This is the fourth segment in an intermittent multi-part series about the MSAD 51 Profile of a Learner (POL). As a reminder, the four tenets of the Greely POL include Effective Communicator, Creative Problem Solver, Lifelong Learner, and Global Citizen. This week, we focus on Lifelong Learning.
When we think about what it means to be a Lifelong Learner, these are the key skills and desired actions we hope our students will continue refining over their K-12 educational journey:
- Demonstrating pride in, and ownership of, one's own learning
- Acquiring academic skills and habits of work to assist in continuous improvement
- Embracing a 'growth mindset' whereby learning does not remain static, but is in a state of constant expansion
These skills may appear to be self-explanatory, but how do they transfer from being merely something on paper to actionable in students' lives? Each grade span has provided age-appropriate, concrete examples of what it means to be a Lifelong Learner:
- Students in grades PK-3 practice their ability to be lifelong learners when participating in grade level projects and weekly guidance lessons
- Students in grades 4 & 5 practice being a lifelong learner through social-emotional learning, digital citizenship, and applying feedback to reflect on their own learning
- Students in grades 6-8 demonstrate their ability to be lifelong learners by engaging in 'productive struggle' and collaborative activities, such as math Thinking Tasks and LEGO robotics
- Students in grades 9-12 practice the habits of lifelong learners in all of their content courses, which offer rigor, pacing, and content that promotes a growth mindset and strengthens habits of work
If you missed the first three segments in this series, check them out here:
Creative Problem Solver
Effective Communicator
Profile of Learner Introduction
Next time, we'll explore what it means to be a Global Citizen.