Personal learning and thinking skills

Overview

The personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) provide a framework for describing the qualities and skills needed for success in learning and life.

The PLTS framework embraces: social and emotional aspects of learning, employability, responsible citizenship, enquiry skills and creativity, self-direction and independent study, reflection on learning (learning to learn and assessment for learning).

The framework comprises six groups of skills:

1. independent enquirers – research, reflect, evaluate.
2. creative thinkers – investigate own ideas
3. reflective learners – evaluation, setting goals, reviewing
4. team workers – group work
5. self-managers – organise own time, risks
6. effective participators – current affairs, debates, diverse issues

These generic skills, together with the functional skills of english, mathematics and ICT, are essential to success in life, learning to work.

For each group of skills, a focus statement sums up the range of skills and qualities. This is accompanied by a set of outcome statements that are indicative of the skills, behaviours and personal qualities associated with each group.

Each group of skills is distinctive and coherent. The groups are also interconnected and learners are likely to encounter skills from several groups in any one learning experience. For example, an independent enquirer sets goals for their research with clear success criteria (reflective learner) and organises their time and resources effectively to achieve these goals (self-manager). To develop independence, learners need to apply skills from all six groups in a wide range of contexts.

Developing Learners' Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills.

1. To become an independent enquirer learners need: time to think and reflect on what they are doing and what they want to find out
2. opportunities to be questioned about hypotheses and processes
3. help and support to make their own decisions
4. the equipment and resources needed to carry out research and challenge their thinking
5. opportunities to evaluate each other's work and question the assumptions behind particular ideas
6. opportunities to see their problem or task in a real setting or environment
7. encouragement to think differently
8. support to be logical and systematic
9.  to have their ideas and findings valued.

To become a creative thinker learners need:

1. opportunities to express their own ideas and explore them further
2. resources, such as the internet and a well-equipped school library, to enable them to investigate their ideas
3. encouragement to make new connections between ideas and concepts
4. opportunities to work in unfamiliar contexts
5.  opportunities to work in groups so that they can share and refine ideas

To become a reflective learner young people need:

1. guidance on setting goals for their learning
2. guidance on how to evaluate their progress over time and take action on the outcomes
3. opportunities to invite and receive feedback from others, including learners and teachers
4. resources to help them understand the process of evaluation and review, and how it can inform their future progress
5. opportunities to communicate in a variety of ways and present their learning to a range of others, for example their class, teachers, a school assembly, people outside the school.

To become a team worker learners need:

1. opportunities to work in groups
2.  help and support on adapting their behaviour in different roles and situations when working in teams
3. encouragement to make their own contributions with confidence and to take responsibility for them in pursuit of common goals
4. guidance on how to participate constructively in discussions and appreciate the contribution of others
5. opportunities to work with others in situations out of the classroom, such as school events and productions

To become a self-manager learners need:

1. the freedom to organise their time and resources in relation to their work
2. opportunities to take on new responsibilities and work flexibly as situations change
3. help and support to manage competing pressures on their time
4.  advice and support from teachers and others to help them in their work
5. opportunities to identify, take and manage risks in the work they undertake
6.  encouragement to evaluate their commitment and perseverance in carrying out their work and participating in activities

To become an effective participator learners need:

1. opportunities to participate fully in the daily life of the school and discuss issues of concern
2. opportunities to develop proposals for action to address issues in their school and wider community
3. information about current affairs in their community and the wider world
4. guidance on how to negotiate successfully and influence others' thinking, for example by taking part in debates
5. encouragement to appreciate that people are different and share a range of diverse views
6.  opportunities to speak on behalf of others who may hold views different from their own

QCA Curriculum aims

Learning and undertaking activities in history contribute to achievement of the curriculum aims for all young people to become:

1. successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve
2. confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives
3. responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society

Key concepts

There are a number of key concepts that underpin the study of history. Pupils need to understand these concepts in order to deepen and broaden their knowledge, skills and understanding.

Chronological understanding

1. recognizing and using appropriately (IE4 analyse and evaluate information, judging its relevance and value) dates, vocabulary and conventions that describe historical periods and the passing of time
2. developing a sense of period through describing and analysing the relationships between the characteristic features of periods and societies (IE5 consider the influence of circumstances, beliefs and feelings on decisions and events)
3. building a chronological framework of periods studied in which new knowledge can be contextualized

Cultural, ethnic and religious diversity

Understanding the diverse experiences and range of ideas, beliefs and attitudes (IE5 consider the influence of circumstances, beliefs and feelings on decisions and events; and IE3 explore issues, events or problems from different perspectives) of men, women and children in past societies and how these have shaped the world.

Change and continuity

1. identifying and explaining change and continuity within and across periods of history

Causation

1. analysing and explaining the reasons for and results of historical events; situations and changes (IE4 analyse and evaluate information, judging its relevance and value and IE6 support conclusions, using reasoned argument and evidence)

Significance

1. assessing the significance of events, people and developments in their historical context and in the present day. (IE4 analyse and evaluate information, judging its relevance and value)

Interpretation

1. analysing how and why the past has been interpreted and represented in different ways through historians’ debates and through a range of media (IE3 explore issues, events or problems from different perspectives)
2. evaluating a range of interpretations of the past to assess their validity

Key processes.

These are the essential skills and processes in history that pupils need to learn to make progress.

Historical enquiry.

Pupils should be able to:

1. indentify and investigate, individually and as part of a team, specific historical questions or issues, making and testing hypotheses
2. question and critically reflect on historical questions or issues

Using evidence

1. identify, select and use (IE4 analyse and evaluate information, judging its relevance and value) a range of historical sources, including textual, visual and oral sources, artefacts and the historical environment
2. evaluate the sources used in order to reach reasoned conclusions (IE6 support conclusions, using reasoned argument and evidence)

Communicating about the past.

Pupils should be able to:

1. communicate their knowledge and understanding of history in a variety of ways, using chronological conventions and historical vocabulary
2.  present arguments about the past that are coherent, structured and substantiated, using chronological conventions and historical vocabulary

Range and content.

This section outlines the breadth of the subject on which teachers should draw when teaching the key concepts and processes.

The study of history should be taught through a combination of studies in overview and depth. In order to give pupils a secure chronological framework, the choice of content should ensure that all pupils can indentify and understand the major events, changes and developments in British, European and world history covering at least the medieval, early modern, industrial and twentieth century periods. Within these broad parameters, all pupils should be taught:

Aspects if British history including:

1. the development of political power from the middle ages to the 20th century, including changes in the relationship between rulers and ruled over time; the changing relationship between the Crown and Parliament and the development of democracy
2. the changing relationships through time of the peoples of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
3. the impact through time of the movement and settlement of diverse peoples to, from and within the British Isles
4. the way in which the lives, beliefs, ideas and attitudes of people in Britain have changed over time and the factors – such as technology, economic development, war, religion, culture – which have driven these changes
5. the development of trade, colonization, industrialization, technology and the British Empire, its impact on different people in Britain and overseas, and the nature and effects of the slave trade

Aspects of European and world history including:

1. the impact of significant political, social, cultural, religious, technological and/or economic developments and events on past European and world societies
2. the changing nature of conflict between countries and peoples, its lasting impact on national, ethnic, racial, cultural or religious groups, including the nature and impact of the two world wars and the Holocaust, and the role of international institutions in resolving conflicts (IE3 explore issues, events or problems from different perspectives; IE4 analyse and evaluate information, judging its relevance and value; IE5 consider the influence of circumstances, beliefs and feelings on decisions and events)

The curriculum should provide opportunities for pupils to:

1. explore the ways in which the past (IE3 explore issues, events or problems from different perspectives) has helped shape identities, shared cultures, values and attitudes today
2. examine history from a variety of perspectives (IE3 explore issues, events or problems from different perspectives), including political, religious, social, cultural, aesthetic, economic, technological and scientific (IE5 consider the influence of circumstances, beliefs and feelings on decisions and events)
3.  investigate aspects of personal, family or local history (IE2 plan and carry out research, appreciating the consequences of decisions) and how they relate to a broader historical context
4. appreciate the role of museums, galleries, archives and historical sites preserving, presenting and influencing people’s attitudes towards the past (IE4 analyse and evaluate information, judging its relevance and value)
5.  use ICT to research information about the past, to process historical data, and to select, categorise, organise and present their findings (IE4 analyse and evaluate information, judging its relevance and value)
6. make links between history and other subjects and areas of the curriculum including citizenship