Taking responsibility – How students can be encouraged to be self-reflective towards their future aspirations

An important part of our Wednesday programme at ISW are our classes in Approaches to Learning and Careers. In recent weeks, our learning partners have been encouraged to be self-reflective towards their future aspirations in the world of adulthood.

In these lessons, young people have been considering discussing their interests, skills and passions, and have tried to relate these to the world of work. As part of this process students have produced their own Career Exploration Roadmap, and have mapped out how they might see their future developing. Of course, we regularly remind them that they have the right to change their mind!

As our learning partners move through their educational lives they need to be increasingly aware that the decisions that they make now, might have a tremendous impact of their later lives. This is particularly pertinent in the Cambridge system, where students have some degree of choice over the subjects that they study; with the number of subjects being narrowed down to three by the time they reach Year 12.

Adrian Scarlett, Head of Secondary ISW

"At ISW, we encourage our students to assume responsibility for their own learning and actions through autonomous learning. This allows our students to develop their ability in setting objectives, determine approaches and find appropriate means and methods that are suited to an individual's own learning pathways and possibilities." Fractal element 2, SBW Haus des Learnens.