Created by James Mannion, Louise Stoll, Karen Spence-Thomas and Greg Ross, Activate is a card-based professional learning resource that aims to improve pupils’ experiences and outcomes by promoting self-regulated learning among leaders, teachers and pupils.
It’s widely recognised that self-regulated learners are more effective learners. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) suggests that metacognition and self-regulation are among the most important practices a school can focus on, providing ‘very high impact for very low cost, based on extensive evidence’ (EEF, 2022). However, teachers and leaders are often unsure what these terms mean, or what they look like in practice.
This resource enables teachers and leaders to ‘activate’ pupils to become the drivers of their own learning. Comprising six sets of resource cards and a clear and detailed facilitator guide – along with an extensive bibliography and additional downloadable materials – Activate has been designed to support time-pressed teachers and leaders to understand the theory and practice of self-regulated learning in an accessible way. Working through the activities will enable teachers and leaders to realise the potential of these powerful ideas in working with pupils, while helping them to regulate their own learning.
Learning conversations enable educators to make meaning together, connecting existing knowledge and experience with research evidence to create new ideas for how to improve their practice. The Activate cards are designed to facilitate learning conversations and associated actions, to help teachers, leaders and pupils become more confident, proactive, self-regulated learners.
The cards are grouped into two sets – Research cards and Professional Learning and Leadership Learning cards. The Research cards cover the key concepts and characteristics of self-regulated learning, offering a range of tried and tested techniques and strategies that teachers can put into practice in their own context. The Professional Learning and Leadership Learning cards and associated Scenario cards contain stimulating activities designed to help teachers and leaders promote and model self-regulated learning.
The resource has been developed by specialists at the UCL Centre for Educational Leadership, in conjunction with colleagues from the global Cognita schools system.
Dr James Mannion is the Director of Rethinking Education, a teacher training organisation dedicated to improving educational outcomes through self-regulated learning, implementation science, and practitioner research. @RethinkingJames
Dr Louise Stoll is Professor of Professional Learning at the UCL Centre for Education, IOE and an international consultant, focusing on how school and system leaders create capacity for learning.
Karen Spence-Thomas is a former schoolteacher and Associate Professor (Teaching) at the Centre for Educational Leadership, IOE.
Greg Ross is an Associate Professor (Teaching) at the UCL Centre for Educational Leadership, IOE.
·Helps teachers, leaders and pupils develop a shared understanding of what self-regulated learning means in theory and in practice.
·Draws on the authors’ original research into self-regulated learning, and their extensive research and development experience around professional and leadership learning.
·Provides a professional learning cycle to guide teachers and leaders as they investigate, innovate and evaluate their practice.
·Encourages and enables teachers and leaders to collaborate by facilitating professional learning conversations.
·Includes 83 cards and a detailed facilitator guide and bibliography, with additional downloadable resources and materials.
·Can be used and adapted by practitioners in any setting to suit their context.
·Suitable for all teachers and leaders looking to create more confident, proactive, self-regulated learners.
