How Vennebos Embraces Self-Regulated Learning: Visiting Four Schools

In this blog series, school leader Christine Claessens shares her experiences with implementing self-regulated learning in her school: GO! Vennebos Primary School. She will - quite literally - take you along on her journey. Christine takes her team (and now you too) on a school visit abroad. You could already read why Vennebos focuses on self-regulated learning and how it is introduced to the team. Today, you can follow her and her team during a visit to no fewer than 4 schools!

We got up early today because we are expected at 4 primary schools of the school group Staij, Amsterdam East.

The school visits

In consultation with the schools, we chose to split the team into 4 groups. We put them together very heterogeneously with members from kindergarten to third-grade primary school. This way, they can later share their experience in their own degrees.

After a hearty breakfast, each group, armed with an observation guide showing the 21 skills of Barry Zimmerman, went to the assigned school.

The team members received a cover in advance containing some brief background information about each school. All four schools are very diverse:

• a Dalton school,

• a Montessori school,

• a school where all non-native speakers are accommodated for a program of up to 1 year and then move on to another school and

• a school that has organized itself very differently to shape and realize its vision, 'Every child wants to learn and is naturally curious'.

Brainstorming session with expert

After lunch, all groups come back together. First a short brainstorm with Niels de Ruijg,  a PhD student in self-regulated learning, primary school teacher, and policymaker of the Staij school group. We discussed how we look at self-regulated learning and what he knows from his doctoral research.

We all agree that self-regulated learning has a great added value, but we remain limited in terms of measuring the learning gains. How can you capture this objectively? Niels also did not have a simple answer. It is and remains a complex issue.

Sharing experiences

Of course, we also want to know what the experiences of the other teams were during their school visits. So, each team made a short PowerPoint presentation in which they used the phases of Zimmerman's model as a guideline and indicated what they would definitely take with them.

Wonderful to see how the ideas for our own school practice were taking shape on the spot!

This will certainly be discussed further once we return to Vennebos.

But first to the Casimirshool in Gouda tomorrow: a Dalton school with self-regulated learning in its DNA.

I wonder what ideas and inspiration we will get there!

See you tomorrow!

Christine

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Want more?

Curious about the steps die Vennebos moves towards self-regulated learning?

This article is part of the next :

• Part 1: How Vennebos Embraces Self-Regulated Learning: A Look Behind the Scenes

• Part 2: How Vennebos Embraces Self-Regulated Learning: Visiting Four Schools

• Part 3: How Vennebos Embraces Self-Regulated Learning: Visiting a School That Makes Dreams 

Also interested in a school visit abroad?

Just like Vennebos, apply for resources via the Erasmus+ program under Key Action 1. Contact your Erasmus+ National Agency. As a school, you can apply for grants for foreign training and/or school visits.

What about you, dear reader?

Are you also looking into the topic of self-regulated learning?

Where are you on your path?

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