Bangkok!

Weekend Workshop with Dr. Laura Lipton
Pathways to Understanding: Patterns and Practices In the
Learning-Focused Classroom
Hong Kong International School
The weekend was packed with strategies and processes to engage
students in learning. The weekend presented practical strategies
and innovative ideas for designing learning-focused classroom instruction.
The strategies experienced were applicable to all grade levels and
across all content areas. Participants experienced the strategy, followed
by a brief commercial of how to use the strategy, when it might be used,
and how it can be used in different curriculum areas.
Foundational to the strategies was a structured three-phase
model, the Pathways Learning Model that provides the framework for
connecting theory with practice. As participants worked through the
stages of learning, they were introduced to and incorporated collaborative
patterns within lesson designs to stretch students’ abilities to access,
organize, analyze and apply information and ideas.
• Alternative strategies for delivering content in a differentiated way
• Simple strategies that wil help learning; just like me, pairs, 3 + 2 + 1.
• Equity of access to knowledge through learning structures
• Individual accountability and access to knowledge
A key outcome from the weekend was the commitment by
participants to include at least one strategy in lesson preparation the
following week. The conversations at the lunch table, during reflection
time, and during de-briefing were centered on how they apply and when
participants could use each strategy. One participant commented that
the strategies could be used at any time of the lesson and did not involve
a great deal of preparation. The differences in a learning-focused classroom
are the structures and practices set in motion in order that the
learner does the learning!
Some of the key learning from the weekend included:
• Importance of interaction in learning
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