Regular readers of Building Confident Learners probably know that I recently coauthored a book with Tim Brown on the steps that teachers can take to build the self-efficacy of their students.
Titled You Can Learn: Building Student Ownership, Motivation and Efficacy with the PLC at Work Process, it details what Tim and I believe are the most important steps that teachers can take to leave every student convinced that they are capable, competent learners.
Recently, Tim and I were interviewed for an educational publication.
The interviewer wanted to know just what made You Can Learn a book worth exploring. Thought you might be interested in our answers:
Q: Why was this book important to write?
In 2017, educational researcher Deborah Feldman made a surprising discovery while studying patterns in students who leave school without a diploma: Dropouts can oftentimes track their decision to give up on school back to a single moment that “undermined their faith in themselves as learners” (Feldman, 2017).
That is a heartbreaking reality.
Our job as educators isn’t just to teach students curriculum. Our job as educators is to ensure that every student believes in their ability to learn.
If after reading this book, a team of teachers reinvests in their commitment to building the academic confidence of students who feel helpless in school, they will have changed lives for the better.
Q: What insights can educators expect?
Educators in Professional Learning Communities at Work know that an essential first step for any collaborative team is to identify the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that we want students to master during the time that they are in our care.
Fundamentally, this is a book focused on dispositions.
Readers will gain insight into how student-centered versions of the four critical questions of learning in the PLC at Work process can be used to develop confidence, ownership, and high self-efficacy in every learner.
Q: How can school leaders help improve student engagement?
The most important step that school leaders can take to improve student engagement in their building is to have a firm understanding of the research on the topic.
This book not only cites and reinforces research done by recognized experts like Albert Bandura, Dylan Wiliam, John Hattie, Rick Stiggins, Jan Chappuis, Carol Dweck and Yvette Jackson, it translates that research into practices that collaborative teams can begin using in their classrooms immediately.
Q: What’s one key takeaway from this book?
A key takeaway from this book is that while the four pillars of the PLC at Work process – mission, vision, values, and goals – and the four critical questions of learning are powerful tools for building a culture of learning in the faculty of any school, they become even more powerful when we look at them through the lens of our students.
Our argument is that schools can have a profound impact on their communities when collaborative teacher teams turn the professional efficacy building practices that they have already embraced into instructional strategies that can move students forward as capable, competent learners.
