INTRODUCTION TO LEARNING HOW TO LEARN
Developing the Ability to Learn
The overarching objective of my program of study in the humanities is to develop students’ ability to learn. By forging an understanding of the process of learning itself, my course helps students to build a foundation and framework that will support all of their learning in the future. Although we will focus on learning in the humanities, I will demonstrate to students how the key processes of learning are common to all the disciplines and how these universal tools can help them to learn any subject inside or outside of their schooling. The goal is nothing less than to transform your child’s learning in all domains and areas of life.
Intelligence and a Growth Mindset
The first order of business with my new students at the start of the school year is to address common misconceptions about learning. Studies have shown that many American school children have absorbed wrong ideas about learning that hurt their achievement. I address these common misconceptions directly and work to give my students an accurate understanding of learning that will set them on the right path.
The core misconception many children have is that intelligence is almost like a physical substance that a person was given at birth in either a greater or lesser amount. Some people were born with a lot of intelligence, and others were not so lucky.
To correct this misunderstanding, we explore the concept of a growth mindset and introduce the theory of multiple intelligences developed by Howard Gardner. We define intelligence as “effective functioning in a particular domain” and realize that “intelligence is learnable,” that it is know-how about a subject that is developed through study, practice, and one’s own effort.
The Student Learning Profile and Goals for the Year
Another way that I develop students’ understanding of a growth mindset is through an annual “Student Learning Profile and Goals for the Year” project. The students are asked to reflect on specific aspects of learning and complete an inventory of their strengths and weaknesses. They take a short multiple intelligences test that provides additional insight into their learning. Finally, they set their own learning goals for the year in each subject and discuss these goals with their parents and myself. They will reflect on their progress in the middle of the year and write a final end-of-the-year reflection on what they have accomplished in each subject area. This undertaking encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning and experience the power of setting personal goals and working to achieve them. This is at the heart what it means to have a growth mindset.
The Learning Curve and a Work Ethic
I also introduce the concept of a learning curve to give students a realistic understanding of how learning takes place when you attempt to master complex skills. Becoming an insightful reader, excellent writer, and capable critical thinker are challenging undertakings that will proceed on a learning curve, where growth is slow in the initial stages and progresses gradually with continued trial and error, feedback, and revision. Students learn that this incremental process is how growth takes place and come to expect that their learning with follow a similar course. This helps them to relax into the process of learning and to have realistic expectations for their progress.
While forging learning skills, the students also are developing persistence and dedication; they are learning the attitudes, habits, and effort needed to become excellent at something. I think that developing students’ understanding of a growth mindset, challenging them so that they know what hard work is, and encouraging them to develop a strong work ethic are some of the greatest gifts my program of study has to offer your child.
Craftsmanship in the Workshop of Learning
A thinking- and skill-centered program also helps students to see themselves as apprentices practicing their craft in the workshop of learning. My program consists of days that we call “work periods” when students move forward on the project at hand individually or in teams, while I check in with them one by one to discuss their work and provide feedback. It also is one of the formats I most enjoy. I love the feel of these in-class workshops where students diligently advance their project, discuss their craft with others, provide and receive feedback, and seek help. Furthermore, this format is one of the most powerful ways in which I can impact student learning by providing individual guidance in the moment it is needed. Besides making learning fun and building bonds between students, these workshops encourage them to work like apprentices honing their craft. More than just a metaphor, working like this helps students assimilate how dedication to one’s craft requires continual practice, rigorous critique, and faith in the process of continual improvement that takes place bit by bit. It helps students to build a mature understanding of how work is done by adults in the real world.
Becoming Powerful and Confident and Doing Useful Work
My approach to learning helps students to appreciate that it is the development of the crafts of close reading, critical thinking, essay writing, and intellectual discussion that are the most valuable aspects of their education. They experience that being able to skillfully brandish these tools enables them to learn any topic and to learn it deeply. They develop confidence in themselves because they can feel that they have become powerful, that they have the ability to do useful work, a concept central to my classroom. The Middle School Head at San Francisco Day School, Nancy Ware, said this about my method of teaching:
An eighth grader at Hilldale School recently said this:
A seventh grader at Hilldale School had this to say:
From another eighth grader at Hilldale School:
By focusing my program on the skills of inquiry and the power tools of learning, my students are keenly aware that their understanding of education is being transformed and they are dramatically increasing their capabilities.
Inspiration and Passion for Learning
Helping students to unearth their power, grow self-confident, and taste the gratification of doing useful work that is meaningful to them can lift them yet higher to the summit of education. It can enable students to experience the inspiration and passion that learning can ignite in us. It can release the forces that compel them to do their best work because of what it gives back to them. I am thinking of the student who recently completed her 65 page short story mystery that was outstanding and represents a high level of accomplishment for an eighth grader, the recent student whose exceptional essay on economics ended with a passionate call for fairness and justice that was based on her insightful understanding of the issues, and the talented young musician and artist who spend hours working on their craft. A former student, Molly Young, who now writes for the New York Times, wrote this:
From a student in her first year at college:
From current students and parents:
My educational program is able to achieve these kinds of results and inspire students because I am able to transmit to them my own passion for learning and faith in its power. These results are made possible by my belief in a bold educational vision that aspires to help students reach great heights. A key foundation of this vision for success, I believe, is my program’s emphasis on teaching students to learn how to learn.
Another way that I develop students’ understanding of a growth mindset is through an annual “Student Learning Profile and Goals for the Year” project. The students are asked to reflect on specific aspects of learning and complete an inventory of their strengths and weaknesses. They take a short multiple intelligences test that provides additional insight into their learning. Finally, they set their own learning goals for the year in each subject and discuss these goals with their parents and myself. They will reflect on their progress in the middle of the year and write a final end-of-the-year reflection on what they have accomplished in each subject area. This undertaking encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning and experience the power of setting personal goals and working to achieve them. This is at the heart what it means to have a growth mindset.
The Learning Curve and a Work Ethic
I also introduce the concept of a learning curve to give students a realistic understanding of how learning takes place when you attempt to master complex skills. Becoming an insightful reader, excellent writer, and capable critical thinker are challenging undertakings that will proceed on a learning curve, where growth is slow in the initial stages and progresses gradually with continued trial and error, feedback, and revision. Students learn that this incremental process is how growth takes place and come to expect that their learning with follow a similar course. This helps them to relax into the process of learning and to have realistic expectations for their progress.
While forging learning skills, the students also are developing persistence and dedication; they are learning the attitudes, habits, and effort needed to become excellent at something. I think that developing students’ understanding of a growth mindset, challenging them so that they know what hard work is, and encouraging them to develop a strong work ethic are some of the greatest gifts my program of study has to offer your child.
Craftsmanship in the Workshop of Learning
A thinking- and skill-centered program also helps students to see themselves as apprentices practicing their craft in the workshop of learning. My program consists of days that we call “work periods” when students move forward on the project at hand individually or in teams, while I check in with them one by one to discuss their work and provide feedback. It also is one of the formats I most enjoy. I love the feel of these in-class workshops where students diligently advance their project, discuss their craft with others, provide and receive feedback, and seek help. Furthermore, this format is one of the most powerful ways in which I can impact student learning by providing individual guidance in the moment it is needed. Besides making learning fun and building bonds between students, these workshops encourage them to work like apprentices honing their craft. More than just a metaphor, working like this helps students assimilate how dedication to one’s craft requires continual practice, rigorous critique, and faith in the process of continual improvement that takes place bit by bit. It helps students to build a mature understanding of how work is done by adults in the real world.
Becoming Powerful and Confident and Doing Useful Work
My approach to learning helps students to appreciate that it is the development of the crafts of close reading, critical thinking, essay writing, and intellectual discussion that are the most valuable aspects of their education. They experience that being able to skillfully brandish these tools enables them to learn any topic and to learn it deeply. They develop confidence in themselves because they can feel that they have become powerful, that they have the ability to do useful work, a concept central to my classroom. The Middle School Head at San Francisco Day School, Nancy Ware, said this about my method of teaching:
- "…testimonials from his students were inspiring. It would be common to hear things like, 'I worked harder than I ever have for Mr. Trapasso, but it was worth it.' Or, 'I never thought of myself as a good student, but now I know I can do anything.'”
An eighth grader at Hilldale School recently said this:
- "From sixth to eighth grade I have grown so much from your teaching and I have honestly noticed a major difference in my thinking… I would have been a completely different person and would have thought differently if not for you. I am able to think for myself now…"
A seventh grader at Hilldale School had this to say:
- "Thank you for helping me grow as a learner, critical thinker, writer and reader. The way I look at the world and the way I do things is so vividly different than before."
From another eighth grader at Hilldale School:
- "You have taught me the skills I need to investigate topics and learn. For three years you taught me many things that other teachers would not have. You gave us a unique and amazing education."
By focusing my program on the skills of inquiry and the power tools of learning, my students are keenly aware that their understanding of education is being transformed and they are dramatically increasing their capabilities.
Inspiration and Passion for Learning
Helping students to unearth their power, grow self-confident, and taste the gratification of doing useful work that is meaningful to them can lift them yet higher to the summit of education. It can enable students to experience the inspiration and passion that learning can ignite in us. It can release the forces that compel them to do their best work because of what it gives back to them. I am thinking of the student who recently completed her 65 page short story mystery that was outstanding and represents a high level of accomplishment for an eighth grader, the recent student whose exceptional essay on economics ended with a passionate call for fairness and justice that was based on her insightful understanding of the issues, and the talented young musician and artist who spend hours working on their craft. A former student, Molly Young, who now writes for the New York Times, wrote this:
- "From John (or Mr. Trapasso, as I knew him) I learned the practice of rigor and the pleasures of intellectual curiosity. He instilled in me the conviction that my mind was a capable instrument. What a powerful lesson for a young girl to learn!"
From a student in her first year at college:
- "I am also emailing to let you know about a paper I wrote for my International Political Economy course this semester… While writing this paper, I was thinking of you and the impact you had on my development as a writer growing up. Reflecting on what you've taught me throughout the years, you were not only a great academic influence, but showed me what it means to be passionate about something. Especially since I've been struggling with deciding on a major, writing this paper has helped me to discover how I want to impact and make a difference in this world. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I wanted to let you know how thankful I am for showing me what passion is and being a person to look up to in my life. I've attached my paper and it would mean so much if you could read it!"
From current students and parents:
- "Wow. I don’t even know where to start. Mr. Trapasso, you have not only inspired me to do great things, but you have changed me in a good way."
- "I love that you will only accept the best from all of us, and that pushes us to excel."
- "Our sincere gratitude for inspiring [our son] to learn again. We continue to witness the passion you bring out in him and the change is remarkable."
- "Thanks for everything you do for our kids and the many ways in which you challenge and inspire them. I have seen such amazing growth and passion in [my son] with respect to critical thinking and writing which is fully attributable to you!"
My educational program is able to achieve these kinds of results and inspire students because I am able to transmit to them my own passion for learning and faith in its power. These results are made possible by my belief in a bold educational vision that aspires to help students reach great heights. A key foundation of this vision for success, I believe, is my program’s emphasis on teaching students to learn how to learn.