Independent Learning

“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”

Essentially true independent learning unshackles the learner from being tied down to very specific learning experiences and will allow them to direct themselves a lot more in determining exactly what they will learn about and how.

Surely the teacher is redundant?

Teacher as facilitator, mentor, coach and guide: Providing learners with resource materials Whetting learners appetites to learn Providing learners with opportunities to test out their learning Giving learners feedback on their progress and Helping learners to make sense of what they have learned

What’s so great about Independent Learning anyway? Independent learners have abilities that will stand them in good stead both during and beyond their education such as their ability to: Acquire and deploy information Communicate effectively using different media Organise themselves Solve problems and Relate to others

What this means in real terms: In practice, most learning involves independent elements such as: Finding and collecting information Making decisions about what to study and when Carrying out investigations or projects Learners learning at their own pace using ICT or VLEs Completing homework, extension work or coursework assignments

How to promote Independent Learning: Giving pupils choices so they can reflect on their own interests and preferences Encouraging group work so that learners can learn from each other Collaborate with pupils to set shared learning goals Involve pupils in lesson planning Encourage pupils to reflect and plan in learner diaries Encourage self and peer editing before work is handed in

Students: Its easier with many brains We all do things in different ways Rich talk during discussions Working in a group fosters independence

There are fewer ‘units’ to supervise Teachers: There are fewer ‘units’ to supervise (instead of 30 students , you have 7 groups) You can spend more time observing the students and assessing them.

Assessment Informal observation Formal observation (recorded) Self assessment Peer assessment

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