Bump@r as a Learner

Bump@r as a Learner (Bump@R Learner Capabilities)

At Riverhead School, our aim is for, “All learners to develop the agentic skills needed to enable them to identify, reflect and act upon where they are at in their learning and what their next steps will be.”

This is achieved by them being personally responsible for discovering their potential. At Riverhead School we focus on the explicit teaching of agentic skills to enable learners to be able to identify, reflect and act on where they are at in their learning and what their next steps will be. Moving from teachers completely owning the learning process to learners owning more of it.

We believe that when learners have the power to act; can identify their own successes, next steps and have clarity around the learning, they become critical and creative thinkers who feel empowered to THINK about their learning, and DO all they can to DISCOVER their potential. As teachers we facilitate this process by providing opportunities for learners to be actively involved in decision making, initiating learning, collaboration and promoting Learner Agency through Our Bump@r Learner Capabilities.

Bump@r Learner Capabilities support learner agency skills within our school. Our Bump@r Learner Capabilities are directly linked to the Key Competencies of the New Zealand Curriculum and Riverhead School’s Guiding Principles. They draw on knowledge, attitudes and values in ways that lead to action, and are the key to learning in every learning area. Each area of the school has a set of indicators for each year level which represent the capabilities criteria. These are visible in each learning area and are utilised by our learners.

The purpose of the Bump@r Learner Capabilities is for learners to have a clear understanding of who they are as a learner and make informed decisions about how to be a more effective learner.

Through the Bump@r Learner Capabilities and Learning Progressions our students are developing autonomy and agency in their learning. Students are ‘Spectators’, ‘Passengers’, ‘Navigators’ or ‘Drivers’ of their learning and these are informed by the Key Competencies of the New Zealand Curriculum.

Extensive research has proven that students learn best when they are:

  • actively involved in decision making

  • initiating learning

  • collaborating together

  • making connections within and across learning areas.