Self-Directed Learning 1
(Monday)
Context:
Learning is for life. In other words, to be successful, you will need to continue to learn for as long as you live. Learning is a necessary fact of life.
Having a negative view of the learning process can limit a person’s growth, advancement and success. Developing a positive view of learning, on the other hand, opens up a world of possibility, success, and satisfaction.
We are all born with the natural desire and ability to learn. Self-directed learning strengthens your natural curiosity.
What it is: The dictionary defines self-directed learning as a process where individuals take primary charge of planning, continuing, and evaluating their learning experiences.
With self-directed learning, you personally take the initiative and responsibility for learning. You are self-motivated by your interests and curiosity, or you want to develop new skills.
Self-directed learning is related to lifelong learning.
Why it’s important: Employers hire people who are motivated to acquire new skills or knowledge or to build on their existing skills and knowledge base. Self-directed learners persist, even though they may occasionally become frustrated when the material is challenging.
The job you are hired for in the future may be in an industry that has not yet been created, creating products that have not yet been designed, to provide solutions to problems that currently do not exist. It is imperative that you are a consummate self-directed, lifelong learner.
If you stop watering a plant, in a short period of time it will stop growing. If it goes long enough without water, it will wither and die. Continuing to learn on your own is like watering your brain. Learning allows you to continue to grow, develop and thrive.
Primer Questions
Where do you learn?
Who are your teachers?
Try to list one or two things that you’ve learned on your own.
Write down your answers and observations in your journal.
“
I never teach my pupils. I only provide the conditions in which they can learn.
”
— Albert Einstein
Live and learn.
From the moment you were born, you were learning. Life itself is an education. The world around you is your classroom, and you are one of your best teachers.
Watch the video then answer the questions below, or discuss them with others.
Activity for reflection
List at least three people that you learn from outside school. Include what you’ve learned from them.
List three sources outside of school that you learn from (i.e. YouTube, Books, Magazines, TV). Include what you’ve learned from those sources.
Write down your answers and observations in your journal, or discuss them with others.
Benefits at work and in life.
The learning path adjusts to a learner’s specific needs: We don’t all learn the same way. Not everyone understands or absorbs information at the same pace or with the same methods; some of us prefer to read, whereas others prefer to do. The self-directed learning model breaks the mold and allows learners to do as they wish, and learn in the ways they learn best.
Self-learners experience “deep” learning rather than “surface” learning: When an instructor teaches a task in a plain and direct manner, the learner may learn the task, but nothing more. A learner following a self-guided learning path understands the concept of the task and applies this concept. This is the main difference between deep learning and surface learning; in the self-directed learning example, learners think about the task critically and truly wrap their minds around it. With surface learning, there is little more than memorization, as a result of the instructor’s “spoon-feeding” knowledge. -Talentlms.com
Try it: Identify something you are curious about or something that you want to learn.
Understand why you are interested and curious about the subject, and how you can benefit from learning that skill or information.
Next, identify where or who you can learn from. Will you learn it from a tutorial online? Or from a friend or relative?
Set a goal. What goal do you want to reach, or what do you want to do with the new skill, talent, or information you learn?
Set aside time every day to teach yourself, and enjoy!
Metacognitive Goals
For the next few days, try to notice if you have a different view of learning in school, in the classroom, versus learning something on your own.
Do you learn easier when you choose the topic, manner of learning, and time to learn? If you are interested in a subject in school does that help?
Overall, what is your view of learning? Is learning something that you enjoy? Or something you dread?
Thought of the day.
"Any fool can know. The point is to understand. "
- Albert Einstein