WHY SHOULD TEACHERS PROMOTE INDEPENDENT LEARNING?
As a teacher, it is important to teach your students to be able to work on some assignments alone, especially if you are absent. By encouraging students to form groups and having them participate throughout the entire lesson, you are teaching them to be able to handle assignments in your absence.
The best way to get your students to want to participate is by
developing a lesson plan based on what topics you believe your students understood most and develop questions for the students to answer on their own.
The best way to get your students to want to participate is by developing a lesson plan based on what topics you believe your students understood most and develop questions for the students to answer on their own.
Additionally, students with good independent learning skills are more likely to work on their learning when alone, at home, or with their siblings. Allowing students to come up with a schedule. With a schedule in place, the students will not feel pressured or forced into doing school work.
This is an important aspect when it comes to helping children become good independent learners: you do not want them to feel forced into doing something.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
First, independent learning encourages independence, creativity, and encourages curiosity. It encourages students to be proactive, rather than being stagnant. And most importantly, independent learning encourages students to seek out answers for themselves, rather than relying on someone else to find the answer for them.
Through this, students change their way of thinking. Rather than studying because they don’t want to fail, they will start to study because they want to learn more.
Second, independent learning helps students learn to collaborate and work together. When working with others, students are able to learn from their peers, instead of just their teacher.
It is also important for teachers to allow students to help with the lesson plan, this allows them to form a sense of responsibility for their learning. Becoming an independent learner is not easy, but with encouragement and positive feedback, parents and teachers can help their children achieve this.
WHAT ARE THE KEY ELEMENTS OF INDEPENDENT LEARNING?
The key aspect of independent learning is teaching students to take responsibility for their own learning rather than relying on the teacher. This requires students to be motivated to learn and work with others, particularly their teacher.
It is important to understand that teachers play a key role in independent learning. Teachers must encourage their students as well as allow them to be involved in the learning process. Independent learning has been organised into four basic groups:
Planning
Self-monitoring
Controlling the pace of and the direction of the work
Evaluation.
Of course, there is a lot more that goes into creating a good environment to encourage students to become independent learners.
For example, evaluation is important because it keeps track of how the students feel and allows teachers to determine what they can do differently. It is also important for teachers to develop a strong bond with their students.
Next, teachers need to develop an ‘enabling environment’. In this environment, students are given adequate time to work on certain tasks. These tasks can include group work or independent work. In order for this environment to work, teachers must fully understand what they are teaching.
Trust plays a very important role in the “enabling environment’. Trust allows the students and teachers to develop a strong bond, and this bond creates a responsibility for learning amongst the students and teacher. Of course, it is not just the relationship with the teacher that plays a role in helping students become good independent learners. They must also have a good bond with the local community and at home with their family.
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