Learning Model

Today at our Teacher Only Day we had a look at our Learning Model with the view to it needing to be revised, revamped or replaced .....
It was quite interesting having the chance to wander through Stonefields school to see  their model. What we all found apparent was the consistency throughout the school with what was displayed and talked about. There were lots of really good components that were teased out in detail.
However what I found a little difficult was to get the overall picture easily and coherently.

With this in mind it made me realise that throughout this whole process we need to remember what the purpose for the Learning Model is.  I think that the Learning Model is to help the children understand and be guided in their learning. There are many different components that contribute to this from the key competencies and attitudes to skills and processes.  The dilemma then becomes how to incorporate all these important elements into a model while still keeping the model cohesive and easily remembered for the children to use. The difficulty with a model based on key words is that too many makes it clunky and then hard to incorporate into a simple diagram. But trying to keep it simplistic so it looks uncluttered then means that many components can't be included or have to be part of some other aspect of learning outside of the learning model (as they were at Stonefields)

So in considering all of these points has lead me to wonder if the best way to approach it, is to think of a metaphor or picture that is memorable yet cohesive, but also has the scope to include the many components. As we were discussing possibilities  for portraying our own version of the thinking pit, different images and metaphors were introduced such as Stuck in the Mud (stemmed from Ukutoia) Manaiakalani  and the Hook from heaven with the stars, waka etc. So why not use something that is significant for our school or area that is a single image which then become a narrative where many components can be represented and talked about. I think for children this picture or metaphor would make those triggers to help them be successful in their learning more visible and memorable.