Learning Fundamentals

Preparing children for a lifetime of learning

A new teacher toolkit for designing and delivering
meaningful learning experiences

Learning with
visuals

Learning through
talk Learning by
connecting

Learning by
thinking critically

structural-learning.com
 Learning through
building

Learning through Learning

visuals through talk

Learning to Learn
How does this approach enhance comprehension and memory?
The Structural Learning toolkit provides teachers with the resources they need to drive students forward in their learning. Acting as a vehicle for
deeper engagement, this metacognitive approach enables whole-school communities to build a shared vision of the fundamental principles of how we all
learn.
The frameworks and strategies are designed to equip children with the academic skills they need to become successful lifelong learners. Underpinned by
evidence-informed ideas, the fundamental principles are applicable to pupils of all ages and backgrounds.

Planning “This unique way of thinking

Learning about the curriculum makes the

process of learning more visible
across whole school
communities.”

Facilitating Assessing
Learning Learning
 The Structural Learning Toolkit
Our membership offer provides schools with a complete approach for optimising curriculum engagement and advancing learning deeper
outcomes. The resources and strategies provide teachers with the tools they need to bring a greater level of challenge to classroom
activities. So how exactly can this family of learning tools make learning more memorable in your school?

1. Understanding learning 2. Facilitating learning 3. Reinforcing Learning Skills

Planning sequences of learning that stimulate Implementating engaging learning activities that Creating whole-school cultures of thinking and
student thinking and generate a greater depth of help build conceptual understanding. learner independence.
understanding.

Learning through Building

Thinking Framework Learning through Visuals Learning through Talk Skills Framework

• Explain complex tasks in an accessible, direct way • Encourage children to take ownership of their learning • Highlight the skills that enable children to behave
• Equip children with a clear language for learning • Promote a better understanding of curriculum content more effectively in educational settings
• Provide practical steps toward educational success • Provide greater access to complex classroom tasks • Reward learners when they demonstrate progress

Staff Professional Development

• Develop a well-rounded understanding of how the mind works.
Enabling your staff to foster fundamental • Untangle knotty classroom issues.
models of how children learn. • Set children up for lifelong educational success.

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What does the membership support look like?
The training that accompanies your learning toolkit includes a period of consultancy support for school leadership, followed by one launch workshop and 3/4 follow-
up sessions.

The training model can be delivered entirely online or using a blended approach incorporating face-to-face training. Depending on the size of the school and the
context of the project, the professional development can be cascaded through a small team or with the whole staff within small schools.

Through an open dialogue with your head or leadership team, we explore your school’s context and the purpose of your interest in adopting the learning
fundamentals. Collaboratively, we fine-tune the plan and discuss how to implement your new strategies. We also use this opportunity to introduce our action
research model and lesson design canvas.

Your membership gets you an annual supply of physical resources, access to digital resources and termly professional development support.

Whole Staff Launch [Half/full day]

An introduction to the practical applications of the learning fundamentals: Visual tools and thinking actions, using physical tools to build knowledge, classroom talk
for facilitating learning and reinforcing learning skills and behaviours. We usually schedule in the follow-up sessions once every half-term.

Session 1 - Thinking framework [1 - 2 hour workshop]

Planning for deeper learning: How can we use this new framework to plan, facilitate and assess deeper learning?
Thinking Framework Supported Gap task: Plan an activity using the framework and monitor how it helps your learners.

Session 2 - Visual Tools [1 - 2 hour workshop]

Learning through organising: How can we use visual tools for planning and consolidating knowledge?
Graphic Organisers Supported Gap task: Design an activity using a visual tool and monitor how it enhances learning outcomes.

Session 3 - Building Blocks [1 - 2 hour workshop]

Learning by connecting: How can we use the building blocks for facilitating critical and creative thinking?
Block Building Supported Gap task: Design a block-building task and monitor the impact it has on your learners.

Session 4 - Talking Toolkit [1 - 2 hour workshop]

Learning through talk: How does purposeful classroom discussion help children understand new ideas more effectively?
Talking Toolkit Supported Gap task: Incorporate a talking exercise into your lesson and observe how it helps your learners.
 Advancing Comprehension
Using the Structural Learning resources for developing conceptual understanding

Resource Strategy Strategy Strategy

Check conceptual understanding by asking Use a cause and effect graphic organiser to Utilise a mindmap to consolidate
learners to complete a graphic organiser after explore why geographical and historical understanding after finishing a unit of work.
they have finished a non-fiction text. Useful events happened the way they did.
as a formative assessment tool.
Graphic Organisers

Facilitate higher-order questioning to foster Enable learners to build meaning using the Provide children with a choice of challenges
deeper understanding. blue organisational learning actions. These from the thinking framework.
actions require children to structure
information into organised schema.
Thinking Framework

Vertebrates Invertebrates
Dis respect ful Causal
Sea
Warmer rise level
More gases Higher Temp ocean

Un happy ness

Block Building Use the blocks to categorise information Decoding: Break words down to find Identify the main points from a text and
and build background knowledge. spelling patterns. explain their connections.

Strong ecstatic
Wisdom
Importance

Use the talking toolkit to facilitate a debate Forgiveness Trust blissful

about an issue raised in the text. Use the ‘talk Friendship Kindness Sociability cheerful
tactics’ to encourage children to take on
Weak pleased
different roles.
Talking Toolkit Extract information from the text and then ask
Discuss the meaning of adjectives.
learners to reason and rank the significance.

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 Writing Preparation
Using the Structural Learning resources for advancing language skills

Resource Strategy Strategy Strategy

Use a completed graphic organiser as a pre- Encourage students to use a graphic Cluster students ideas using a visual tool to
writing tool and ask learners to present their organiser for notetaking after a presentation help them formulate logical paragraphs.
thoughts verbally. or visit.

Graphic Organisers

Breakdown a complex piece of writing into Use the red learning actions to bring more Encourage critical thinking by utilising the
Thinking Framework
manageable stages. creativity to a piece of writing. yellow learning actions.

Surface Precipitation
Run-off over land

Monkey Bus Speedy Florence is playing football

Infiltration

Cultivate creativity by prompting children to Bring order to children's writing by Encourage ambitious vocabulary by showing
Block Building look for conceptual connections between sequencing their ideas into logical the grammatical structure of sentences.
the blocks. progressions.

Generate new ideas by building on each

other's thoughts.
Facilitate classroom discussion and provoke
new ideas by asking students to take on Help learners clarify their own thinking by
Talking Toolkit engaging peers in dialogic learning.
different talk roles.

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 Becoming an independent learner
What does progression look like?

Independent Thinking

The Structural Learning Toolkit is designed to help children understand how we think and learn. As the resources begin to be adopted across your
school, you will notice children engaging more deeply in their learning. With repeated exposure and enough practice, pupils gradually take more
strategic decisions over their learning. This exciting shift in mindset sets a child on a pathway of classroom independence and a journey of fulfilling
lifelong learning. The following statements can be used to monitor the wider educational outcomes of your learners.

I am able to name and I am able to evaluate

I am able to use the full
I am aware of some of talk about the function I am able to select the range of possible
range of thinking actions
the thinking actions appropriate actions and actions and strategies
Metacognition of a significant amount fluently and am able to
and strategies of thinking actions strategies to complete a available to me and
combine them into
available to me. available to me. task. select the most
effective sequences.
appropriate ones.

I am aware of the I can sequence

I can understand it is
strategies, tools and appropriate actions to I can work
Strategy Planning possible and necessary I am fully able to
thinking actions available complete a task. I am independently,
to select varying justify my reasoning
and approaches to to me. I am aware that able to choose choosing and evaluating
appropriate methods to for choosing my the appropriate ways to
problem-solving complete different complex tasks can be strategies.
broken down into stages. complete complex complete a task.
tasks.
activities.

I sometimes know what Refining and improving

I am comfortable I can understand when I I can evaluate the
went well and what my work has become a
Reflection and knowing that I won’t need to change a effectiveness of the
didn’t. I am comfortable habit. I understand
get everything right the strategy and I am various approaches,
Self Regulation selecting ways of stages and tools that
that I can get better at
first time. comfortable choosing
improving my work. most things with
alternative approaches. I undertook.
practice.

Knowledge is not passively received and absorbed but actively built up by the individual. J. Watson
 How can we work together?
We provide a range of options for developing school-wide independent learning and metacognition. Whether you are addressing a whole-
school agenda or supporting a small cohort of learners, we can help you create the positive changes you need to make. Most schools
complement their thinking tools with a variety of training options. The options below will help you plan your learning journey.

School membership Classroom Tools Professional Development

The membership provides every member of Just need staff training on the fundamental
Additional classroom resources to get
staff with access to all the digital resources principles of learning?
everyone thinking:
and an annual supply of physical resources. Choose from the following options.

Staff set of durable framework cards £10

Staff meeting £150
A great way to explore these new
ideas and takeaway some new
perspectives.

Staff workshop £350

A half-day session digging deeper
Writer’s Block £199 into cognitiion and learning.

Full training day £600

A whole-staff session of
facilitated activities.

Research into practice program

Membership £4 per pupil (4 x sessions) £1400
This includes a whole staff induction and Ream of ‘printable’ card inserts for the A longer term action research
an annual professional learning project. blocks £25 project putting theory into
practice.
 structural-learning.com

We improve educational outcomes by enabling children to think their way through any challenge they encounter in
school and beyond. We provide tools and strategies that help pupils develop into active, confident learners who can
successfully engage with the curriculum and society.