Saturday, March 06, 2010

WEEK 8: WANTED! AUTONOMOUS LEARNERS

What do most teachers dream of at night? A classroom full of autonomous learners!!

If asked to define an autonomous learner, most teachers would say that the autonomous learner is the multi-intelligence “SELF-EVERYTHING” learner: self-acting, self-learning, self-motivating, and self-managing… indeed, the “PERFECT LEARNER.”
One may think that if students could do everything by themselves, teachers should be terminated.

CERTAINLY NOT!!

Broadly speaking, the autonomous learner knows that learning is a process not a product. He is equipped with a wide range of strategies he can apply to language learning, with the skills to try out these strategies whenever necessary, and with the ability to assess their effectiveness. Debate still exists on this matter, but “there is a consensus that the practice of learner autonomy requires insight, a positive attitude, a capacity for reflection, and a readiness to be proactive in self-management and in interaction with others.” Little
http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/1409

Consequently, students should be equipped and trained towards autonomous learning. The teacher s’job is then to accompany his students on the difficult journey towards autonomy, help them acquire the skills they need to operate in a more and more demanding world.

These planning, monitoring, evaluating, reflecting, decision-making, accessing and organizing information skills we are talking about should be transferred from the teacher to his learners.

This entails a certain degree of autonomy from the teacher, too. If teachers want to understand what is involved in learner autonomy, they need to experience autonomous learning themselves (McGrath 2000) and to be committed to developing themselves (Smith 2000).
http://independentlearning.org/ILA/ila03/ila03_lamb.pdf

This is what we are doing in this training, isn’t it?

We are compelled to use all the above listed skills we are willing to equip our students with if we want to fulfill the various tasks. However, they are not transferable overnight. As we are moving steadily away from our traditional ways and trying to implement what we have been learning in our respective classroom, we are guiding our students towards autonomy.

Designing more learner-centered lessons that integrate these notions of learning styles, interaction, collaborative work, individual or group reflection is a giant leap for us (not humanity) and our learners and technology can help to achieve this goal.

The lack of technology is not an excuse. My comrades ‘lessons plans for the one computer classroom prove that when we give ourselves the time and the chance to reflect on the things we can do in our different contexts ,we can come up with workable solutions for each of us.


Hassina

5 comments:

  1. Dear Hassina,

    You are quite right. We all wish our students were more independent and autonomous, not because we will have less work, but because they will be more successful. Studies show that successful learners are those who take responsibility of their own learning, who use every opportunity to learn in and out of class, and who plan and monitor their learning and their progress. Who wouldn't like to have a classroom full of such students? So, one of our goals (among so many others) is to help them become more independent and active learners who know their goals and know the ways to achieve them.

    Best regards,
    Nina

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  2. Dear Hassina,
    Wonderful starting. I do agree that autonomous learner should know that learning is a process. You are right that teacher should transfer skills to his learners as facilitator otherwise everything will be in vain and of course it will take time.
    Regards,
    Mahamud

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  3. Dear hassina,
    I enjoyed reading reflections. I do agree with you that with or without a computer, we can create interactive lessons. I think it is the teacher's willingness that students see and want to learn more.

    See you next week,
    Kazumi

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  4. Dear Hassina,
    Well said... You are more dramatic in your expression.
    Well, I came here to post comments on week 9 posting but it seems you have yet not posted your blog.
    If you have subsribed to email notification, you will get this message and i hope it will work as reminder to post it before 14th.
    Dilip (India)

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  5. Exams and testing of students are actually indications of how the teacher is doing in passing those skills and knowledge onto students.
    Therefore regular testing assists the learner and the teacher achieve their mutual goals of gaining and delivering 'Quality Education' Symbiotic

    ReplyDelete