Learner Autonomy - a long way to go
As every week this week contained another interesting topic. This week's articles about autonomy and how should students take charge of their learning with the help of their teachers were inspiring. Ideas presented on the group Nicenet forum only confirmed that so far there some pioneers who have changed their teacher's methods and started to work their way towards autonomy.After reading some comments of other participants I have discovered that I am probably more lucky than they are because the environment I work in allows me to support my students' autonomy and lifelong learning. Just the way I am learning now about the web applications where my councilors are my colleagues and course instructor, students at school should get the same chance to experience this way of learning.
I personally think that it takes long time for students to become autonomous. Nevertheless, modern technology can only support student's learning and the great thing about technology is that it allows teachers to move from a role of models, controller and organizer to roles of facilitator or councilor. Just as this week I could learn more about the topic of "Learner Autonomy" with the help of Wallwisher/Padlet. Is is an interactive tool which allows students to upload texts, videos and pictures on a wall where everyone can see and read them and this is one way of how to support learner's autonomy.
Dear Matej,
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a long time process for students to become autonomous learners. Teachers play the key role in making a dependent learner into an interested one, then get him/her involved and finally turn him/her into a self-directed learner.
Good luck with your project!
Tahsina
Dear Matej,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that developing autonomy in learners is a long process and every step we take in that direction is important. I believe that we can do this all the time by encouraging our learners to become more aware of how they learn, giving them opportunities to learn through a variety of approaches, and giving them opportunities to make choices in their learning.
I'm so happy to hear that you found the wallwisher/padlet task to be an exercise in learner autonomy. It also allowed me to better recognize the learning styles of all of you.
Thanks for a great reflection!
Courtney