What is ELLI ?

The students of AIL have been introduced to the Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory. This
support tool has been developed by the Educational Unit at the University of Bristol and applied in a
number of schools around the world. It recognises that knowledge, skills and problem solving are
critical aspects of the learning journey at schools. It is important that we address a number of
personal attributes that need to be developed to ensure that our students can become effective life
long learners. Indeed employers have recognised that these attributes are key indicators used to
identify future employees. It is also a useful self-reflection tool to address learning issues.
The seven dimensions of learning power:

Changing and learning - having a sense of myself as someone who learns and changes
over time. To recognise that things change and that we need to adapt to these changes.

Critical curiosity - asking questions and wanting to get beneath the surface. The what,
why, where, when and how questions that allow greater depth of understanding,

Meaning making - making connections between many learning areas and seeing that
learning is important and matters to me.

Creativity - risk-taking, playfulness, imagination and intuition. Many problem-solving

situations require thinking outside the square and the many innovations are born from
wacky ideas.

Learning relationships - learning with and from others and also being able to learn on my
own. The understanding of collaborative power and the place for self-exploration.

Strategic awareness - being aware of my thoughts, feelings and actions as a learner in a

way that helps me to manage my learning. Recognising what conditions best suit my
learning. Planning

Resilience - enables me to cope and keep going when things get difficult. To persist when
the easier path is to stop. To understand that failure is part of the learning journey. It is how
we respond when things do not work out the first time.

The seven dimensions have opposite poles. It is these opposite poles that have traditionally
provided the conditions for underperformance in Senior School. To support successful learning in
we need our students to recognise that these exist they need to be proactive take ownership,
accept responsibility and become accountable.
Ideally we want our students to move out of the dysfunctional mode independently.

Dimension

Opposite pole

Changing and learning

Being static and stuck

Critical curiosity

Passivity

Meaning making

Data accumulation

Creativity

Being rule bound

Positive learning relationships

Isolation and dependence

Strategic awareness

Being robotic

Resilience

Fragility

Throughout the students time at Birdwood we will encourage our students to continually use this
language, to seek support to develop these attributes and to use them to reflect on their progress.