Learner Autonomy
Having learned some techniques and
incorporating technology in teaching, it’s time to allow students to ‘Learn to
Learn on their Own’. Learner Autonomy means having
the ability to take charge of one’s own learning, either naturally or by formal
learning, as to what Holec defines it. Learners take full responsibility to
acquire knowledge and they depend on themselves. I chose comment on this topic for this week’s
discussion because I believe that it is important for students to be autonomous
learners. Well, it does not mean that we, as teachers, do not teach. At times,
parents get worried that we are not teaching their kids but I think that rather
than students being too dependent on us to supply them with notes, it is
important for them to take charge on their own learning. I feel that they will
learn better through this way. However, I also feel that students must reach to
a level of maturity to do this. In my school, I can see that the senior
students are the ones who habitually turn into autonomous learners. Probably
with the help of the teachers, the young ones could be one too.
Padlet
Oh, Padlet is such a cool thing. I
purposely chose these two images to show that instead of having sticky notes
all around the board, we can create cooler ones through Padlet. To be frank, I was
so blur for a few second that I didn’t know how to post a note and I accidently
created my own wall! Padlet is a good platform to be used as students can share
and learn. Not only for students, but even teachers can share things through
it. I’m planning to try out Padlet with my colleagues first.
Project
I’ve started working on my project draft and I’m also referring to the previous project reports as guidance. I’m looking forward for my partner’s message and I hope that through this peer-reviewing, we will be able to produce a good final project plan.
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
― Mother Teresa
It was good read Annusha, I hope we all will come out with good project implementation..
ReplyDeleteThanking you
Hi Kamlesh,
DeleteI hope for the same thing too. I hope all of us will pass this course with flying colors.
Dear Annusha,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that "Learner Autonomy" is a very interesting topic, which still causes a lot of discussions. I really like your saying that "a learner depends on himself/herself". This is so true, since in many cases, learners depend on their teachers so much that they do not even imagine another type of learning. However, I do believe that it depends a lot on the teacher how his/her learners will acquire knowledge. I liked the part about teacher's role in our reading material. This is really important to stress that the teacher still remains really important, only his/her roles changes a little bit. Instead of being the ones who tell what to do, we give our autonomous learners a choice...we show them means how to attain their goals and they may try a variety of tehniques or select some of them even themselves.
You are also right when saying that parents, students or even some of our colleagues think that we do not fulfil our responsibilities when we use the techniques of autonomous learning. Yet, this approach needs time. We need to explain these people how things work, we need to show them examples, ask them to come to our classes and little by little such attitudes might change.
Therefore, I will wish you to proceed with your great ideas and never stop in your creative process of teaching. :)
Best wishes,
Jurga.
Hi Jurga,
DeleteAs you have mentioned, yes, teachers play a significant role and influence they way students acquire knowledge. Regarding the attitudes of students and parents, I believe that once the students become autonomous learners, the parents will be able to notice the difference and thus they might not complain in future. Its only that it takes time. Thank you for your comments. I wish you all the best too.