What is rL?
It is about learning and development through self awareness and concious application.
rL involves the processes of becoming a more effective learner. So, for example, for someone learning to play the piano, this might involve the development of self-discipline, deliberate kinds of practising to focus on difficult combinations of notes, the management of distractions, the ability to read four or more lines of musical notation simultaneously, the development of digital dexterity and fluidity, and the management of nerves when playing in front of others. Often rL involves changing or unlearning habits in order to improve. Often (but not always) it requires self-awareness and conscious application.
Some rL activities:
- Investigating: gathering and testing information and ideas
- Experimenting: trying things out in practice; drafting and redrafting
- Controlled imagining: running mental simulations and rehearsals
- Receptive imagining: allowing possibilities to incubate and ‘bubble up’ into consciousness
- Reasoning: thinking things through, planning and goal-setting, analysing arguments and evaluating progress
- Resourcing: creating and capitalising on a network of tools and resources
- Collaborating: engaging, sharing and discussing with others
rL mindsets:
- Growth: being convinced that your intelligence is expandable and that experimentation and effort will be rewarded
- Positivity: remaining optimistic and seeing the influence of both external and internal factors in events
- Curiosity: openness, inquisitiveness and enthusiasm towards new learning
- Resilience: willingness to meet and persist with worthwhile challenges
- Sociability: balancing the benefits of collaborative and solo learning
- Mindfulness: being self-aware, reflective and strategic about learning
What is rL?
- Playing the piano
- Dribbling a football
- Installing new software
- Calming a baby
- Running a meeting
- Reassuring a patient
- Searching the web
- Resolving an argument
- Driving a car
- Creating a garden
- Using a social networking site
Recently we have developed a model of rL which we are calling the 4:6:1 model
Bodies of Knowledge: how the learning sciences could transform practical and vocational education Guy Claxton, Bill Lucas and Rob Webster, The Edge Foundation, 2010