Do You Have A Learning Culture Or A Teaching Culture? with James Anderson Transformative Principal 593

In this episode, Jethro talks with James Anderson, who has been on the show three previous times:

• The Learner Agency Model with James Anderson Transformative Principal 351
• Learnership with James Anderson Transformative Principal 455
• Learnership: The Skill of Learning with James Anderson Transformative Principal 570

In this episode, we talk about teaching cultures and learning cultures, take a sidewalk into some deep thoughts about moral development, and finish with a bang.

• Do you have a sense of power and that you get to choose what you do in your life?
• Agency makes you the master of your circumstances, not the victim.
• Voice and Choice lip service
• Power to choose vs. permission to choose.
• Agency is an outcome, not a pedagogy.
• There are some things we don’t have agency - the student needs to change and be capable over something that they weren’t capable of it before.
• Learning culture vs. teaching culture.
• Default ways we go about learning - teaching and performing.
• Learning is not the product of teaching, but the product of the activity of learners - John Holt
• Teacher doing all the heavy lifting in the classroom. Kids were coming to school to watch her work.
• Kids had been learning, but hadn’t yet become learners.
• Diagnostic tool to determine the level of learnership.
• Where kids are at in their own learning.
• Clear snapshot of where learners are at.
• Hidden Potential by Adam Grant
• Two sides of the same coin. Character development or learnership are two sides of the same coin.
• Where habits of mind fit in the bigger picture.
• Teaching content, thinking models, within the context of good moral dimensions.
• How developing disposition is vital and important.
• Teachers are too busy “saving kids” from the challenges they are facing.
• Helping kids become creatures of discomfort.
• Help kids be safe while climbing, not taking away the opportunity to climb.
• Torvill and Dean - figure skating.
• So much more fun.
• If the results aren’t there, the teachers get the blame.
• It’s not up to me, it’s up to the learners.
• We’ve each got a role to play.
• Eduardo Briceño Performance Paradox
• Learnship matrix shows them what it looks like.
• Expertise has a rich language to describe their area of expertise.
• Rich language of teaching, but impoverished language of learning.
• Teachers are expert teachers, but they are not expert learners.
• People become adequate and then they stop growing.
• Stop growing, start performing.
• Teachers may not have needed to be effective learners for a long time.
• Creatures of discomfort.

About James Anderson

James Anderson is a prominent Australian-based international speaker, author, and educator deeply committed to enhancing our capacity for effective learning. Central to his philosophy is the "Mindset Continuum," an extension of Carol Dweck's groundbreaking work on Growth Mindsets, providing practical tools to cultivate a profound understanding of ourselves as learners. His notable concept of Learnership, raising the status of learning from an act to an art, offers a powerful framework to comprehend and enhance our engagement in the learning process, ultimately helping schools to create the paradigm shift that is needed.

With a rich background as a teacher and school leader, James has spent the past two decades collaborating with schools to create more thoughtful learning environments. He challenges educators to critically reflect on their own Mindsets and how these beliefs are subtly communicated to students, offering tangible strategies beyond clichés to instigate genuine shifts in learners' mindsets.

James places immense value on the relationships he establishes with the schools and teachers he engages with, providing sustained support and follow-through often absent in professional development. Demonstrating the impact of his approach, a three-year partnership with Asquith Girls High School in Sydney led to students displaying increased persistence, embracing challenges, and teachers setting higher expectations. This comprehensive program was acknowledged as a finalist in the 2022 Australian Education Awards.

As a Certified Speaking Professional and Certified Virtual Presenter, James frequently presents at global conferences, in both physical and virtual formats. His work has gained recognition in prominent publications like The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, as well as in popular educational and parenting podcasts such as Dr. Justin Coulson's Happy Families, Jethro Jones' Transformative Principal, and Renee Jain's Confident Child Summit.

James's diverse body of work includes previous publications like Succeeding with Habits of Mind, The Agile Learner, and The Learning Landscape, alongside various e-books and teaching resources. His latest book, Learnership, raising the status of learning from an act to an art in your school, is set to become the book that every teacher will be talking about. Additionally, he offers online courses like the Growth Mindset Master Class and Learnership - the skill of Learning, which support educators globally. He holds a consulting role with Art Costa and Bena Kallick's Institute for Habits of Mind and is affiliated with the Habits of Mind Profile Tool. His extensive contributions have significantly impacted the field of education, propelling the art of learning and shaping more adept and empowered learners.

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