LEARN, LOVE, LAUGH
Empowering ALL Girls
PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES
The LEARN, LOVE, LAUGH program is built around the belief that a successful positive wellbeing program needs to encompass the three domains of educational practice, also referred to as the Big 3 Map outlined in Wilber’s Integral Theory (1996) and Rogoff’s Scale of Socicultural Analysis (Rogoff 2003; Blaise & Nuttall 2011). As such, LEARN, LOVE, LAUGH’s five learning areas have been built to encompass the three domains; nature/society (communal), self (intrapersonal) and culture (interpersonal) (refer to table 1). The LEARN, LOVE, LAUGH program also believes that in order to help improve mental health and wellbeing in students, teachers, schools and communities need to be involved in order to help provide young girls with the social and emotional skills for life (Kay-Lambkin, Kemp, Stafford & Hazell, 2007). As such, part of the program involves active participation of students’ families and the local community in promoting awareness about the importance of self-respect, boosting positive body image in the local media and encouraging parents to become a solid support base for girls regarding important social and emotional issues.
Learning
The program does not restrict content learning within the classroom. The program believes that learning can and should occur in a range of settings to accommodate for the wide range of learners and that sometimes the most powerful learning experiences occurs outside of the classroom (Austin, 2007). Part of the program involves allowing girls the opportunity to ‘get in touch with nature’ as a form of self-exploration and self-actualizing, and helping remove girls from the social sphere that they are surrounded in within the classroom.
Teaching
The program also uses a wide array of learning tools and teaching methodologies that take into account the diverse learners and learning that occurs within the classroom. As such, the program believes that students need to learn within a safe and inclusive environment where they feel supported to achieve outcomes and take certain risks to expand their learning (Pagliano & Gillies, 2009). This also includes promoting creativity on different levels; artistic creativity, intellectual creativity and social creativity. Lessons are therefore designed to guide the girls but not restrict them in their ability to create their own content, motivating their intrinsic need to be creative and inspiring higher-order thinking and challenges (Lassig, 2012).
Assessment
As LEARN, LOVE, LAUGH is an external program delivered within schools for girls, the assessment process focuses on student work guiding instruction. As such, each program is also unique in how it is delivered per class as the teaching and instruction caters towards each specific group. Using student work to guide instruction means that the goal of the program is not focused solely on covering content, but about ensuring that students are understanding the concepts taught through the program (Allen, 2009). Self and peer assessments are also incorporated into the lesson plans as students are allowed opportunities for critical appraisal from others as well as self-monitoring and reflection which also endorses interpersonal skills (Brady & Kennedy, 2005).
Table 1. LEARN, LOVE, LAUGH’s 5 core learning areas and its relation with SEL’s 5 core competencies (CASEL, 2014) and the Big 3 Map Wilber-Rogoff outlined in Wilber’s Integral Theory (1996) and Rogoff’s Scale of Socicultural Analysis (Rogoff 2003; Blaise & Nuttall 2011).
Figure 4. The Big 3 Map outlined in Wilber’s Integral Theory (1996) and Rogoff’s Scale of Socicultural Analysis (Rogoff 2003; Blaise & Nuttall 2011).