The Learning Pit at Home

When someone is out of their comfort zone or struggling to learn something new, then they are in the Learning Pit. This light-hearted name – together with its cartoonlike illustrations – helps ease the sense of frustration often felt during the learning process. It can also be an empathetic and reassuring phrase to share with others, giving them the impression that everyone experiences Learning Pit moments.

Depends on the context, but ordinarily no – the Learning Pit is not something to be avoided. Of course, if you want a quick answer or solution, then yes, avoid the Learning Pit! But if you want to explore ideas, make connections, ask questions, think of alternatives, and be more confident about the thoroughness of your solutions, then going into the Learning Pit will be worth the effort.

James Nottingham chose a learning ‘pit’ because he wanted to be honest: stepping out of your comfort zone makes you feel uncomfortable (there’s a giveaway in the term, out of your comfort zone!)

A few people have suggested alternatives such as a ‘mountain of learning’. If that works for you, then go for it! The problem is, a mountain doesn’t really capture the sense of frustration someone feels when struggling to learn something new or different. The route taken when scaling a mountain is ‘you climb up then you descend’. Whereas learning often means getting worse before you get better. It feels like descending first (or going backwards) and then moving up … hence a pit rather than a mountain.

Think about how you taught your child to ride a bike and mirror that approach! When they’re in the Learning Pit, respond to them the same way you did when they took their first few wobbly rides on a bike. Don’t rescue them; encourage them. Run alongside them. Ridealongside them. Show how much you love the same activity. Talk positively about it. Describe the places to go, the experiences they’ll have, as soon as they’ve worked it out successfully.

That said, there are of course phases to learning. At the very beginning of bike riding, you had to build up your child to taking their maiden voyage. This probably included talking positively about bike riding and nurturing your child’s desire to ride. You gave them lots of support – holding the bike frame as you ran alongside them – plus lots of encouragement. As soon as they were ready, you ‘let them go’ and cheered as they wobbled their way along the path. When they fell off, you checked they were still in one piece, reassured them, and then made it a priority to get them back on their bike. You knew that finishing a session with failure would make the process of starting again that much more difficult. So, you always finished with an experience that gave them a sense of success and accomplishment.

Take that exact same approach to supporting their homework (and learning in general). If they’re right at the beginning of something, with no idea what to do or how to make a start, then ‘hold the bike frame’ by demonstrating and guiding them. BUT if they’re wobbling their way along (which is when they’re in the Learning Pit) – if they’ve got a good idea what to do but are not very proficient at it yet – then ‘run alongside them’ but do not rescue them! Don’t be one of those parents who do their children’s homework for them (unless you want them to be less engaged or to feel a muffled sense of achievement!). Encourage them but don’t do it for them. Cheer them on as they work their way through the Learning Pit, but don’t rescue them.

General questions could include:

• Have you been in the Learning Pit today / this week?
• What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learnt by being in the Learning Pit?
• What’s the best thing about going through the Learning Pit?
• Why do you think some people are confident at going through the Learning Pit whereas others avoid it?

Reflecting on the first phase of the Learning Pit

• How confident were you at the beginning of the Learning Pit experience?
• What was your first idea / first response?
• When did you realise (the thing you were learning about) was more complex than you thought?
• What question, action, or idea pushed you into the pit?

Thinking about being in the pit

• What did you discover when you were in the pit?
• Which strategies did you think of using?
• Who did you team up with to create a cunning plan?
• What was the most confusing or frustrating thing about being in the pit?

Describing the feeling of coming out of the pit

• How did it feel as you climbed out of the pit?
• Was it a flash of inspiration that gave you a way out of the pit? (if so, what was it?)
• What did you do this time that you’d definitely do again (and why)?
• What would you try to avoid next time?

Connecting to next steps

• What are you going to do next?
• How does what you’ve learned this time around fit into your learning generally (what connections can you make)?
• What advice would you give to others about the best ways to go through the Learning Pit?
• What questions do you still have?

When chatting with your child about their Learning Pit experiences (or indeed, their learning in general), it will help to create the right atmosphere if you demonstrate your belief in the following values: