6 Steps to Support Struggling Learners

It is not a nice feeling to be struggling with learning. That’s where The Learning Pit can help.

The Learning Pit has been designed to demonstrate what it looks like and feels like when children are struggling with their learning.  It is a great feeling when we have practised the skills and reached our goals and have become confident learners.

It is important for children to understand that learning is a continual process of learning and discovery.

The Learning Pit visually represents what is happening in the learning cycle for us when it is challenging. Explicitly teaching children the language and the process of The Learning Pit allows the children to normalise what they are experiencing.

In this 6 step guide, let us help you to discover the language and process of The Learning Pit.

Recognising the Challenge

Learning is challenging and hard. It is important for children to accept this and be okay with it. Without a challenge we do not learn and grow in our knowledge or deepen the learning process. Some challenges are easy, others are a challenge and some are really challenging. If your child has a Growth Mindset they might see the challenge as a natural learning process. If children are stuck in their negative thinking process the challenge will become increasingly challenging. In the visual of The Learning Pit you will notice that negative thinking plays a part in heading towards the bottom of the pit.

As a parent we can recognise the challenge for our children through understanding their behaviour, observing their work and talking to their teacher who will explain the challenges that your child is having. You will notice that they are having difficulty understanding, finding it hare, have low energy, not putting in effort and not understanding their body responses to the challenge.

Support the Emotions

When children are on the slippery slope or have entered the bottom of The Learning Pit (“The Pit”) their energy and emotions are really low and negative. It is important to recognise the emotion for what it is and encourage your child to label the emotion. The essential part of the emotion process is for the child to explore the emotion and give the emotion room to process and release.

In your child’s lifetime, especially when they are learning something really challenging, or the goal is too big, they will find themselves going through The Learning Pit process a few times. The goal is for the child to recognise whereabouts they are within The Pit and the next steps they need to take to get out of The Pit. Our role as a parent is to support the emotions while they are going through the learning process.

Using the Language of the Pit

When we use the language of The Learning Pit this helps children to normalise the learning process, for example, you can say to your child, “are you on the slippery slope?” “are you at the bottom of The Pit?” or “are you climbing out of The Pit to achieve your goals?”

Using a shared language helps your child to understand that you understand the difficulties of learning.

Teach and model to your child the language of The Learning Pit, for example when you are learning a new skill say to your child, “I am on the slippery slope as I am struggling to learn this skill”. Explain, “I have arrived at the bottom of The Pit and I am going to take a pause to explore my emotions on why I am finding this difficult.” Tell them, “I am going to regather my energy to take the next steps to come out of The Pit and achieve my goal”.

Teaching the Skills to Learn

The exciting part of the process is to learn new skills to overcome the learning challenges that your child is experiencing. There are 6 skills to learn. When your child learns to ask for help, receive and give feedback and put in effort they are on their way to the Goal post. Another important element is for the child to understand their body responses, energy and develop positive thinking skills.  All of these skills need to be taught and practised to ensure that they do not renter The Pit when a new learning challenge arises.

Support

At this stage it is important to find the right support for your child to reengage them with the love of learning. Support comes in many disguises. It can be that your child needs to participate in tutoring, develop a Growth Mindset or having an understanding of The Learning Pit.

Seeds of Knowledge has developed programs to support your child in the learning process. Our signature program is the Learning to Learn Program which develops all of the skills of The Learning Pit to help your child achieve their learning goals.

Reach your Goals

Once we have mastered the skills of The Learning Pit, through daily practice, we are able to go from challenge to achieving our goals with ease. This is when we know that your child will be able to achieve any goal that they desire.

It is important to celebrate every step of The Learning Pit, even the tricky stages as it means your child is learning the power of learning. They will now love a challenge as they know the steps to be a confident learner, not a struggling learner.

Enrol your child into the Learning to Learn Program to be immersed in the Learning Process, which is a gift for life.