SMART Tips for Parents of Digital Natives

Futureproof Your Kids.

Part 2.

Self Driven Learning

One of Australia’s most successful business people under forty, Ruslan Kogan, was quoted as saying that he had “little respect for formalized learning,” saying that “by the time there is a course for something it has become old technology.”

So the real question is fast becoming how do schools keep up? Is it possible that for many of our kids staying in school actually holds them back?

The solution is educating our kids about: self-driven learning!

Historically, students have never before been responsible for their own learning beyond what is required to perform well in an exam or test. …

“Self-driven learners are learners of the future. They take initiative and responsibility for their learning and assess their own learning progress.”

How we get our kids to become self-driven learners?

Is self leaning a skill?

When learning, you get to learn other important skills such as time management, self-assessment, and setting your own goals. … In fact, people who are good at self-learning have an increased ability to develop other skills as they often have to employ a certain set of skills in order to learn

Why Hasn’t Everyone Adopted It?

If it’s been proven so effective, why isn’t every institution preaching self-directed learning? Jennifer Haynes, Brisbane Independent School, says that when she started teaching in the 1990s, it was the latest buzzword. “Now most schools do not even discuss it anymore,” she says. “The great idea was abandoned.”

Why?

“This process of… change has proved almost impossible for most [institutions] to even consider, as the mainstream system relies on a level of homogeneity that has just been increased with the implementation of the Federal Curriculum across many State Schools,” says Haynes. “Teachers face a generic work program that demands the same texts being studied, the same history topic and the same timing. In such a design, there are no opportunities for the needs of an individual to be catered, and no time for the depth of learning and reflection SDL requires, and it is no surprise that it was abandoned despite its immense benefits.”

If you want to future proof your kids, students you MUST encourage them to be Self Driven Learners!

This is how you as an educator or parent can help :

1. Let them Identify their learning goals.

2. Challenge them to question the significance of things

3. Seek out interesting challenges for every topic studied

4. Ask them to create something out of what they learned

5. Let them pursue knowledge, not good grades.

6. There are now many ways to create your own personal learning record

7. Build a network of “learning buddies”

I have introduced this in all my classes, workshops.

It is amazing to see how the attitude towards learning changes.

They engage and connect immediately as they feel in charge.

My elementary teacher in the 70s practiced this with us. She explained this almost every day asking us the same question: “why is it important to not only do your homework but to do it well?” — she would continue: “Here at school we learn the “frames” of a picture about different topics, but it is up to you what picture you “paint” inside. It is a must to have the frame, and this is what we teachers have to make sure you own, but you become masters when you go home, and fill in the picture. You go home and reseach, apply, and you bring back the most beautiful picture that you can insert in the frame I gave to you!.”

A great educator is not just explaining the topic, a great educator will challenge the students, motivate and push them towards more learning outside the books.

You think is impossible as kids today are overloaded already?

Do you say it is impossible as parents are fighting for less or no homework?

Think again: giving ownership to students and asking them to make the research and come up with strategies it does not take more time. It just takes courage to give over control and instead of standing in the front of the classroom and “trying to teach” you go to the back of the classroom and support and supervise the process.

Self-driven learning is the most important skill for future proof education.

As a parent, enrolling your kids in afterschool activities where they can pursue their interests is a good thing to do, but it is even more important to ask your kids to show you how they would implement the knowledge and how together you could work out solutions that work!

As a parent, set an example sharing with them how continuous learning and updating knowledge is the only way to be FUTUREPROOF!

The best is to start them early, but it is never too late!

Start now, the future is already here!