TEACHING AND LEARNING POLICY

The School believes that teaching should maximise the learning potential of all pupils. We aim to accomplish this by employing a variety of appropriate and effective teaching and learning strategies to allow pupils access to the curriculum.

Learning Strategies, Skills and Styles

Learning strategy refers to the activity an individual pupil engages in to achieve the objectives set by the teacher. In order to learn, a pupil may, for example, brainstorm, talk the problem through with a partner, observe someone else performing a task, practise alone and so on.

Learning skills refer to the abilities that a pupil has at his/her disposal to engage in learning activity. Such skills include reading, ICT., listening, talking, observing, empathising, self-assessment, working with others etc.

Each pupil has a very personal, preferred style that is an amalgam of his/her own preferred strategies and skills and is linked to his/her personality, attitude and personal qualities. At FitzWimarc, we recognise that pupils prefer to learn in one or two of three ways:

Visual Learners prefer to learn by storing images in the brain.
Visual learners should:

• Use pictures, mind maps, computers, diagrams, flowcharts, key words, television, videos.
• Use colour to help the brain remember.
• Use different coloured pens and pencils to colour diagrams and when writing notes, use highlighter pens to highlight text.
• Write information in bullet points or as key words on “post-its” which come in different colours.

Auditory Learners prefer to learn by storing sounds in the brain.
Auditory learners should:

• Learn with friends – talk over the work and help each other to understand it.
• Tape notes and play them back.
• Listen to music while learning.
• Repeat their work out loud to aid memory.
• Make up rhymes or raps about their work.
• Get someone in the family to ask them questions about the work.
• Use CD-Roms/ computer programs which read the text out loud.

Kinaesthetic Learners are practical people who prefer to learn by movement or touch.
Kinaesthetic learners should:

• Where possible touch, feel, or do things practically.
• Use computers.
• Put their notes on cards and sequence them.
• Do ‘brain gym’ exercises.
• Stand up – stretch or exercise – at least every 20 minutes when working or revising.
• Draw pictures, mind maps – run a finger between the words on the map, say each one out loud.

Even though each pupil has a preferred learning method, he/she should try to develop the skills needed to gain benefit from whichever teaching strategy is being used. Kinaesthetic learners should, for example, develop speaking and listening skills in order to gain benefit from in-class discussion.