Focus on high achievement
“FAR more pupils than we previously thought have the potential to perform at the highest cognitive levels. High Performance Learning takes the ideas that were previously thought to apply to ‘high flyers’ and through a systematic framework applies them to all students.
“The results are remarkable – not just in terms of exam success but also in building the competencies that enable students to thrive at university and in the workplace. There really is ‘Room at the Top’ if we systematically nurture more children to get there,” says education expert Prof Deborah Eyre in a paper titled Room at the Top.
The research of Prof Eyre resonates with the teaching and learning approach at Epsom College in Malaysia (ECiM).
At the heart of what ECiM does is the belief that high achievement for everyone, rather than high achievement for some, is an attainable outcome.
All children must be given opportunities to develop the competencies required for academic and lifetime success. This is the core message for students studying at Epsom College.
ECiM engages talented teachers who are not only highly professional educators but also leaders with the ability to lead rather than manage. A school is outstanding when cognitive success for the vast majority of students is a routine occurrence.
Furthermore, when that success is accompanied by students who are responsible, caring, confident and enterprising, only then can the school be rightly considered a world-class institution.
ECiM has embarked on a project with Prof Eyre centred on achieving cognitive success for students across the years.
By implementing a teaching and learning approach that enables students to enhance and build their own ability, it is envisaged that students will use it productively to obtain good academic results and develop a wider set of life skills.
The focus is on current and future performance with high performance being seen as an attainable target for everyone.
Prof Eyre’s High Performance Learning is not an approach that is simply added to what Epsom College already has to offer.
Rather, it is a lens through which the college can view its existing practice and enhance it.
Students are placed firmly at the heart of the programme, yet teachers are the key. Working collaboratively from an evidential base, Epsom teachers provide opportunities and support in a way that motivates students.
They constitute a professionalised workforce, introducing improvements through the use of increasingly effective pedagogies.
ECiM’s collaboration with Prof Eyre will enhance the already excellent teaching and learning taking place.
Students of all ages will experience first-hand the positive outcomes of High Performance Learning while mastering the competencies required for success at school and beyond. The message at ECiM is that there certainly is room at the top. For more information, e-mail Sin Yee at sinyee@epsomcollege.edu. my