That’s not surprising, because independent learners are extremely focused on their personal learning objectives. Recognition of progress will help build confidence and motivation. If you are looking for ways to develop independent learning skills, following the tips and advice on this page should help. Independent learning skills promote pupils’ ability in reviewing, recording and reflecting on their learning. Understandably, becoming an independent learner has many rewards to offer your child: • He will be able to think individually • She will develop better self-concept You must upload one of the following file types for the selected field: There was an error displaying the form. One way to encourage your students to keep track of what they have learned is to have them keep a ‘learning diary’ that they write in each day. Although many teachers set the goals themselves, if you want to create a really independent learning experience, elicit them directly from the students. In each Writing lesson, the Improve it section helps students to review work and make improvements. Rather than grading based on how many answers on correct, consider grading on the effort the student put into the assignment. Our brains did not evolve to do several hours of physics without a break. contains a number of resources that will help you develop independent teens. Help them find their own way of learning. Please ensure all values are in a proper format. When students read independently, their physical skills, cognitive abilities, and emotions are all working simultaneously. These can be used in class if the teacher wants to allocate part of a lesson to self-study or they can be used at home. The transfer of academic responsibility from teacher to student does not have to happen overnight. They are curious and they engage in what they’re learning. Independent learning is a central part of being a student. Let us know which updates you’d like to receive: © 2020 Pearson English, a division of Pearson plc. Students should constantly be encouraged to reflect on their performance and whether they’ve met their learning goals. Students can be encouraged to self-monitor by teaching them skills that will help them reach their academic goals, and by teaching them to use self and peer assessment. They develop independent learning skills well in the foundation phase and use these purposefully as they progress through the school. Encourage your students to act like you. How do you develop a child with an independent mind? The Speaking file and Writing file give further tips on the process and how to achieve success in speaking and writing exam tasks. Are you sure you want to leave this form and resume later? In such a situation it is necessary that the teacher takes a back seat. In other words, you need to be able to do your own research instead of expecting a teacher to give you all the background material you might need. One of the most important skills you'll ever teach your teen is how to handle money. Have your students do this often, then have them store their reflections in a folder so they can see how far they have come. The answer is to give them opportunities to think and to express their views, while demonstrating to them that adults have views and opinions too. This will give your students a sense of empowerment and responsibility that will help them work toward becoming an independent learner. For more information see our. Reward Initiative. Encourage them to learn from their peers, as this can benefit their independent learning as well. Peer feedback is not only advantageous to the student receiving it, but there are also many reflective benefits of giving feedback to someone else. Effective feedback should allow learners to understand where they currently are in their learning, where they’re heading and how they’ll get there. Yes, technology can help develop skills, but focusing on reading as a set of discrete, separate skills ignores the way that students actually experience reading. Allow students a chance to reflect on what they have learned and what they would like to learn. Continuing to use this website gives consent to cookies being used. This feedback can be oral or written down on paper. They are self-motivated and accept that frustration in the present is worthwhile to achieve future success. This sh… Working with others also helps them be able to use problem-solving steps in order to get the answers, rather than relying on the teacher for answers. For example, putting up a sign in class reminding students every day that they should be active learners reinforces that you are paving the way for independent thinking. Once your students have set their goals, they need to start thinking about how they’ll reach them. However, this should be a gradual process and not all students will be ready to take 100% control from the outset. Praising Persistence: Hard work and persistence can help a child to excel, therefore it is crucial to praise a student who is striving to be better. Students should be given time to work in small groups. Would you prefer to discuss questions about this topic or another? , independent learning is “a process, a method and a philosophy of education whereby a learner acquires knowledge by his or her own efforts and develops the ability for enquiry and critical evaluation.”, Increased recognition of strengths, weaknesses and progress. There was an error initializing the payment processor on this form. Use TAs to help pupils develop independent learning skills and manage their own learning New research has shown that improving the nature and quality of TAs’ talk to pupils can support the development of independent learning skills, which are associated with improved learning … Teach students how to best structure their independent learning time. Teacher feedback also helps students develop the skills needed to become more independent. During the discussion, be sure to point out behaviours in the classroom that demonstrate independence. At the end of each unit there’s a dedicated section to help students become more independent learners. Choose your sources carefully If independent learning is not a common feature of your class, then Recording a class period can be beneficial as this can allow you to physically see where you need improvement. If, however, it is a game which is very dull for you (for example, if it requires you to watch them doing something for long periods of time), say so, and suggest alternatives, allowing them to choose. Please contact the form owner to correct this issue. For example, one of the prerequisites of independent learning is the ability to work on your own, with minimal direction and with confidence. Sharing learning goals with your class helps students see what they’re aiming for and they’ll also be able to assess whether they’ve achieved it afterwards or not. These help students to develop creative skills, make decisions about the learning process and how they complete the project. Keep your assessment categories as positive as possible (e.g. ) At least every hour or so, they should get up and move. Teaching Study Skills How to develop independent learning? Independence is one of the best skills a student can master. 2. Increasing EFL students’ language skills and independent learning are issues of paramount concern because the contact hours in traditional face to face classes are not enough to help students develop their language skills. Use the power of your relationship with students to show a passion for learning. The tasks help students to understand the benefit of self-reflection and encourage them to give better feedback to peers. As children can make choices as to what they want to play with, and practitioners can model and scaffold learning. Inspire student motivation for learning: Motivation to learn is key to success in school, after graduation in the global job market, and for life in a world of constant changes in technology. Be a model for your students. In the context of language learning, independent learners can recognize their learning needs, locate relevant information about language and develop the required language skills on their own or with other learners. Not only does this help the child become a better independent learner, it gives the student a sense of pride as well. Financial Skills . It can be difficult to adapt to new learning behaviours but both students and teachers will benefit from developing as independent learners. This will be much easier if the students are setting their own goals. By providing children with a range of play-based opportunities this can help develop children’s independent learning. If one of your student’s goals is to improve their grammatical accuracy in the C1 Advanced speaking exam, for example, you could give them a rubric (like the one below) which they can use to assess their own performance. Develop communication that focuses on learning. But in order to achieve this, students and teachers must change their way of thinking. However, for some pupils, this can be an overwhelming challenge. Please fill in a valid value for all required fields. How Independent Learning Leads to Growth and Development. Would you like to use a set of useful phrases for support when doing the speaking task? View Teaching Study Skills.pdf from SOCIOLOGY 123 at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. This article will discuss ways to develop independent learning skills. At the end of the year, the students will be able to look back and see how far they came. Involve pupils in lesson planning. For example, when doing a task focused on the speaking paper in an exam course, one student’s objective might be to give more extended answers, while another might want to use more discourse markers. Use questions to help steer students toward independent learning. Learning Vocabulary (raising awareness of what a learner needs to be able to do in order to learn new words) "Independent learning is all about your children seizing available opportunities and time to think, plan, develop and execute their preferred play and interests. This includes a sense of how to manage one’s own learning as well as how to respond to difficulties or challenges. Show them real-life examples to help encourage them to try their best. One of the most important learning skills you can help your child to develop is to become an independent learner. The positive intera… Reflecting on independence:Self-reflection is an important tool for anyone. Teacher feedback also helps students develop the skills needed to become more independent. If you are looking for ways to develop independent learning skills, following the tips and advice on this page should help. Provide students with time to self-monitor. [2] You can pick these areas of growth one by one and learn something to improve yourself. One way to help them get on track is to provide them with a set of ‘success criteria’, which acts like a roadmap for the different tasks they need to complete. They help students – and you – to understand themselves better as learners. Most important is a student's ability to develop a time-management strategy to help manage course requirements as an independent learner. It also means that your child will be able to extend his or her learning process to different domains that eventually lead to an all-round personality development." Often when revising for an exam I simply read materials I already have and and link it to the official exam criteria where possible. When you are dedicated to lifelong learning, you will experience development in key areas of growth. It can be achieved by asking open-ended questions, developing classroom discourse, asking for a higher order, by answering students’ questions in ways that encourage them to think, solve problems on their own, and develop a deeper understanding of the material being studied. Encouraging students to be independent learners, not only has huge benefits for them, but it's also a proven high impact, low cost way to improve progress. How do you develop a child with an independent mind? However, these times when the teacher has to stand in front of the class to teach should be kept to a minimum. They also encourage independence in problem-solving, decision-making and organisation. Use questions to help steer students toward independent learning. If so, please enter a password below to securely save your form. This website uses cookies. Effective feedback should allow learners to understand where they currently are in their learning, where they’re heading and how they’ll get there. Nearly all pupils are very well motivated and engage highly effectively with their learning. At the end of a lesson, have students write down about how independent they felt they were during the lesson. It is early practitioners responsibility to use their skills and knowledge to provide a play-based learning environment, building on and incorporating children’s interests. Minimise teacher talk: There will always be time for traditional teaching in the classroom. Give your students options and allow them to set their own goals. Please copy and paste the embed code again. These skills are vital to be an effective independent learner). Keep your assessment categories as positive as possible (e.g. As we continue on this journey, we invite you to visit our website to learn more about how you can support your students with social and emotional learning. Students who are actively involved in deciding what and how they learn are typically more engaged and motivated. Unfortunately, many teens leave the house with no idea how to create a budget or how to balance a checkbook. It will challenge your motivation and dedication, while developing your organisational and time management skills. Learning goals for each skill are outlined at the beginning of each unit in both the Student’s Book and Teacher’s Book. Cultivating Independent Learners. While traditional teaching methods may be best for showing that children are making progress, teachers can teach children to be independent learners without seeing the progress slip away. Personal Organizational Skills Promote 2. Social Interaction Skills (showing interest in others, keeping conversations going, staying on topic, etc.) As a society, we encourage independence, so it is important to prepare students for the demands of the world. Independent learning is especially relevant when preparing students for exams. Most important is a student's ability to develop a time-management strategy to help manage course requirements as an independent learner. By providing children with a range of play-based opportunities this can help develop children’s independent learning. In each unit there is a group project. A Wordlist at the end of each unit in the Student’s Book, An Extended Vocabulary section at the back of the Student’s Book, Speaking, Writing and Grammar File sections at the back of the Student’s Book, Flipped classroom tasks in the Teacher’s Book, Your data will be collected accordance with our, PTE General: How the Writing Paper is marked, 5 Crime and Mystery Readers for English Learners, 3 Creative routines to help foster a safe learning environment, GSE Teacher Toolkit Top 10: Targeting the right learning zone, Connecting with your students using simple creative activities, Seven ways to develop independent learners. Help students – and you – to understand the benefit of Self-reflection and encourage them to set their.... Will challenge your motivation and dedication, while developing your organisational and time management skills better at? ” consider. They came: Far too many students are setting their own goals change their way of thinking is. 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