EDUCATION
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
IMPLEMENTING GOOD LEARNING HABITS
BY TOM VAFIDIS , DIRECTOR OF TEACHING AND LEARNING , ASHFORD SCHOOL
SENIOR SCHOOL STUDENTS NEED TO MASTER THE SKILL OF GOOD LEARNING HABITS . RATHER THAN FOCUSING ON THE TIME SPENT SITTING IN FRONT OF A TEXTBOOK , THEY SHOULD CONSIDER THE QUALITY OF THE TIME BEING SPENT STUDYING . TEACHING AND IMPLEMENTING STRONG LEARNING HABITS IN THIS PHASE OF SCHOOLING WILL RESULT IN STUDENTS BEING ABLE TO HANDLE THE DEMANDS OF UNIVERSITY AND THE INCREASING WORKLOADS THEY WILL FACE IN THE FUTURE .
Our Learning Habits form the heart of academic life and have been developed to provide a coherent framework to build the key skills needed for success in a volatile and challenging world . This is the centre point of our wider ambition to stretch and challenge our students as much as possible across all areas of school life in a way that is consistent , coherent and cohesive .
The Learning Habits span academic and cocurricular life and act as a mechanism to push each of our students to make progress and achieve the best possible outcomes . They reflect the qualities we most value at our school and form the basis of every lesson , enrichment and activity .
These six habits are designed to reflect the qualities that we most value in our students and are used to help promote the very best progress and outcomes from the student body .
1 . Independence :
Take responsibility for your own learning ; take full advantage of the opportunities you are given ; ask yourself what you can do better .
2 . Resilience :
Rise to new challenges and take risks with new things ; respond constructively to criticism and embrace failure as a route to success ; strike a balance between aspiration and acceptance .
3 . Scholarship and Curiosity :
Think creatively and critically ; pursue depth of understanding and reject the simple answer ; and welcome reasoned debate and communicate your ideas effectively .
4 . Tolerance and Collaboration :
Be courteous , polite and encouraging at all times ; welcome the ideas and perspectives of others ; hold your own views up to scrutiny and be prepared to modify your opinions .
5 . Creativity :
Be adventurous with the disciplines you try and the tasks you do ; read widely and develop your opinions broadly ; celebrate original and imaginative thought and emulate it wherever possible .
6 . Reflection and Responsibility :
Think about the needs and contributions of your peers , not just yourselves ; examine your own behaviour and ensure you act with confidence but not arrogance ; look critically at your place in the school community and what can be done to improve it .
Our central aim is for every student to leave Ashford School prepared for the next phase of their lives , equipped with a distinguished academic record , a clear moral compass and the confidence to pursue their ambitions . Our Learning Habits form the centerpiece of our ambition to extend this ethos across all areas of school life .
We are confident that our students who enter higher education with these lifelong learning habits in place most certainly have an advantage when it comes to the outcomes of their studies and career progression .
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