Developing learning skills: learning to learn
This Element focuses on equipping learners with foundational metacognitive skills, enabling them to understand how they learn best. It supports the development of self-advocacy by helping learners identify personal learning strengths and areas for improvement, communicate preferences, and actively participate in person-centred planning. Practical application involves embedding these skills into everyday learning activities, promoting greater independence and ownership of the learning process.
Assessment criteria
Topic Overview
The City & Guilds Entry Level Award in Personal Progress (Entry 1) is a foundational qualification designed to support learners with significant learning difficulties or disabilities. It focuses on developing essential personal, social, and communication skills that enable individuals to engage more fully in daily life, education, and community activities. The award is part of the Foundations for Learning suite, which provides a stepping stone towards further study or employment by building confidence and independence.
This qualification covers key areas such as self-awareness, managing personal care, interacting with others, and making choices. Learners are assessed through practical tasks and observations rather than formal exams, making it accessible and relevant to real-world contexts. By completing this award, students demonstrate their ability to apply basic skills in everyday situations, which is crucial for personal development and future progression.
The Entry Level Award is particularly valuable because it recognizes small but significant steps in learning. It helps students build a portfolio of evidence that showcases their progress, whether in communication, numeracy, or personal safety. This qualification not only boosts self-esteem but also provides a clear pathway to higher-level Entry Level awards or other vocational courses, ensuring that every learner can achieve and succeed.
Key Concepts
Core ideas you must understand for this topic
- →Self-awareness: Understanding personal strengths, preferences, and areas for development, including recognizing emotions and personal identity.
- →Personal care: Developing skills for daily living such as dressing, eating, hygiene, and maintaining a safe environment.
- →Communication: Using verbal and non-verbal methods to express needs, feelings, and ideas, and responding appropriately to others.
- →Making choices: Learning to select between options in familiar contexts, such as choosing activities, food, or clothing, and understanding consequences.
- →Social interaction: Engaging with peers and adults in group settings, following simple rules, and showing respect for others.
Learning Objectives
What you need to know and understand
- Identify strengths and weaknesses in relation to learning, Express preferences about learning, Be involved in making choices in relation to learning, Get help with their learning, Be involved in producing and reviewing a person-centred learning plan
Assessment Criteria
Key criteria assessors look for in your portfolio
- Award credit for evidence that the learner can clearly state at least one personal learning strength (e.g., 'I am good at remembering pictures') and one weakness (e.g., 'I find writing hard'), using appropriate communication methods.
- Look for the learner expressing a preference about learning, such as choosing between visual aids, hands-on activities, or verbal instructions, and providing a reason for the choice.
- Evidence should show the learner making a genuine choice related to their learning, not just accepting a predetermined option; for example, selecting the order of tasks or a topic from a limited range.
- Assess the learner's ability to seek help appropriately, e.g., by using a pre-agreed signal, approaching a trusted person, or explaining what support is needed, and note the effectiveness of the help-seeking strategy.
- For person-centred planning, credit should be given for the learner's involvement in contributing to their learning plan, such as placing a photo or symbol on the plan, or verbally expressing a goal, and for participating in a review by indicating likes/dislikes or progress using accessible tools.
Assessment Guidance
Guidance for achieving higher grades
- 💡For internally assessed portfolios, ensure evidence is gathered over time in naturally occurring contexts to demonstrate that skills are embedded, not just performed once upon request.
- 💡Use a range of multimedia evidence (e.g., witness statements, photos, video clips) to capture non-verbal communication such as gestures, sign, or symbol use, as many learners at Entry 1 may not use formal spoken language.
- 💡When assessing 'identify strengths and weaknesses', provide structured tools like talk mats, emoji scales, or sorting activities to enable learners to indicate with minimal verbal demand.
- 💡For the learning plan, involve the learner in a way that is meaningful to them; even placing a sticker on a chosen goal or tapping a picture can be credited, but clearly annotate the evidence to explain the learner's role.
- 💡Provide regular opportunities for learners to practice skills in real-life contexts, such as making a snack or greeting a visitor. This helps them apply learning naturally during assessment.
- 💡Encourage learners to reflect on their own progress by using simple self-assessment sheets with smiley faces or thumbs up/down. This demonstrates self-awareness and engagement.
- 💡Ensure evidence is varied and clearly linked to the assessment criteria. Use photographs, observation notes, and learner comments to build a strong portfolio.
Common Mistakes
Common errors to avoid in your coursework
- Learners may confuse personal preferences (e.g., favourite colour) with learning preferences (e.g., preferred way of receiving information) and require support to distinguish between them.
- When asked about weaknesses, learners might just say 'I can't do it' without specifying, or confuse a temporary difficulty with a genuine area for development; prompts may be needed to support reflection.
- In group settings, learners may copy others' choices rather than expressing their own, leading to inauthentic evidence; assessors should use individual sessions or discreet observation to capture genuine preferences.
- Learners might assume that asking for help means they are failing, so they may avoid seeking support until frustration occurs; reinforcing that help-seeking is positive is crucial.
- During person-centred review, learners may focus only on what they enjoy rather than reflecting on progress, or may agree with everything without understanding, so concrete evidence like photos or completed work should be used to prompt discussion.
- Misconception: This qualification is just about basic tasks and has no real value. Correction: It is a nationally recognized award that builds essential life skills and can lead to further education or employment opportunities.
- Misconception: Assessment is only through written work. Correction: Assessment is primarily through observation of practical tasks and discussions, making it accessible for learners with different abilities.
- Misconception: You need to be able to read and write to pass. Correction: The focus is on practical skills and communication; support is available for literacy needs, and evidence can be captured through photos, videos, or witness statements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions students ask about this topic
Pass / Merit / Distinction Evidence Checklist
How your portfolio evidence is graded for CITY & GUILDS LIMITED Developing learning skills: learning to learn
Every vocational unit is marked against named criteria rather than an exam percentage. Your tutor's brief lists the exact codes for this unit — here is what each band is asking you to do.
Demonstrate baseline knowledge, accurate terminology, and core practical application.
Provide detailed analysis, structured explanations, and clear workplace reasoning.
Deliver thorough evaluation, original problem solving, and fully justified recommendations.
Before You Start
Prior knowledge that will help with this topic
- •No formal prerequisites are required for this Entry Level award, as it is designed for learners with diverse starting points.
- •A basic ability to communicate needs and follow simple instructions is helpful but not essential, as support can be provided.
Coursework AI Review
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Key Terminology
Essential terms to know
- Identify strengths and weaknesses in relation to learning, Express preferences about learning, Be involved in making choices in relation to learning, Get help with their learning, Be involved in producing and reviewing a person-centred learning plan
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