The Importance of Knowing
Ernest
Personalising Learning
Benefits for everyone!
Why bother?
•Engage learners
•Build confidence and motivation
•Learners start to enjoy feelings of success
•Minimise disruptive behaviour
•Knowledge is empowering
•Ultimate qualification and life benefits
Grade D re-sit students
• Feelings of failure
• Disengaged
• Several re-sits
• Teach to test
• “What’s it got to do with ******?”
Literacy in life?
Activity
Complete the literacy clock!
Include everything you read and where,
everything you wrote down and who you spoke
to.
What literacy practices can you build on?
• Example - Performing Arts Students – Bios
and website
•How can you find out?
Other things the learners bring……
Is there anything you want to add to this?
• How can you find these things out about your learners?
Main Programme
•What English skills are needed for the
learners’ main programme?
•Do they know?
•Who does know?
•Can you bring a vocational tutor in as a guest
speaker?
Work skills – what the learners know
• Communication and maths skills are important at work
• They consider they have effective communication skills*
• What do most employers think?
• How can you use this?
* National Literacy Trust Research 2012
Life Skills
• What skills do they think they will need in life?
• What skills do they want?
• How can you find this out?
• How can you use it to maintain motivation?
Personal Interests
• What interests do your learners have outside of
your institution?
• Can the literacy clock exercise help you find this
out?
• Give your clock to the person sitting next to you.
What does it say about you?
• Any other ideas?
Underpinning Skills
• Often learners do not make the link between GCSE and the skills they consider to be important
• What the author intended
• Linguistic Devices
• Planning writing
• Role Playing
What can you do while you get to know Ernest to make these links clear?
Assessing Learners
• Most learners have a clear idea about what they
can do and what they need to improve
• When completing assessment activities don’t forget
to include their own self assessment
What learners like!
• What do learners tell us they want?
...fun,
interactive, practical, can see the point of
it, timely initial assessment and support; smaller
classes; teachers who can manage behaviour
assertively; not to lose face in class by asking for
help; a collaborative classroom climate…
• (NIACE report 2015)
Content
creation
Digital
technology
Collaborative
learning
Blended and
distance learning
Study skills
support
Mostly
multi-modal
e.g. involving
speech, music,
gesture,
movement, colour,
pictures, symbols
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaR674
ik-7M
Mostly multi-media
and non linear
• including sound,
electronic and
paper media
• involving complex,
varied reading paths
Other features
• Shared, interactive, participatory – virtual and /or
real
• Student being in charge
Other features
• Purposeful with a clear audience
• Generative i.e. involving sense-making and
creativity
• Self-determined in terms of activity, time and
place
From Ivanic, R. 2007 NIACE Embedding Conference - Website Accessed 08.31 16.6.2015
Planning for learning
•How can you build on this knowledge?
•How can you amend your planning for
learning to capture this information?
Bringing it all together
What are you going to do in the
first weeks of term?
Engage, give confidence and motivate!
• Activity:
• In your groups consider what information you need to gather from
your learners to:
 Find out what they can and can’t do – including self assessment
Demonstrate how the course will meet their needs now and in the
future
Show them what skills they will be learning that they can relate to
Show them what activities they will be doing that they can relate to