All of Lectica's learning tools are designed to leverage and support VCoL+7—the virtuous cycle of learning and its +7 skills. A VCoL is a repeated cycle of goal setting, information seeking, application, and reflection. Its +7 skills include reflectivity, awareness, seeking and evaluating information, making connections, applying knowledge, seeking and working with feedback, and recognizing and managing biases.
VCoLing engages the whole learner. By this, we mean that it engages learners emotionally, physically, and intellectually, leveraging both conscious and unconscious mental processes. VCoLing ensures that new knowledge is integrated into existing knowledge in a way that makes it useful and "sticky."
When people learn by VCoLing, they not only build knowledge but also nurture the dispositions and skills required for a lifetime of learning and development.
VCoLing is a practice that builds skills. Because it is a micro-practice that happens in real-time, we call the practice of VCoLing micro-VCoLing.
All VCoLs, in addition to integrating new information and ideas into our mental networks, also support the development of several fundamental life skills. We call these +7 skills. Here are some of the forms of VCoLing that foster their development.
Awareness micro-VCoLing structured around practices that involve...
Connection micro-VCoLing structured around practices that involve...
Seeking & evaluating micro-VCoLing structured around practices that involve...
Application micro-VCoLing structured around practices that involve…
Reflectivity micro-VCoLing structured around practices that involve…
Feedback micro-VCoLing structured around practices that involve…
De-biasing micro-VCoLing structured around practices that involve…
Unlike conventional study skills—which are designed primarily to help students learn factual information well enough to pass academic tests—VCoLs build the knowledge, deep understanding, and skills we need to navigate the complexity and ambiguity of our lives.
IES (US Department of Education)
The Spencer Foundation
NIH
Dr. Sharon Solloway
The Simpson Foundation
The Leopold Foundation
Glastonbury School District, CT
The Ross School
Rainbow Community School
The Study School
Long Trail School
The US Naval Academy
The City of Edmonton, Alberta
The US Federal Government
Antonio Battro, MD, Ph.D., One Laptop Per Child
Marc Schwartz, Ph.D. and former high school teacher, University of Texas at Arlington
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D., University of Southern California
Willis Overton, Ph.D., Temple University, Emeritus