Learning behaviours are transferable, lifelong skills that are utilised by everyone to be successful, whatever role that they find themselves doing, whether they`re a student at Viewbank College or in their lives beyond school.
Students and staff have co-created the Learning Behaviour continuum to support everyone to grow their skills to engage positively in their learning at school, outside of school and beyond school. There are five learning behaviours (sometimes called transferable skills), each described on a 4-point scale. Each behaviour is further broken down into three or four smaller ‘micro behaviours’ that can be more easily targeted on.
The first four behaviours relate to Engagement in Learning.
As your ‘Engagement in Learning’ Behaviours develop, you move from a Trainee (someone who recognises these learning behaviours and can demonstrate them with direct support of others) to an Apprentice, then a Practitioner and finally, a Mentor (someone who others could learn from).
Learn Independently
These behaviours describe what you do when you`re taking in information or ideas and making sense of them by thinking about how they build on what you already know or can already do. Beyond school, this provides you with the mental/cognitive tools and strategies to adapt to problems, small and big, when you encounter them and need to respond.
Engage positively with peers in learning
These behaviours are all about allowing you to work with others successfully. It includes recognising that everyone brings a different perspective to their learning and that these varied viewpoints can deepen your own learning. Beyond school, this means that you`ll be able to collaborate productively with others and produce a better outcome.
Seek assistance and respond to feedback
These behaviours support you to become better at obtaining, providing and using feedback. Feedback is always about the task not the person. Beyond school, this means that you`ll be able to apply, and provide, constructive feedback that will lead to better outcomes.
Show grit and growth
These behaviours are all about developing the skills to become an independent learner. You know where you`re going, how you`re going and have the skills, strategies and mindset to better deal with whatever comes your way. Beyond school, this means you`ll have the mindset to continue to grow and be able to respond to change.
Take Responsibility
The last behaviour is Take responsibility for managing the completion of tasks. These behaviours describe how you can ‘set yourself up’ and be best prepared to get the most from the time you invest in your learning. Beyond school, this means you`re able to manage your life, regardless of the role you find yourself in. These behaviours relate directly to task completion and are assessed on a scale from ‘at times’ to ‘consistently’
Learning Behaviours
Learning behaviours are used in our classrooms, all the time. Teachers provide opportunities and supports for students to develop their learning behaviours. Students are regularly asked to reflect on their learning behaviours, setting goals and reflecting on growth as part of the Learning Phase Checkpoints student self-assessments. An internal website supports students with this process, with examples of what each of these behaviours might look like when learning. Teachers make judgements on students learning behaviours each term, as part of the interim and semester reporting processes.