Developing Real Learners
DRL - a non-profit set on helping people transform education
About Us
Helping communities approach education
so that young people can become the best holistic learners they can be.
so that young people can become the best holistic learners they can be.
Many schools struggle to teach in ways other than what may described as teacher-centred: the teacher talks, the students listen, remember and regurgitate (often without deep understanding. In the late 20th century, we saw approaches such as student-centred and learner-centred where young people were taught how to be good at schoolwork. Through utilising the work of Harvard Project Zero, Claxton’s and Building Learning Power, and other leading educators, we at Developing Real Learners have developed the next stage in approach evolution – Learner-Development-Centred (LDC) approaches to education.
LDC places the development of learner attributes (habits, skills, and dispositions) at the forefront of what teachers and learners do at school. The development of the holistic learner takes place in the context of subject areas.
It’s not about changing the syllabus, it’s about changing how we approach what teaching and learning. So, teachers can teach what they are prescribed to teach but are coached and trained by DRL to use any opportunities they can identify or create to help kids develop the attributes of holistic learners. This approach is therefore applicable to any school.
Here is an example of a set of attributes schools might help young people develop:
LDC places the development of learner attributes (habits, skills, and dispositions) at the forefront of what teachers and learners do at school. The development of the holistic learner takes place in the context of subject areas.
It’s not about changing the syllabus, it’s about changing how we approach what teaching and learning. So, teachers can teach what they are prescribed to teach but are coached and trained by DRL to use any opportunities they can identify or create to help kids develop the attributes of holistic learners. This approach is therefore applicable to any school.
Here is an example of a set of attributes schools might help young people develop:
*Heart-mindedness (caring and empathic enough to get to the heart of the matter – seeking the fundamental causes of issues) **Growth-mindedness (growing and developing as learners from mistakes, misunderstandings and situations of disorder and uncertainty. Seeking to learn and improve as learners rather than blame when things go wrong). ***Anti-fragile – beyond resilience – getting stronger from adversity
DRL has worked with groups of young people, parents and teachers in several cultures and school systems. Two questions were asked: ‘What should schools be doing for young people?’ and ‘What attributes do young people need to be successful and happy in their lives?’
The answers to these questions were in one way surprisingly similar:
‘School should be providing us with opportunities to be happy and successful now and in the unknown future.’
Teachers, learners and parents from all around the world, almost without exception, identified the attributes shown in table 1 above. These are fundamental human attributes.
They are the attributes of learners and entrepreneurs because basically, that is what we are.
All young people already have these attributes, but oddly, our education systems stifle their development and also suppresses teachers’ attempts to help kids develop them. We aim to overturn that.
DRL has worked with groups of young people, parents and teachers in several cultures and school systems. Two questions were asked: ‘What should schools be doing for young people?’ and ‘What attributes do young people need to be successful and happy in their lives?’
The answers to these questions were in one way surprisingly similar:
‘School should be providing us with opportunities to be happy and successful now and in the unknown future.’
Teachers, learners and parents from all around the world, almost without exception, identified the attributes shown in table 1 above. These are fundamental human attributes.
They are the attributes of learners and entrepreneurs because basically, that is what we are.
All young people already have these attributes, but oddly, our education systems stifle their development and also suppresses teachers’ attempts to help kids develop them. We aim to overturn that.
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Our aim is to transform education by helping young people become the best holistic learners they can be and through helping schools develop into learning communities.
We create adaptable processes that take communities through the various stages of finding themselves as learning communities of holistic learners.
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We help communities discover the attributes that they need to develop from the secure base of shared human values and through the strengths of their own cultural perspectives.
Our processes focus on changing approaches to education and therefore they support and enhance any educational system.
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We originally started up in 2013 and engaged in projects - from advising creators of online educational tools on how to develop attributes online to providing one - to two-day workshops for teachers, learners and parents. Unfortunately, I had to stop for a few years due to a job I had implementing new programmes into a school. However, we're back now in 2020 and ready to go.
The goal of the organisation is to change the approach in schools from one of merely training students to pass exams, towards using a learner-development-centred approach that sees young people and educators become reengaged in an education that recognises and supports the development of the attributes of holistic learners – the attributes we all have and that the World so desperately needs us to develop. What about exams? The wonderful thing is, that by being the best holistic learner you can be means also being a great student.
The goal of the organisation is to change the approach in schools from one of merely training students to pass exams, towards using a learner-development-centred approach that sees young people and educators become reengaged in an education that recognises and supports the development of the attributes of holistic learners – the attributes we all have and that the World so desperately needs us to develop. What about exams? The wonderful thing is, that by being the best holistic learner you can be means also being a great student.
Developing Real Learners is an organisation intent on helping schools develop learning communities that will, ‘through their own cultural perspectives, foster an approach to education that develops the holistic learner, leading to wise action and all within the current systems young people find themselves in.’
Our message is one of communities transforming themselves and their approach to education through accessible and straightforward processes that rely on our common humanity and their own cultural perspectives.
Join us or contact us here:
Website of DRL: www.developingreallearners.org/
DRL LinkedIn Group: www.linkedin.com/groups/4801809/
LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/robert-thorn-3aa95218 /
Email: robert.thorn@developingreallearners.org
Our message is one of communities transforming themselves and their approach to education through accessible and straightforward processes that rely on our common humanity and their own cultural perspectives.
Join us or contact us here:
Website of DRL: www.developingreallearners.org/
DRL LinkedIn Group: www.linkedin.com/groups/4801809/
LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/robert-thorn-3aa95218 /
Email: robert.thorn@developingreallearners.org