The Learning Landscape

In The Learning Landscape, James Anderson outlines a powerful metaphor for visualising learning. Mapping the abstract concept of learning onto a physical journey in the real world, the learning process is made tangible and accessible to learners.

Students will be guided across the plains of the Learning Landscape, passing over the foundational knowledge that has come before them, while overcoming pits of challenging learning in an effort to climb to the peaks of expertise.

In The Learning Landscape, challenges are represented by four different types of Challenge Pits:

• The Learning Challenge
• The Performance Challenge
• The Downhill Challenge
• The Aspirational Challenge

Only by equipping students with powerful learning tools, such as the Habits of Mind, will they be prepared for the climb out of these Challenge Pits, as their mindsets determine how far they can travel and how high they can climb.

The Learning Landscape provides teachers with a tool to develop learner agency, creating more effective learners, improving engagement and, ultimately, learning outcomes.