High Performance Learning
At Truro High School we believe that offering opportunities to excel academically, is only part of the journey. We also encourage our students to become flexible and fluent thinkers, open to every new opportunity and willing to take risks.
What is High Performance Learning?
HPL or High Performance Learning, is a framework and philosophy for teaching and learning that has been developed based on 40 years of research into the way that children learn. It reflects what is known about advanced thinking skills and learning behaviours to help us build better brains.
Excellent schools are effective in securing exceptional academic standards but should also aim to empower students to think for themselves and become even more socially confident, able to deal with any unknown or unfamiliar situation, using a range of embedded skills.
Success is possible
We are excited to work with the HPL educational experts to adopt this pedagogy which we believe underpins our teaching and learning from the very start of students’ education in the Early Years, right through to our teachers – who are our oldest learners! We are embedding the HPL philosophy throughout our school and encouraging the students to work alongside us on this fantastic journey. We never tell our students they cannot achieve; we reassure them that although they may not be there yet, with practice and perseverance of these thinking skills and behaviours, success will be possible.
Research
Research in neuroscience has shown that there is not a fixed level of cognitive ability amongst young learners, and that the brain is much more malleable than was once thought. HPL therefore, is an exciting approach to teaching and learning that uses these findings to develop a style of teaching and learning that removes barriers that may have hindered children achieving their best, through granting the opportunity to grow intelligence across all disciplines, in their own time.
Thriving in life
We believe High Performance Learning skills will support the school’s belief that absolutely every child has the potential to succeed. For some the journey takes longer, but we know that with the right opportunities, support, motivation and practice, all of our children and young adults can reach their goals. Their success will be the ability of an individual to thrive in the next stage of life both socially and academically. Each individual will have all the skills and qualifications necessary to move on to the next stage of their career and to be a world-ready global citizen.
When explaining how to overcome a maths challenge in class, one student said: ‘I used different methods to get the right answer and could see it was working when I tried to solve the problem in another way.’
HPL Characteristics:
Research in neuroscience has shown many common characteristics of top performers across a variety of disciplines. These can be grouped into learner “thinking” and learner “behaviour”.
- In the Advanced Cognitive Performance characteristics group (or ‘skills/how we learn’) are characteristics such as meta-cognition, strategy-planning, generalisation, imagination, logical thinking, originality as well as the ability to use some skills automatically. This group is commonly referred to as the ACPs or ‘skills’.
- In the Values, Attitudes and Attributes group (or ‘behaviour/ how we behave’) are characteristics such as empathy, confidence, mental agility, perseverance, practice and resilience. This group is commonly referred to as the VAAs, or ‘behaviours’.
These skills can be taught to all pupils: the evidence is clear that there is not a fixed level of ability amongst young learners, and that the brain is much more malleable than was
once thought.
HPL CHARACTERISTICS:
Thinking Skills – how we learn | Learning Behaviours – how we respond / behave
One learner said: ‘I used my empathy to tell myself that I CAN do it and it gave me confidence to keep trying!’
More information
For more information please download our brochure and contact Mrs Joanna House (Director of Teaching & Learning) for Senior School and Mrs Katie Hinks (Head of Prep) for Prep School.
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