2020 Learner Profile
We educators teach a lot more than reading, writing or maths. We spend much time on developing life skills and preparing our tamariki for their futures.
With this in mind, we in team five spent our first meeting creating graduating profiles of our learners. That is, we considered the skills, knowledge and traits that we hope they will possess as they leave our classes. This was a fantastic activity (created by my amazing team leader Andrea) that got us on the same page and excited about teaching a new cohort of children.
We discussed motivation and resilience at length; we want our students to be driven, to love learning, to persevere and set lofty goals. We also discussed some of the challenges our students face at this age, as they become more self aware (and self conscious) and are beginning to make choices for their future.
This is something that hit me hard at the end of 2019 as I started to connect more with teachers at the local college. Previously I had quizzed them on the demands of their subjects, as I wanted to ensure that my learning activities were not too simple or different. However, it was not until last year that I asked them about the 'soft skills' that my students would need. This really reminded me of the importance of key competencies and the notion of educating the 'whole child'.
I think this is something I will consider throughout the year during 2020. As fun as it was pretending to be a range of 'teachers' and getting my learners to walk around the school only to return to our same class, I think the lessons may sink in a little better if my message is consistent across the year.
As you meet this year, I urge you to make your own graduating learner profile with your team. It really helped us to focus on our learners and our goals for 2020.
With this in mind, we in team five spent our first meeting creating graduating profiles of our learners. That is, we considered the skills, knowledge and traits that we hope they will possess as they leave our classes. This was a fantastic activity (created by my amazing team leader Andrea) that got us on the same page and excited about teaching a new cohort of children.
We discussed motivation and resilience at length; we want our students to be driven, to love learning, to persevere and set lofty goals. We also discussed some of the challenges our students face at this age, as they become more self aware (and self conscious) and are beginning to make choices for their future.
This is something that hit me hard at the end of 2019 as I started to connect more with teachers at the local college. Previously I had quizzed them on the demands of their subjects, as I wanted to ensure that my learning activities were not too simple or different. However, it was not until last year that I asked them about the 'soft skills' that my students would need. This really reminded me of the importance of key competencies and the notion of educating the 'whole child'.
I think this is something I will consider throughout the year during 2020. As fun as it was pretending to be a range of 'teachers' and getting my learners to walk around the school only to return to our same class, I think the lessons may sink in a little better if my message is consistent across the year.
As you meet this year, I urge you to make your own graduating learner profile with your team. It really helped us to focus on our learners and our goals for 2020.
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