Learning skills and learner autonomy

Raquel Zazo Serrano

Yasmina Ruiz Pacheco

Learning Skills

Learning skills  21st century learning skills are called the 4 C’s: critical

thinking, creative thinking, communicating, and collaborating.

These skills help students learn and they are vital to success

in school and beyond. They involve learning how to learn

and developing learner autonomy.

Learning skills can be artistic, cultural, linguistic, scientific,

social…

Learners understand and learn by interacting with people

and exploring the environment, they are part of ACTIVE

learning.

Critical Thinking

Defining 

Describing 

Evaluating 

Explaining 

Problem solving

Careful analysis of something to understand it better.

(what people call “left brain activity!)

Some of these abilities are:

Analyzing 

Arguing 

Classifying 

Comparing and contrasting 

Creative Thinking(“right brain activity”)

Brainstorming.

Creating 

Designing.

Entertaining others

(telling stories, making jokes, singing songs, playing games, acting out parts, and making conversation)

Imagining ideas

Improvising a solution.

Innovating 

Overturning (getting a new

perspective)

Questioning 

Communicating - Allows minds to tune to each other, thinking together.

• Analyzing the situation 

• Choosing a medium (the most

appropriate way to deliver a

message)

• Evaluating messages

• Following conventions (using

the expected norms for the

medium chosen)

• Listening actively

• Turn taking (effectively switching from receiving ideas to providing ideas)

• Reading

• Speaking 

• Using technology 

• Writing 

CollaboratingWorking together with others to achieve a common goal.

Allocating resources and responsibilities

Brainstorming ideas in a group

Decision-making.

Delegating 

Evaluating the products,

processes, and members of the

group

Goal setting 

(what outcome is desired)

Leading a group.

Managing time 

Resolving conflicts 

Team building 

SOME EXAMPLES:

Carrying out investigations: collect information, classify it and get a conclusion”

Cooperating with other: Group presentations

Data handling: transferring information about international

prefixes to a spreadsheet

Estimating, measuring and checking measurements: Calculate

the distance between a specific place to another

Organising information: Sorting questionnaire data about the local area by different sex groups

Reviewing work: Thinking about how you sang a pop song in the class

and deciding how to make it sound like a rap instead.

Summarising: Providing the key points from a debate about the new

Education law

Using knowledge: Separating different materials into separate recycling

bins

Key Concepts in the CLIL classroom

In CLIL, learners also have to develop learning skills in a non-

native language

They need support and encouragement to develop them and apply

them in different contexts.

Learning skills need to be planned with other teachers

Learners might have different needs.

Encourage an enquiry approach---) problem-based or task-based learning

All learners need access to learning skills that are required in their

community (data handling, using information…)

Different skills required in different subjects (Mathematics vs. art /

objectivity vs. creativity)

Learning strategies

Are the ways learners choose to learn new subject content.

It´s known that effective learners are aware of how they learn and think about which learning strategies they use for different tasks.

WHICH LEARNING STRATEGIES DO YOU USE TO LEARN A NEW SUBJECT?

Before task

-Selecting and setting learning goals

-Deciding on criteria to measure how well a task can be done

-Analysing the task, its purpose and what has to be done

-Working out timing of stages

During task

-Identifying key content vocabulary

-Asking for clasification

-Paraphrasing

-Drafting work

-Note taking

-Organising work

After doing taks

-Making visual prompts aid memory

-Reviewing work alone or in small groups

-Comparing work with previous work and deciding how it has improved

KEY CONCEPTS AND THE CLIL CLASSROOM

Learners need opportunities in class to try out and talk about new problems and then to think about how effective they were. In this process of choosing,

using, reflecting, learners can continue to develop and build on their use of learning strategies for the

future.

Metacognition

-Preparing and planning for learning

-Selecting and using strategies

-Monitoring learning

-Integrating strategies

-Evaluating learning

ACTIVITIES

Do you agree with these comments? Work in groups (4-5) and discuss your opinions. Then share it with the rest of the class:

If I give learners time to give their opinions, give reasons

and evaluate each others’ work, then I can understand

their learning needs better.

Learning cannot be done for the student; it has to be done

by the student

What learning skill will you be using when…

Reading web pages to find out which paintings are in your nearest museum

a)Summarising information

b)Checking information

c)Cooperating with others

Why do you think is so important to develop learning skills? Why? Can you give

examples of any of them applied to your day-to-day?

TOPICS

New technologies

Colours

Body parts

Science