100% of teachers say Limitless Learning improved their knowledge

A new professional learning course is helping teachers improve their knowledge, shift perceptions of pupils' ability and increase pupil engagement.

Developed in partnership by Winning Scotland and Renfrewshire Council, ‘Limitless Learning’ is a growth mindset professional learning programme comprised of 6x 60-minute e-modules and 6x 60-minute twilights.

The objective of the approach is to provide teaching professionals with easily accessible and instantly applicable learning to support the recovery effort following school closures and restrictions.

A cohort of 61 Renfrewshire teachers took part in a numeracy focused version of the course, between January and June 2021. An evaluation report demonstrated a range of positive outcomes including:
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• Prior to the course 52% of teachers agreed that ‘some people are born with a maths brain’. This drops to 17% post course.
• 100% of teachers felt the course improved their knowledge. 94% felt the course made them a better teacher.
• 11% of pupils reported that they wanted their teacher to set maths problems every day
• 97% of participants completed the entire course.

 
“We’d done some growth mindset work before, but this was like they’d perfected it,” said a transition teacher taking part. 

see the full report here

Based on this success, Renfrewshire Council intend to offer Limitless Learning to more teachers as part of their numeracy CLPL offering in 2021-22.

The Limitless Learning approach is also being adapted to support other local authorities and teachers, including a course to provide newly qualified teachers with practical learning and pedagogy to engage pupils in learning, develop their resilience and add value in their schools from the outset.
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Presently, our education system is at full-stretch to address issues arising from or exacerbated by Covid-19 disruption. A Children’s Parliament survey shows the outbreak has left young people feeling more downbeat, listless and anxious, while analysis by the Poverty Alliance shows the poverty-related attainment gap has widened as a result of the pandemic. 28% of children told a BBC Newsround survey that they were now behind in schoolwork.  
 
Meanwhile, NQTs have had limited classroom experience due to closures and restrictions in 2020 and 2021. As a result, NQTs may be entering the system short on confidence and lacking in practice at a time when the need for quality teaching is paramount. 
 
This new NQT course intends to mitigate these issues, providing support for teachers starting out on their careers while simultaneously empowering pupils with growth mindset principles and practices. 
 
Read the full Limitless Learning impact report here, or contact us to find out more.