In case you prefer to read this post in Italian or Spanish check out the translations ChatGPT wrote for me.
Hello friends! I hope you’re doing great.
This week, for the second time since the post here, Elisa and I have collaborated to write this post. This is a topic where, similarly to most things in life, Elisa is a lot more knowledgeable than me so basically she put the post idea and most of the insights and I did some format editing 🙂
The topic at hand is something that we had previously disregarded, or rather, completely ignored until a few years ago, when we had to decide which schools to enroll our kids in. My wife, Elisa, and I discussed many different opportunities, and fortunately, living in cities with multiple options, we spent a lot of time debating the pros and cons of various educational methods.
As the child of two parents who worked as teachers their entire careers, I place a great deal of importance on education and schooling. While it may seem like a "1% problem", I argue that it is actually a "99% problem": I fundamentally believe that education is the ultimate social elevator, and that we should view the school system as a basic piece of a well-functioning society.
We live in a world where 10.8% of students drop out of school before completing their education (the EU average is at 15.4% for Italy and 18.3% for Spain, while the US is at 6.1%). While this is clearly the result of numerous factors, I believe that the educational approach taken by most EU systems may be one contributing factor. For this reason, I was intrigued when I learned about the concept of "High Performance Learning".
I will dive into the concept of HPL, as well as its pros and cons, but I want to make it clear that while I am interested in the topic, I am by no means an education expert. I actually spent my entire education in a single system, which is very different from the HPL approach. I acknowledge that my perspective may be biased, so I welcome any feedback or input. As a citizen and a parent, I believe that this is an important discussion, and I am eager to learn more.
What is the High Performance Learning framework?
High Performance Learning (HPL) is an educational framework designed to help students develop cognitive and metacognitive skills, along with positive character traits, that promote high levels of achievement and well-being.
The framework was developed initially in 2010, when the Founder Professor Deborah Eyre published a policy paper in which she asserted that “evidence from neuro-science and psychology demonstrated conclusively that the brain is exquisitely plastic and we can grow our intelligence”. She challenged the system to stop categorising students by ability and instead expect high performance from everyone and systematically build towards it. “Rather than a system which focuses on early detection of signs of failure, with pupils guided immediately into less demanding work, the system should be structured to provide the conditions that generate high performance and pupils steered towards this objective. A system based on building not measuring”.
She called this approach High Performance Learning (HPL) and created a systematic framework for adoption. The framework is currently applied in several schools (mainly UK system-based schools, both in the UK and internationally) and they now claim to have over 80,000 students being educated in HPL schools in 14 countries.
The foundational concept is therefore that “high performance” is an attainable target for everyone and that the goal of this method is to empower teachers (”This is a teacher agenda. It happens in the classroom in the hands of a skilled teacher. It is not a one-size-fits-all ‘programme’ to be followed”) to develop into every pupil the competencies associated with cognitive success and make them the DNA of teaching.
The best schools produce students who are intellectually and socially confident, workplace- and life-ready, and with a global outlook and a concern for others.
What does "High Performance" mean in this context? While it is a broad question, at the core, HPL defines it as a combination of academic confidence and attainment, personal values, attitudes and attributes, and an enterprising, problem-solving mindset. One of the key differentiating factors compared to the system I was raised in is the approach to teaching. For instance, when I observe my daughter in school, her teachers challenge students by setting high expectations and then provide tailored support to help each student master the content. In a literature class, this could mean asking students to analyze the themes and characters of a novel, rather than just memorizing its plot. In a science class, it might involve hands-on experiments and discussions about the real-world applications of scientific concepts. This way, students develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter and learn how to think critically and independently.
The schools then use an assessment to measure current performance and the current gap between it and high performance. They then use it to plan the next steps. They do not see assessment as a predictor of long-term outcomes. In this system absolute grades lose importance, and what’s really importance is the progress vs the High Performance of each student.
Personalised learning and skill development
One of the things I like about this method is that instead of focusing on “averages” like traditional systems (i.e. we measure schools quality looking at how students perform on average in the real world when they finish school) it expects to deliver high performance for all students. Obviously “High Performance” means something different for everyone and every field… but isn’t that how the world works? I am good at something, but surely average at other things and bad at others. And that’s ok, as long as I am aware of what these areas are and seek help where I need while feel confident on things I know.
I find this approach a lot more reasonable than expecting that everyone is “ok-ish” at almost everything, which I feel is what the current education system is built on. I feel that an education that allows everyone to go at her/his own speed on every topic in every moment is way more compelling than same rhythm and content for everyone.
The approach puts a lot more attention to “soft skills” and abilities to think critically (i.e. “teach how to learn”) rather than on notions. I will get back to why I think this is a critical point in the future, as technology and AI changes our society, at the end of the post.
Finally HPL places a lot of importance in extra-curricular activities and sees them as a way to practice in “lateral fields” the values, attitudes and attributes learnt in class.
What are the advantages?
Develop transferable skills: HPL is designed to help students develop a range of cognitive and metacognitive skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-reflection. These skills are transferable across subjects and contexts, and can be valuable for success in future academic and professional pursuits. For example, instead of just teaching students how to solve a math problem, teachers may use a variety of techniques to help students develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts and how to approach problem-solving more effectively.
Promote positive character traits: HPL also emphasises the development of positive character traits, such as resilience, empathy, and collaboration. These traits can not only contribute to academic success, but also to personal well-being and success in life more broadly. For instance teachers may use strategies such as praising effort rather than intelligence, providing opportunities for students to learn from their mistakes, and encouraging students to set challenging goals for themselves. These strategies can help students develop a positive attitude towards learning, a willingness to take on challenges, and the ability to persevere when faced with difficulties.
Focus on non 1-to-many teaching: one of the shortcoming of traditional education models in my opinion is the setting of a teacher talking and students listening while sitting at their desk. HPL is a lore more focused on group learning, collaborative experiences and collaboration activities. HPL places a strong emphasis on collaboration and communication skills. Teachers may use cooperative learning strategies, project-based learning, and other techniques to help students develop these skills. Students may also be taught self-regulated learning techniques such as goal-setting, planning, and self-assessment, which can help them take more control over their own learning.
What are the cons?
“Shallowness”: the focus on cognitive skills vs notions means that this method could appear shallow (e.g. “My son does not know when the French revolution happened”) to some people. I fully acknowledge this, but personally believe that in today’s world notions are less and less relevant and strategic/critical thinking is actually a lot more relevant. The kids grown up with an iPhone in their pocket give a lot less relevance to notions per se, imagine kids grown up with AI… but this is just me, I appreciate others have different views. In the HPL framework, the acquisition of specific content knowledge is still important, but it is seen as one part of a broader set of skills and attributes that students need to develop to be successful. Students are encouraged to develop deep understanding of core concepts, rather than just memorizing facts, and to be able to apply this knowledge in different contexts. For example, instead of just learning the dates of important historical events, students may be asked to analyze the causes and consequences of those events, and to evaluate different perspectives on them. A relevant shortcoming is that however this could potentially limit students' abilities to perform well on standardized tests or in subject-specific coursework, which are often heavily focused on content knowledge.
Challenging to measure: Some of the skills and traits targeted by HPL, such as resilience and empathy, can be challenging to measure reliably and validly. This can make it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of HPL interventions.
May not be suitable for all students: While the HPL framework is designed to promote high levels of achievement and well-being for all students, some students may not respond well to its emphasis on metacognitive skills and character traits.
Excessive emphasis on achievement: While the HPL framework emphasizes the development of positive character traits and well-being, there is a risk that schools may overemphasize academic achievement at the expense of students' overall well-being and mental health. This could be particularly problematic if students are pushed too hard to achieve, leading to stress and burnout.
Education of the future
Having said all the above I would like to close by offering my personal point of view on what should be the key features of the education for the future: I have no idea! 🙂
I think this is a super nuanced, multi-faceted and complex topic on which I have zero expertise. While appreciating the pros/cons of HPL for instance I also understand that one thing is a “small scale experiment” and another thing is defining the vision for a country’s educational system. I also appreciate that every family or kid has different needs and set of values, and that’s very hard to define a one-size-fits-all approach to education.
When reflecting of what I have not liked about my educational experience, and what I would like for my kids to experience I however made some mental notes:
While appreciating notions, that did not work well with me. I learnt to love reading, for instance, after I left school. Teachers pushed me to books that I did not enjoy, and lead me to believe that the unpleasant experience was reading in general and not the specific book. It took me 15 years to heal the damage and go back to loving Dostojevksi! Same with philosophy or history.
I enjoyed the more logic efforts, and that’s what I am very happy I did later in life. While being very mediocre in translating Latin or Greek, I appreciated as a grown up the skill it taught me: looking at context, putting pieces together, avoiding looking at things in isolation.
I did appreciate a lot diversity. As an adult I feel that I do an active effort to seek diversity while that is the great benefit of school. Naturally in school you get exposed to different backgrounds, sets of values, tastes etc. I feel that an environment should aim at maximising this for kids.
I did not like the fact that in class was mainly listening to teachers, and at home was mainly self-work. That makes no sense, you have 20 kids in the same classroom.. why did we not take advantage of that to foster group collaboration? And then maybe use homework to reflect/digest what was done?
Communication: in school we spent very little time working on communication, both in terms of group discussions and public speaking. This is actually a key skill in life, being able to communicate effectively and work in teams is a very precious skill.
What are your thoughts? And what do you think I am missing when thinking about this topic?
I would love to hear your view!
Have a great weekend!
Elisa e Giovanni