This is a series on effective teaching strategies you can use to help your students develop independent learning skills.
Using teaching strategies so your students can be independent learners and take responsibility for their learning, can be the key to engaging and motivating them. By giving kids agency over what they learn and how they learn you will harness their natural curiosity which is the basis for motivation.
Not only that, this is one classroom management foundational skill to help support your wellbeing, their learning (and wellbeing) and the positive behaviour management in the classroom!
1. The Benefits of Independent Learning
In this video, you will learn the value of developing independent, self directed learners and the benefits to you as the teacher and the benefits to the students. You will learn how you can help your students to take responsibility for their own learning and how that will help to motivate and engage them.
Further resources:
Differentiation In The Classroom
How To Maximise Student’s Learning Time
8 Simple Ways to Differentiate The Curriculum
2. How To Teach Your Students To Be Independent Learners
Social and emotional skills are required when expecting or teaching students to be independent learners. Students need to learn skills like goal setting, time management and self-discipline in order to be independent learners. The good news is you can teach these skills. From Kindergarten to Year 12 your students can learn to be more independent and take responsibility for their own learning.
Further resources:
How To Promote Resilience In Your Students
How To Get Student To Own Their Behaviour
How To Teach Students To Get Along With Each Other
3. How To Create A Classroom Environment To Support Independent Learning
In this video you will learn 8 steps to creating a positive student centred classroom environment where students can learn and practise the essential social skills listed in the social capabilities from the Australian curriculum and listed on the internationally recognised body CASEL (Collaborative Social and Emotional Learning)
Further resources:
6 Ways To Build A Positive Classroom Culture
The Number 1 Behaviour Management Tool
How To Show Respect For your Students
4. How To Inspire Your Students To Be Independent Learners
In this video you will learn 10 ways you can inspire your students so that they want to learn to take responsibility for their own learning, to tap into their natural curiosity and harness their motivation. You will learn how to share your love of learning with your students so that they are inspired to be lifelong learners.
Most people have a teacher or a significant adult who inspired them in some way. Teachers will most often remember a teacher who made school more interesting, made them feel valued, made them feel like they were seen and heard. When teachers say they want to make a difference, that is what they are talking about.
Students might not remember the content, but they do remember when a teacher took the time with them or explained something they struggled with or remembered their name, or expected more from them and inspired them to work harder, reach further, give more.
5. The Skills Required For A Student To Be An Independent Learner
If you want your students to learn independently you need to teach them particular skills to support them to be effective learners. Independent learners set their own learning goals, monitor their progress and evaluate their learning to help manage their own motivation for learning.
But they need to learn the necessary skills.
In this video, you will learn the necessary skills a student needs in order to be independent:
- how they can take responsibility for their own learning
- how they can learn to manage their own motivation for learning
You will learn effective teaching strategies to:
- increase student independence,
- maintain engagement and motivation and
- reduce off-task student behaviour.
Further resources:
How To Change Whole Class Student Behaviour
What Does It Mean To Have High Expectations For Your Students?