The Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI) research first identified, then devised a scientifically rigorous way of assessing the essential characteristics of effective lifelong learners.
The seven dimensions of 'learning power' which emerged from the research, via factor analysis, each with elements of 'thinking, feeling and doing' are:
- changing and learning - a sense of myself as someone who learns and changes over time
- critical curiosity - an orientation to want to 'get beneath the surface'
- meaning making - making connections and seeing that learning 'matters to me'
- creativity - risk-taking, playfulness, imagination and intuition
- interdependence - learning with and from others and also able to manage without them
- strategic awareness - being aware of my thoughts, feelings and actions as a learner and able to use that awareness to manage learning processes
- resilience - the readiness to persevere in the development of my own learning power.
A seventy-two item questionnaire was created and validated through further research. Available online, this instantly produces a profile of each learner, in the form of a 7-spoked spider diagram. A frequency chart is also produced for the whole class. This feedback then becomes the starting point for mentoring conversations and strategies for developing learning power, individually and collectively.
One of the most widely reported benefits is of learners and teachers becoming confident with a whole new language for learning. Many find their profiles motivate them to improve their learning. When managed effectively across a Year Group, significant gains have been achieved in learning power. Individuals can achieve particularly significant improvement in the dimensions they target and work on. If a second survey is taken, it superimposes a new profile on the original, so any gains made can be seen graphically.
To use ELLI, schools need at least two teachers trained as 'ELLI Champions'. The training takes two days, enabling them to understand the concepts and why they are powerful, manage the online registrations and surveys, interpret individual and class profiles and plan strategies, or 'interventions' to build learning power across the school, which includes equipping them to brief and train students, parents and colleagues.
Many schools opt to undertake a research and development project in partnership with ViTaL.
See also www.eloise-online.com and www.bristol.ac.uk/education/enterprise/elli