Sanat Dayani, who works in consulting, had a similar experience at his school in Delhi. “Students are given a template and told ‘this is the way that you do things’ because that is what is dictated by our system,” he says. “That might not be the way you develop understanding but that is the way it is. Academics are the end goal that will get you to this or that university.”
Extracurricular activities, including sport, debating, music and drama, volunteering and outdoor programmes, are cited by young people as important ‘confidence builders’ but what happens in lessons should contribute too; from class discussions, exploring topics in more depth, presenting and public speaking, to giving feedback to classmates. “I think many of my peers question their own abilities to be industrious or handle a problem,” says Joshua Moore, 25, a music graduate who works in communications. “Rather than solve an issue themselves, their first port of call would be to seek help.” He warns that young people growing up in the information age instantly reach for their phones when asked a question, rather than having the confidence to think for themselves.
Ishu Gupta, academic coordinator at Oakridge International School Gachibowli, in Hyderabad, India, agrees. For her the modern world—with its obsession with grades and its ubiquitous technology—is making it harder for children to develop the habit of thinking about their learning. “Some children struggle to grasp the importance of putting in effort,” she explains. “In many ways, everything has become too convenient. You can simply Google something and find the answer, but this habit does not foster deeper learning or enhance confidence.”
Ishu’s school is among more than 60 schools in the Nord Anglia group taking part in one of a number of research projects aimed at empowering children’s self-reliance in their own learning through metacognition. This means coaching pupils to be aware of how they learn, how to regulate their learning and reflecting on the learning process itself. Nord Anglia calls it a ‘learning superpower’. At its foundation, Nord Anglia’s approach centres on six key attributes — the 6 C’s — that young people need to thrive in the 21st century: curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, commitment, collaboration, and compassion. Schools are explicitly teaching children “thinking routines” to consistently support these “learner ambitions”.
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