‘Discovery’ – our Autumn term learning disposition at Knighton House
At the start of each term at Knighton House School, the pupils take part in a themed Learning Disposition Day with a specific focus on learning methods. The theme for this Autumn term is ‘Discovery’ and this is applied in all subjects. Discovery was chosen as a way to kick start the new KED Curriculum; we felt it encompassed the attitude and approaches to learning we are striving to instil in all our pupils, so find out, ask, be curious, tinker, first guess, get it wrong, try it again and then discover. The pupils will have the opportunity to practise dispositions, to discover new skills and build on others. We hope the process will not only encourage more effective learning, but will also equip them to meet new challenges they might face in the future.
Before the summer holidays each House was given part of the alphabet and tasked with ‘discovering’ interesting facts using the letters they were given. On ‘Discovery Day’ all this information was put together, by Houses, to create a large display in the Main House. Merits were given for the best House displays. For the rest of the day, pupils were split into year groups and enjoyed a range of ‘discovery’ activities, encouraging them to work together and to build new friendships, as well as strengthening existing ones.
One of the activities involved the use of the NATO phonetic alphabet: girls had to decipher the code and figure out a missing sentence.
Over in the sports department, girls were split into small groups and had to work together to create their own sport. They were given a range of equipment and could use as little or as much of it as they wished, but had to ensure that all game rules were written down, and that they were able to describe their discovered sport to the other groups.
In the art room the Bs were given a piece of paper and pencil to ‘talk for a walk’ on the page. Once that was done, they passed their sheet to a neighbour. Next, they were asked to try to discover something new about their neighbour and for this ‘discovery’ to be reflected in the piece they were about to paint – a piece of art which incorporated the marks made with the pencil and then the shapes and patterns they felt achieved this – a sort of ‘discovery’ Kadinsky effect.
For the final activity, the girls had to create a timeline of key scientific discoveries. They were given the role of researcher, timeline organiser or display creator. The day’s activities encouraged teamwork, effective communication and engaged their curiosity.
We hope that the ‘discovery’ theme will quicken interest among our pupils, and develop their imagination and creativity, important traits in life.
September 2018