SET24 Q&A – Gavin Lumsden

What would be your top piece of advice for educators wanting to maximise their learners’ potential? 

As a substitute for gripping with achieving perfect attendance, let us redirect our focus toward enhancing the inherent potential within each learner. A culture that fosters ownership, autonomy, and personal growth creates an environment where learners feel empowered to explore, question, and, importantly, to fail. Failure, far from being a setback, becomes an integral part of the learning process, paving the way for resilience, adaptability, and true comprehension.  

What do you hope attendees will take away from your talk? 

That attendance is not a reliable indicator of genuine learning. Learners may physically occupy their seats, but remain disengaged, passive recipients of information. True education goes beyond the confines of a chair and desk; it transcends mere presence. I hope attendees will look at an alternative perspective, and shift our attention from the traditional emphasis on attendance to a more impactful metric - unleashing the untapped potential within each learner.  

The path to successful learning transcends the conventional measures of achievement. By placing emphasis on unleashing potential and embracing a learner-centric approach, we pave the way for a transformative educational experience - one that prepares students not just for exams but for a lifetime of growth, adaptability, and continual evolution. 

What are you most looking forward to about the conference? 

The conference provides an unparalleled opportunity for continuous learning through workshops, keynote speeches, and interactions with fellow education professionals. Networking is a key highlight, allowing me to build on my professional network, collaborate with like-minded individuals, and explore potential partnerships. The conference also serves as a showcase for educational research, offering insights into solutions that can enhance student experiences.  

The event facilitates collaboration, enabling us to identify opportunities for partnerships that can strengthen our impact on experiences, classroom learning and supporting our educational environments. Overall, the SET conference is a hub for staying updated, building relationships, and honing the knowledge and skills necessary to provide effective guidance to educational environments in fostering positive learning capability. 

Aside from his session at SET24, You can keep up to date with Gavin through his LinkedIn and website.