Leasowes School Flexible Time and Curriculum Design

Follow this link to the website of Leasowes Business and Enterprise College where they have used a curriculum redesign based around 'flexible Fridays' to rethink how learning works and takes place in the school.  This link takes you to an Innovation Unit Evaluation of the development.

50 Fascinating Lectures on the Future of Education

Follow this link for 50 fascinating lectures.

Deeper Thinking in Student-Led Research and Project Based Learning

Getting Out Into The Real World

View more presentations from L.Pearson.

Personalising the Curriculum - John Cabot School

Project Based Learning Links

A range of links related to Project Based Learning:

A Treasure Trove of PBL Links
Edutopia Integrated Studies
Edutopia Project Based Learning
Paradox of choice in learning
Research Base for Project Based Learning

Developing Learning and Subject Expertise through Competencies

Open publication - Free publishing

Transformed by Technology: High Tech High Overview

Project-Based Learning at High-Tech High

Reflections on Deep Learning Autumn 2010 - Winter 2011

This is a space for members of the Deep Learning ARG to offer their reflections on the things they are trying out with Deep Learning Strategies. Please click on the comments button and leave a comment.

Deep Learning and Innovation

21st Century Learner - an inspirational video

Deep Project Based Creative Learning

Using Animation to Explain ...

Draw Faces Your Own Way

View more presentations from Betsy Streeter.

AfL Techniques - some simple strategies for deeper learning

This link takes you to a selection of simple to use Assessment for Learning Strategies that are effective in promoting deeper learning.

Anish Kapoor Quotation

Anish Kapoor by douglasgreig

Becta 14-19 Deep Learning Literature Review

This is link to an insightful overview of the dual pathways of deep learning and the use of new technologies in learning.

What's the Difference between Knowledge and Understanding?

What's the difference between knowledge and understanding? from Douglas Greig on Vimeo.

Digital Tools for Deep Learning

Guide to Digital Tools for Deep Learning

View more presentations from douglasgreig.

This is an interactive powerpoint presentation produced as a guide for staff at Thomas Tallis.
These are a range of tools for developing deeper learning, but also providing the opportunity
to consider the development of literacy skills. Many of these are tools that staff and students
are using across the curriculum to promote collaboration, and to enhance the quality and 
depth of the learning that takes place.

The Art of Deep Learning

As reflection and metacognition are important aspects of Deep Learning, this requires a particular approach to learning and thinking on behalf of both teachers and learners.  We have used several ways of thinking about this.  First we have seen the role of the teacher as facilitator as vital.  Here is a link to our thoughts about the difference between a teacher as a facilitator and as an instructor.  There is not simple or straightforward difference, and good lessons - in fact outstanding lessons - have to have elements of both.  If learning is dominated by instruction however, it stands no chance of being deep.  We have used something called a TIMS grid to help us make sense of some of this, as it is a useful lens to think about the different behaviours.  Here is a link to a blank of copy of such as grid.

A Menu for Deep Learning

This is a menu of questions and strategies to help all learners to make their learning deeper.  It was created by a mixed group of students from Thomas Tallis representing the full age range of the school.  Working with Mike Hughes they took part in a range of activities that got them to reflect deeply on their own learning, on themselves as learners and on what the ingredients of deeper learning are. At the end of the day they drew up this list as menu of catalysts to making learning deeper.

Looking Back - Looking Forward

At our meeting tonight having uploaded as many of the tools we had pulled together as possible we decided that next year some important next steps will be:

To add practical examples of deep learning in action through videos.
To add practical examples of deep learning tools in action.
To use these tools in collaboration with colleagues to develop examples of their use across the curriculum.  This will need careful planning, collaboration and coaching.
To collect evidence about the effects of these tools on learning.


The Deep Learning ARG June 2010

Spot the Difference?

Facilitator or Instructor - Spot the Difference? from Douglas Greig on Vimeo.



This is a recording of the same teacher trying very hard to deliver lessons in different styles. It proved very difficult to keep to one style in each lesson, and some of it felt very unnatural. Can you spot the difference between the two? Which one has the emphasis on facilitation? Which one on instruction? Post a comment to let us know what you think.

Progress Wheel Template

Progress wheel template.

Progress Wheel Overview

Progress Wheel Overview

Word Reduction Overview

Word Reduction Overview

Plenary Questioning

Plenary Questioning from AD and ST

Here is a link to the plenary questioning activity, by ST and AD.

Learning Triangle Overview

Learning Triangle Sheet

Use of Video Logs Overview

Video Log Overview

Diamond 9 Template

Diamond 9 Template

Learning Triangle Overview

Learning Triangle Overview

Plenary Swaps

A link to the plenary swap summary, by AD.

Plenary Swap Summary

Enjoy

Diamond 9 Overview

Diamond 9 Overview

Deep Learning Wallwisher

This is a Wallwisher that we have been creating about deep learning. This is a great tool for gathering together ideas and sharing thinking and so can be a great mechanism for promotion reflection and metacognition. As such in itself it is a realyl good example of deeper learning.

An Inspirational Video to Get us all thinking

We are the People We've Been Waiting For from Douglas Greig on Vimeo.


This is an inspirational video which looks both forwards and backwards at trend in education.  It is important that we keep our eye on the why and the how of learning and thinking, and the commentary and opinion voiced in this excerpt provides a huge amount of food for thought, and is in many ways inspirational.  We would be interested in your thoughts - so go on add comment to let us know what you think.

Deep Learning Toolkit

One of our priorities is to support the practice of our colleagues in order to impact on the learning that takes place in school and beyond.  This is why we've committed to setting up a toolkit for help staff think about the ways in which they can help deepen learning.

Overview Presentation about the Work of the ARG

Deep Learning ARG Launch 2009 from Douglas Greig on Vimeo.

Deep Learning

This is the blog of the Deep Learning Action Research Group at Thomas Tallis School. We are a group of staff who are interested in getting underneath the skin of what makes learning more effective, longer lasting and more memorable. We have been carrying out a range of research and reflective activities that led to us developing the following working definition:

Learning that is reflective, understood and owned by the learners, personal to them, remembered by them and transferable/transferred to other places and situations. As such deep learning is longer lasting.