​“When ‘The Learning Power Approach’ landed on my doormat, I have to admit feeling scepticism at first.

As a teacher who has been heavily involved in all things teaching and learning, my distant memories of Guy Claxton and “building learning power” seemed to place the general concept in the realms of “Kagan cooperative learning” (*shudder*) with hazy memories of INSET day speakers selling their wares.

Cue many teachers being inspired but no one really changing their practice as a result. Sound familiar?

However, there seems to have been an evolution. Claxton himself, in the opening section of his book, admits his ideas have developed and acknowledges the changing landscape of education – and how the conceptual idea of learning power has consequently adapted. He begins by setting out his rationale articulating what he is now calling the “Learning Power Approach” (LPA) as “what is possible in 21st century schools”, and then appeals to every teacher’s desire to nurture independent and self-monitoring students. If only it were that simple, but the book teaches us that no, it isn’t simple and somehow that is the point.

As Claxton argues, ‘teaching learners to teach themselves’ is a kind of educational utopia but one that, if accomplished, leads students to achieve well beyond the remit of external examinations; revisiting the well-trodden path that education’s greater purpose is to nurture the life skills of the next generation.

Subsequently, Claxton dedicates a significant chunk of the book to the fundamentals of learning, connecting LPA to his own experiences and the evidence base and whilst an impressive precis, it is a little drawn out.

But after 45 pages of theorising, he changes tack and the magic really begins.

I found myself furiously scribbling down ideas to take back to my own school as he takes us through how LPA can actually work in practice. This is what we incredibly busy teachers will be most drawn to.

Powerful accounts abound as we are taken through concrete examples from teachers across all key stages and countries and what they actually do to enable students from all backgrounds to “strengthen a small set of vital attitudes towards learning” as Claxton modestly puts it. And the examples are impressive, with a series of pedagogical interventions we can all take inspiration from.

But Claxton is only getting started with his “quick wins” as he follows up with a rigorous exemplification of each component of LPA. I have to admit, it’s very convincing. Think metacognition, desirable difficulties and growth mindset all thrown into one, with convenient QR codes for quick access to relevant clips online.

There’s a significant nod to Carol Dweck in this book and her endorsement is confirmed in the foreword. Even the section which suggests how teachers can be “learning coaches” adds a new layer to the metacognitive approach to teaching that many of us are presently worshipping, and it’s fascinating.

Yes, at times Claxton’s vision is definitely one of idealism, especially as he sets out the expectation that as teachers we should get all of our students “wondering and contemplating”, whatever that means. Yet, the antidote comes in the form of clear pedagogical recommendations. For example, his analogy that in a complex David Attenborough documentary, it is the behind-the-scenes feature that reveals the production company’s real work, thoughts and processes.

This reminds us to regularly show students what he calls “the innards of learning”. While ostensibly obvious, it is most definitely food for thought. How often have I really done that, I wondered.

Overall, Claxton’s call to empower students reminds us all to take a breather from the exam treadmill and actually take more than a momentary glace at our entrenched methods of pedagogy. This really is worth a look.”

Click here to read the review on Schools Week’s website.

Guy Claxton’s The Learning Power Approach really hits the button by convincingly presenting the key to teaching and learning success. This compelling work is written with passion and awe-inspiring conviction and empowers the teacher to appreciate learner-centred learning as never before. The Learning Power Approach (LPA) concept is underpinned by a strong case for the value of education, which will undoubtedly resonate with teachers and trainers across a broad spectrum.

The LPA model promotes the learner’s ability and inclination to acquire knowledge and skill by taking the stance that humankind was programmed to learn as part of a lifelong drive on which the teacher can naturally capitalise. The LPA learner will, therefore, be inclined to observe, critique, experiment and reflect as a natural component of the learning process with his/her curiosity and imaginative powers well honed.

The Learning Power Approach also presents a compendium of invaluable practical strategies with which the teacher can satisfy the learner’s whetted appetite for acquiring new skills and knowledge and can encourage the learner to become more self-directive.

Learning is such an important and crucial aspect of being. No matter what path our lives are drawn towards, our learning – and attitude to learning – will help us succeed professionally and personally. Of course, learning can take place at formal and informal moments of our lives, involving observations, readings, critiquing, experimenting, imagining, reasoning, imitating, discussing, reflecting and practising.

Fundamentally, learning is best achieved when we are individually invested, interested and engaged – whether intrinsically driven, curious, or wanting to learn to achieve a personal goal or ambition. But where does such a learning desire fit in with current school agendas judging on standardised test scores? How does a drill-and-test teaching approach help ignite young people’s imaginations to inspire learning beyond what is needed to pass the exam?

In the first book of a promised series, Guy Claxton offers a Learning Power Approach (LPA) that schools and teachers can adopt, with the text offering an argument about what is possible to achieve in 21st-century schools. Offering the rationale, evidence, principles and frameworks that underpin the whole LPA, the book guides the reader to explore the kinds of learning going on in classrooms, reminding us that attitudes to learning are often formed by less visible and discreet classroom occurrences. Guy reminds us that…

Every lesson, every day, affects the slow build-up of (critical learning) attitudes – for good or ill. How we teach slowly shapes the way young people respond to the unknown – to change, challenge, complexity, and uncertainty. Our teaching can steer them towards becoming more positive, confident, and capable in the face of difficulty. Or it can steer them towards becoming more timid, dogmatic, and insecure. If we choose the former route, they will learn what they need to know more easily and effectively, and they will pursue their own dreams, interests, and ambitions more robustly throughout life” (p.30)

The above quote is an inspiring reminder for all working in schools, as in the bustle of daily school life, it is often easy to lose sight of our individual position, and the messages young people take from our words and actions.

Yet Guy continues into the book explaining the intentions and guiding principles behind LPA, aiming to develop students becoming confident and capable learners. Offering teachers guidance on what LPA might look in everyday classroom practice, along with some quick wins to get started. Offering ten reasons of why LPA should be embedded into teaching practice, Guy argues that being a powerful learners helps pupils do well in education, equipping individuals for the world of work. Add in the eight elements of learning power, the book gives you the building blocks to best support young people and putting the approach into action.

The book continues exploring fourteen design principles evident in LPA classrooms that can be easily applied to everyday teaching, requiring only a few subtle changes by individual teachers to what is probably being done on a daily basis. Guy concludes by explaining the evidence for LPA, also exploring some of the distinctions and misconceptions of the approach.

Ultimately, LPA asks teachers to become more conscious of the cultures created in their classrooms, taking note how habits steer young people towards or away from learning dispositions. So who is this book for? This is an ideal book for teachers, school leaders, or student teachers who are wanting to explore an approach to support pupils take ownership of their own learning, becoming more efficient and effective learners. This is no ‘quick fix’ book, and readers will need to reflect upon their own practice, classroom environment and make a commitment to follow through on the ideas, philosophies and theories articulated throughout.

PROS:

Offers an argument about what is possible to achieve in 21st-century schools.

Book aims to develop students becoming confident and capable learners.

Explores fourteen design principles evident in LPA classrooms that can be easily applied to everyday teaching

Approach asks teachers to become more conscious of the cultures created in their classrooms

An ideal book for those who want their students to become more efficient and effective learners.

Reading this book was a joy. As a writer, Claxton is beautifully able to express the whats, whys, and hows of the Learning Power Approach. His argument is urgent but it is expressed with great warmth, making it a compelling read. Claxton’s work has just the right mix of accessibility and challenge.

Central to the Learning Power Approach is the belief that it is every teacher’s responsibility to nurture the student as learner and to grow learners who are “mind fit”. Learning itself is learnable! I challenge any teacher to read this and not come away questioning their practice and inspired to tweak their classroom spaces, language, and the way they design lessons. Reading this book will help teachers understand more clearly the way “every lesson, every day” gradually shapes the way students see themselves as learners and their understanding of the process of learning itself. This is the beauty of the Learning Power Approach. It is not a programme, not a subject, not an add-on – it is something all teachers can integrate into their practice on a daily basis. Claxton’s work helps us notice what lies beneath the surface of our teaching and to attend much more closely to the way we shape dispositions and attitudes to learning. As an ardent inquirer, I found the “Wondering” sections at the end of each chapter particularly stimulating. These wonderings would be a great way to prompt conversation and action among teachers, making it a marvellous text for rich, collaborative conversations across an entire school community.

Claxton often uses the metaphor of a coach to describe the work of teachers using the Learning Power Approach, and there are some fascinating and helpful case studies of such coaches in action throughout the text. After reading this book, I feel as if I have spent time with one of the very best learning coaches there is. I can already envisage The Learning Power Approach, dog-eared and lovingly littered with sticky notes, on my shelf. This book deserves a place in every teacher’s collection.

We have to radically reimagine education if we’re going to fulfil the potential of today’s students as leaders who will address our increasingly global challenges. The Learning Power Approach is a valuable map not just to student success but also to a more peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable planet.

Guy Claxton challenges the traditional approaches to learning that exist in so many of our schools and presents a compelling and practical strategy to foster authentic thinking and learning for all. The Learning Power Approach is rooted in the belief that we must move beyond systems that categorise and judge people merely on their ability to do well in exams and tests – or learning that promotes the myth of the “one right answer” – to cultures that focus on “the cultivation of the confidence and capacity to be a good learner”. Claxton identifies and describes the diverse variety of strengths essential to successful learning and presents practical approaches to make these a priority.

This is a great book. It is a must-read for those who understand the uniqueness of abilities in all of their students and would like to set in play a culture of learning that makes this flourish – a culture of learning that is inclusive and personal.

In person, Guy Claxton balances the precision of academia with the warmth and wit of our most beloved teachers. He challenges, engages, and inspires in equal measure. It is the same when he writes; he transforms complexities of learning into recommendations that are both inviting and inspirational, and he does so without ever losing the subtlety of nuance or culture. He is the perfect “critical friend”, and The Learning Power Approach is the exemplary handbook.

The Learning Power Approach helps to validate a belief that the subjective goal of education should be about the liberation of the self, freeing us to choose our own essence in life. This book helps to emphasise optimal learning for all students.

Guy Claxton clearly illustrates why a focus on building the competence and inclination to learn well needs to be a fundamental part of the educational approach of all schools.

Full of rich insights and practical approaches, this is a must-read for any educator who cares about preparing students of all abilities, and from all backgrounds, to be effective lifelong learners.

Guy Claxton’s influence on schools over the last few decades has been enormous. Through all of the many and often contradictory changes imposed by successive governments, Guy has helped focus teachers on ways to unlock learners’ enormous potential, and, in The Learning Power Approach, provides teachers with a guide to keep at their side during the decades ahead as they navigate the as-yet-unimagined changes that will be imposed on our schools in the future.

What governments make complex, Claxton makes intelligible, simple, and exciting.

Guy Claxton is one of the deepest thinkers in education. Every book he writes is worth reading as they are treasure troves of new ideas, perspectives, and strategies, and his fundamental insight that the purpose of schooling is to develop powerful learners is more relevant now than everbefore.

Guy shows how his method combines rigour with imagination, and his credibility as a cognitive psychologist gives him unimpeachable credentials when navigating the minefields of memory, knowledge, and learning. Whether learning a skill, acquiring new knowledge or developing emotional resilience, building learning power is the route to success and The Learning Power Approach shows you how to go about it.

Guy Claxton’s The Learning Power Approach clearly shows that developing children’s thinking and learning skills is not only compatible with acquiring knowledge and passing tests; the two aims actually constitute the warp and weft of 21st century education. Full of practical teaching tips and common sense ideas, The Learning Power Approach is both very readable and immensely timely.

The Learning Power Approach is a very important book indeed. Few, if any, people over the years have provided as consistent or intelligent a voice as Guy Claxton when talking about the need for a deep and genuine education. This book really nails the subject.

Reading this latest offering from Guy Claxton is a total treat. Rich with practical examples of what teachers and school leaders can do to support our pupils to develop the right mindset for success, The Learning Power Approach is a must-read for all educators who care about ensuring our young people develop the character and resilience to enjoy learning, as well as be great at it.

Not only is Guy’s approach rooted in solid research, it resonates with me personally as somebody who has a passionate belief in teachers’ dual role of teaching content and then enabling pupils to make sense of and master its key concepts through challenging and thought-provoking follow-up activities. And what’s even better, pupils who combine these approaches do better in tests and exams too. What’s not to like?

What I particularly like about The Learning Power Approach is how Guy Claxton almost makes you feel as if you are in the room with him. Page by page, Claxton gently guides you through each element of his Learning Power Approach and then – as if reading your mind – skilfully puts to bed any doubts you may have, reassuring even the most reluctant cynic. There’s something in The Learning Power Approach for everyone, whether you’re an experienced teacher or an NQT, and it is written in such a way that you’ll find yourself having finished the book before you even know it. Thoroughly recommended.

Guy Claxton writes compellingly about the importance of teachers recognising the influence that they have within their classroom to create a culture where learning can take place at different depths and levels. He transcends the traditional versus progressive debate by illustrating how we can “have it all” when both knowledge acquisition and skilful learning behaviours are valued in harness. The teacher’s transformative influence is celebrated and practical examples of an environment where the Learning Power Approach is evident are provided alongside encouragement for the reflective teacher to explore, within the confines of his or her own classroom, the design principles laid out in this book.

The Learning Power Approach restores faith in the fullest ambition for what can be achieved when we engage inclusively to empower children, young people, and teachers through education.