Learning about learning

Abstract

This article examines the area of learning about learning and its role as a key element of effective learning in classrooms. Approaches to facilitating learning about learning in the classroom are discussed in the light of international research evidence, and a particular approach is advanced which involves enriching pupils' narratives about their learning. The effects of classroom interventions are reviewed calling on two forms of evidence: that generated by research teams and that generated by practising teachers. A framework is developed to illuminate the sort of development which occurs in pupils' talk about their learning.