficult. The key reasons were a
reluctance to write on a regular basis and a lack of awareness
of their ability to reflect and evaluate learning.
Hazelbury Infant School, Enfield
This project aimed to investigate whether using the TASC
wheel for problem solving improves self esteem and
motivation by encouraging children to take responsibility and
reflect upon their own learning. It is clear that most of the 71
children’s attitudes to learning and self esteem improved. In
addition, more children were measured as being on task in
lessons that used the TASC wheel. This result was consistent
across three year groups.
Marlborough Primary School, Cornwall
As a result of this case study there is an ethos of learning
throughout the school – children see that teachers are
engaged in the same process. Risk taking, exploration and
trialling of new ideas, has become a cultural principle.
Successful learners need to have control of their learning.
Learning is not passive – it does not come to those who wait
or merely respond – it is essential to question and seek out.
Archbishop Benson Primary, Cornwall
It was hoped that the aims would enable pupils to take
greater control, develop resilience and more responsibility for
their learning. Promoting pupil voice in a skills based
curriculum using learning detectives gives pupils ownership of
learning which has a positive impact on levels of motivation,
confidence, independence, self esteem and attainment. It
promotes mutual respect within and beyond the classroom,
has a positive impact on language development and talking
about learning
Wooler First School, Northumberland
This project investigates how effective marking ladders are in
supporting children’s self- assessment of their own writing.
We found that they were a useful tool to support children’s
self assessment of their own writing and help them to focus
on the process of writing. However it is important that
marking ladders remain adaptable and can be differentiated
for different abilities, especially for the more able. Overall they
are effective but have to be adapted to suit the pupils and the
context.
14 Research Matters 33

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HIGGINS, S., WALL, K., BAUMFIELD, V., HALL, E., LEAT, D. and WOOLNER, P.
(2007) Learning to Learn in Schools Phase 3 Evaluation Year Three Final
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learning outcomes, The Curriculum Journal, 16(1): 7-30.
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ed.), Geelong: Deakin University. Stenhouse, L. (1981) What counts as
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STENHOUSE, L. (1981) What counts as research? British Journal of
Educational Studies 29(2): 103-114
WALL, K. and HIGGINS, S. (2006) Facilitating and supporting talk with
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WENGER, E. (1998) Communities of practice: learning, meaning and
identity Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Further information, including access to the 85 case studies produced by

the teachers over the duration of the project and the annual project reports,
can be found at the Campaign for Learning website:
http://www.campaignforlearning.org.uk/

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 Developing New Understandings of Learning to Learn 15

THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

INSI RESEARCH MATTERS
Number 33 Summer 2009

Developing New Understandings of Learning to Learn

Authors: Dr Kate Wall

Research Centre for Learning and Teaching
School of Education Newcastle University

Elaine Hall
Research Centre for Learning and Teaching
School of Education Newcastle University

Editor: Jane Reed

Head of International Network for School Improvement,
London Centre for Leadership in Learning (LCLL)
Institute of Education

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