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Supporting and managing learning

The support learners receive often makes the difference between failure and success.  Effective support can remove barriers to learning and motivate learners. Teachers’ professional practice includes the knowledge and skills to be able to support individuals to persist in their learning. This is a vital skill set to develop.
Learning support can be both formal and informal, and be provided by a range of professionals.  Teachers need to understand the support available from other professionals, both external and within the organisation.  At the same time, they can develop their own skills in providing support through:

• one to one progress reviews in which they encourage learners to reflect on what is going well and why, and identify areas where there are challenges in progression
  
• informal encouragement and appropriate challenges in the classroom or workshop.

The resources in this area can be used, adapted or developed to provide:

• practical models for providing support for learners in a variety of contexts
• professional skills for listening to and motivating learners, and helping them to talk about their progress and moving forward.

The resources from the Supporting learners to succeed website were developed through the QIA’s Pastoral Support Pilots project in 2008.  You can see practical models of support that were piloted with:

• 14 to 19 year old learners who learn across more than one institution
  
• part-time learners as well as full-time learners
• learners from minority ethnic communities
• learners from families with no background in post-compulsory education, to help boost social mobility
• learners with learning difficulties and disabilities
• learners from faith communities
• looked-after children and young people
• offenders.

Learner motivation (both extrinsic and intrinsic) is key to ensuring progression. Motivational dialogue and learning conversations, therefore, underpin all stages of the learner journey and will enable learners’ needs and aspirations to be reviewed regularly so that support, advice and guidance can be personalised to the individual learner.  There are resources in this section that can help teachers develop their skills and techniques in using motivational dialogue to support their learners.

For more ideas and resources relating to communication and dialogue skills and support for effective learning look at Learning and teaching.

Resources for teacher educators

 - Getting the most out of these resources

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  Supporting learners to succeed - Info 
• Checklist to review provision - Word 
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  Models for support - Info 
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  Models for support for learners in FE colleges - Web 
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  Models for support for learners in sixth forms - Web 
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  Models for support in specialist colleges - Web 
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  Model for support in Offender learning - Web 
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  Models for support in work-based learning - Web 
• What is the learner voice? - Info 
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  Learner voice - PDF Word 
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  Peer support in learning: Videos - Info and Web 
• Effective questioning - Info 
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  Effective questioning: Information sheet - PDF Word 
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  Effective questioning: Reflecting on practice - PDF Word 
• Reflective listening - Info 
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  Reflective listening: Information sheet - PDF Word 
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  Reflective listening: Practicing reflective listening - PDF Word 
• Non-verbal communications - Info 
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  Non-verbal communications: Information sheet - PDF Word 
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  Non-verbal communications: Developing skills - PDF Word 
• Summarising for change - Info 
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  Summarising for change: Information sheet - PDF Word 
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  Summarising for change: What did Jules say? - PDF Word 
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  Summarising for change: Practising skills - PDF Word 
• Change talk - Info 
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  Change talk - PDF Word 
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  Change talk: Information sheet - PDF Word 
• Preparation and planning - Info 
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  Preparation and planning: Information sheet - PDF Word 
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  Preparation and planning: Audit current practice - PDF Word 
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  Preparation and planning: Reflecting on practice - PDF Word 
• What is motivational dialogue? - Info 
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  What is motivational dialogue? - PDF Word 
• How people change - Info 
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  How people change - PDF Word 
• Supporting learner progression - Info 
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  Ensuring progression for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities - PDF 
• Learner progression case studies - Info 
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  Tom's story - Quicktime Windows Media Player 
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  The Union learning rep - Quicktime Windows Media Player 
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  Joy - Quicktime Windows Media Player 
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  The value of praise - Quicktime Windows Media Player 
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  Keeping me going - Quicktime Windows Media Player 

Technical information

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