We love learning at Preston Park
How we teach effectively at Preston Park
We have a strong commitment to operational excellence and personalising learning is at the heart of our service. We believe passionately in embracing diversity and enabling every child to discover and develop interests and talents. To achieve this, we invest in professional teaching – building our learning community on skill and expertise with a focus on what effective learning looks like- building knowledge, social and cultural capital.
We specialise in knowledge-creation. Our model for effective teaching is underpinned by the knowledge-creation process within which the movement between tacit and explicit knowledge formulates four basic patterns for creating knowledge; socialisation (tacit to tacit); externalisation (tacit to explicit); combination (explicit to explicit) and; internalisation (explicit to tacit).
Four modes of knowledge conversion:
| Socialisation | Externalisation | Combination | Internalisation |
|
Tacit to tacit |
Tacit to explicit |
Explicit to explicit |
Explicit to tacit |
|
Where a child acquires the tacit knowledge possessed by another through dialogue, observation or cooperative working. |
Where a child is able to make their tacit knowledge explicit, for example through a process of communication and dialogue with others. |
The linking together of discrete bodies of knowledge, to create a more complex body of knowledge within the child. |
Where a child converts explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge, through applying it – thus mastering a body of knowledge. |
Our lesson design is tailored through the PEER model- a low threshold, no ceiling approach where all children are well challenged and individual needs are met through a progressive teaching sequence: Prove, Explain, Explore, Reapply.
The Peer model:
The PEER model is based on the fundamental principle that learning is a spiral process and advocates the notion of 'mastery for all', where all children master bodies of knowledge as their learning moves up the spiral. Each time a concept is encountered within a different context, not only is the concept more likely to be remembered, the understanding of that concept becomes more nuanced.
Moving learning from the concrete to the abstract is complex and it happens in different ways and at different rates, which makes teaching particularly intricate. We encourage children to interrogate reality to gain perspective – identifying patterns, drawing on interrelations, triangulating their knowledge and applying this across disciplinary boundaries in a coherent way.
The PEER model:
Our PEER model has been published by Andrew Pollard in Reflective Teaching [5th edition].
How you can help your child be ready for their learning:
Here are our top tips for success.
Every child should have these posters to display at home! If you do not have a copy please do come in and ask at reception and we will be happy to share.
