Task structure refers to a system by which tasks are clearly defined and described; one in which larger tasks are broken down into smaller, more manageable tasks. The use of this step by step plan helps to fully prepare learners to complete their assigned tasks in a way that uses time and resources more efficiently. In many cases the structure of the tasks can be set from easy to difficult.

Structured tasks include clear instructions and step by step plans that help learners to be organized in their work and learning.

Learning to learn is a set of soft skills that need to be verified on the modalities of the approach to a certain discipline, in order to understand in which way the learners are capable of learning.

Cooperative learning/group learning is an instructional strategy in which groups of learners work together on a common task. The task can be simple such as solving a math problem or complex as designing a school garden.

The purpose of group learning/cooperative learning is to make each learner in the group a stronger individual on his/her right. Learners learn together so that they can subsequently perform higher as individuals. ‘Learning to learn skills’ can be assessed during different cooperative learning activities. To enhance the quality of the learning process of each learner, it is essential to create structured moments, related to the content of the group learning moment, where
learners can autonomously develop their tasks.

This helps learners to trace back their knowledge in an autonomous way and help them in interiorizing a method.

Metacognition is a self-reflection action on one own’s learning process, that help focusing on what are the objectives, the strategies and tools and the motivation of the learning process itself. It helps to observe and to reflect upon the ‘learning to learn skills’ and to improve the learning process as a whole. Metacognition is strengthened in a process where the progressive autonomy of learners is encouraged. This happens through the request by the teacher of a reliable feedback at the end of an activity, in order to collect useful elements to orientate the development of learners’ skills, and thus to address specifically ‘learning to learn skills’.

Simultaneously, the teacher providing learners constant feedbacks on the activities that they autonomously carry out, helps them develop and understand which are the strong and weak points of their learning process.

Assessment rubric is a tool used to interpret and grade learners’ work against criteria and standards.

Rubrics are usually structured using a matrix or grid and are sometimes called ‘criteria sheets’, ‘grading schemes’, or ‘scoring guides’. Rubrics can be designed for any content domain.

Assessment rubrics 5 :

● provide a framework that clarifies assessment requirements and standards of performance for different grades. In this, they support assessment as learning; learners can see what is important and where to focus their learning efforts;
● enable very clear and consistent communication with learners about assessment requirements and about how different levels of performance earn different grades. They allow assessors to give very specific feedback to learners on their performance;
● when learners are involved in their construction, encourage them to take responsibility for their performance;
● when used for self-assessment and peer assessment, make learners aware of assessment processes and procedures, enhance their meta-cognitive awareness, and improve their capacity to assess their own work;
● can result in richer feedback to learners, giving them a clearer idea where they sit in terms of an ordered progression towards increased expertise in a learning domain;
● by engaging staff teams in rubric-based conversations about quality, help them develop a shared language for talking about learning and assessment;
● help assessors efficiently and reliably interpret and grade learners’ work;
● systematically illuminate gaps and weaknesses in learners’ understanding against particular criteria, helping teachers target areas to address.

Feedback is an important part of the assessment process. It has a significant effect on the learners’ learning.

The main objectives of feedback are to:
● justify to learners how their mark or grade was derived
● identify and reward specific qualities in learner work
● guide learners on what steps to take to improve
● motivate them to act on their assessment
● develop their capability to monitor, evaluate and regulate their own learning.

Furthermore, feedback needs to be constructive, timely and meaningful.

Self-evaluation is key to improving one’s ability to learn.

Using self-assessment as a result gives a more accurate picture of understanding, since it enhances the metacognitive capacity of learners.

Self-evaluation or self-reflection on one's own work is done to check the quality of learning after each step of a structured activity.

The alternation between steps and tests pushes learners to have an increased awareness of their learning process.

Observation, assessment and development of ‘learning to learn skills’ can be obtained through specific actions carried out by the teacher in order to methodically support the learners, such as reduction of content and attention to the needs of the individual learner.

Support can be provided in the form of key information to develop a learning path and then through observation of its development, proposal and suggestion of modifications to the learning path and final assessment of the progresses.

Learning tools are many and different with respect to their goal, their functioning and their complexity. Usefulness to the learning process is the criterion that guides teachers in choosing the right tool for each learner, and teachers have to keep in mind that learners are likely to find useful different tools to support the development of their ‘learning to learn skills’.

This holds true for all learners and applies more relevantly to SEN learners.

Learners become autonomous in this process especially when tools are provided and presented as a concrete representation and/or an extension of learners cognitive domains: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating

The development of ‘learning to learn skills' is often related to the acquirement of autonomy by the learners through independent forms of work. Therefore, teachers try to stimulate them to think about strategies to approach a problem, thus developing their capability of questioning.

Progressive and structured moments in which the autonomy of learners is encouraged represents a means in order to develop ‘learning to learn skills' for many teachers.

Sometimes ‘learning to learn skills’ are regarded as something that cannot be acquired but independently.

Teachers suggest group work as an effective way to develop ‘learning to learn skills’.

Group work allows learners to be independent with respect to the teacher, yet at the same time they are compelled to compare each other's cognitive style and to eventually assimilate to them. Interaction between heterogeneous approaches to learning appears to be a valuable method by means of which
an individual learner self-evaluate her/his ‘learning to learn skills’.

Games have been used as key activities for teaching and learning as long as there have been education environments. The interaction required for successful game play draws the player in to learn the interface, to master what makes an appropriate move in the space, to learn from failure and to explore how to seek help.

Each of these behaviors is a key feature of successful learning, and each is required in even the most humble game environments.

Every kind of game has a system of points, badges, rewards and leaderboards featured that can be replicated in an educational context providing different motivations and needs for interaction or self-expression to learners.

Explicit reflection on reasoning between learners and teachers helps the development of ‘learning to learn skills’.

This can be done as an assessment of the logics of the individual learner and/or through the enforcement of acquired learning skills.

Project-based learning is used to introduce learners to research within their regular classes. Starting from an exploration of previous ideas in relation to a specific topic, a hypothesis is formulated that will have to be validated throughout a research process. Learners are organized in heterogeneous groups who carry out the research and perform the data analysis.

The role of the teacher is to guide the learners in their group work and to provide support when needed. In this methodology, knowledge learning has the same importance as the acquisition of skills and attitudes.

It is important to understand that it is a methodology and not an instructional strategy. It is also considered a learning strategy, in which students are faced with a project that they must develop. It involves sustaining learning by avoiding their passive role and working from their active and critical participation.

Development and assessment of ‘learning to learn skills’ is done by stimulating the individual creativity of learners with the use of open-ended questionnaires.

The assessment has to take into account learners’ individual efforts and their starting proficiency level, through evaluation tools in which priority is accorded to personal initiative, daily attitude, interest, participation.

Teachers from All-Inclusive School project stakeholders network use observational rubrics – in addition to the written evaluations – that they complete according to the objectives they have set.

The teachers observe the work from different corners and within different projects. It gives them freedom to work, observe and strengthen the connections with their learners. Daily, every activity is tackled with great consideration and direct observation is a fundamental pillar. In general, teachers are very happy with the results.

It is hard to start from zero because the teacher has to prepare a lot of materials for each content he/she works with, but in this way he/she can be sure that one way or another the learner acquires it.

‘Learning to learn’ is something worth of specific tips and examples during and after classroom activities.

Sometimes teachers design their lessons in steps that are followed by examples, thus alternating parts of the teaching/learning process that refer to more theoretical or universal content and parts that refer to more concrete or practical ones.

Challenges are seen as a tool to develop ‘learning to learn skills’ because they put learners in different contexts with respect to ordinary learning processes.

The content and the skills they have already acquired are thus tested through new sets of learning objects and receive in return renewed values and meanings.

Process evaluation is concerned with evidence of activity, and the quality of implementation. It focuses on the implementation process and attempts to determine how successfully the learner followed the strategy/instructions/etc. as opposed to outcome evaluation.

Self-articulation consists in providing the learners with the opportunity to articulate by themselves their understandings and their needs. Self-articulation is a method that has a positive impact on ‘learning to learn skills’ in the measure that it helps improve learners’ communication skills.

This link between communication and learning has similarities to the relationship between speech and thinking in the concept of “inner talk” depicted by Vygotskij.

According to some teachers, time is very important. By giving time, they do not rush the learners who consequently become more comfortable and feel supported by the teacher. This holds true especially with respect to SEN learners.