An independent learner is one who can take responsibility for their own learning. These are students who can take initiative and make good decisions without needing help from teachers. Developing independent learners is important to help students advance in their academic performance and stay motivated.
Specifics of becoming an independent learner
An independent learner is someone who takes full ownership of their learning and studies at their own pace, with a targeted view to improving their career.
They confidently know what they want to achieve, the skills they wish to acquire, and how they want to learn. They do not follow a set timetable.
Instead, they set their own agenda, and to a certain degree, their curriculum.
2. “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”
3. 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.
4. Surely the teacher is redundant?
5. 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
6. 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
Specifics of becoming an independent learner
Independent-learning strategies can be a real deciding factor at any stage of your career.
However, independent-learning skills really come into their own if you’re vying for a particular job or want to advance your academic studies.
An independent learner has all the tools needed to take their learning into their own hands, by investigating and exploring new knowledge with lower involvement from an instructor or institution.
With independent learning, students do their own research and ask questions, rather than relying solely on the materials that their teacher or instructor hands them. They also take ownership of their educational path by setting their own goals and monitoring their progress.
It’s important to encourage your students to become independent learners because it will have direct repercussions on their academic performance, as discussed in the previous section. But independent learning also arms the students with soft skills that will help them be more successful in other areas of their lives, such as: