Learner Autonomy is the topic for the bulk of this week's readings. Many Nicenet comments led to a discussion of teacher autonomy and how these two are linked. And I do not disagree, but I also see that certain behaviors are linked to the educational system one finds oneself in and it's base in the socio-cultural environment as a whole. In my context, conformity is valued in many aspects of life, and education does not escape this. It is difficult to get students to break out of their molds of teacher-directed behavior. My learners usually want to have the teacher do all the work, and teachers, by their tradition and personalities, like to be in control. So the circle goes around and around until something or someone tries to break out and be independent. And certainly the goal of this course is for us to be the ones to break through to more student-centered approaches to learning and instruction.
Deborah asked us to post concerning this question, "What do you do with your students to make them more self-directed?" This question really made me think about the ways in which I have been guiding my students, but it also made me wonder, "Can we MAKE someone self-directed?" The jury is still out, despite the research on learner autonomy. We can certainly provide a conducive environment and many of the tools, but rather like "leading a horse to water" I doubt whether we can make our students drink.
Yet I see that technology can provide huge impetus toward learner autonomy. When students discover that with the internet for example the world is at their fingertips and they do not have to wait for the teacher or complain about lack of books and materials (because the library doesn't have them or they can not afford them nor can the system....) But when they see the wealth of interesting material waiting for them on the web, I think they will begin to change their minds about depending on the teacher or the system to spoon-feed them all the material.
One thing I would like to try with my students next year is to survey their own learning preferences and styles and to work more on their personal strategies to be in control of their own learning. I have found some interesting surveys online and I think it would be a great way to begin the new year. Students could start to gain a new perspective on how they can best be responsible for their learning and be encouraged to change some of their attitudes about education. It's a start, but without one step we can't take two!
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Dear Ellen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this insightful analysis of learner autonomy. I really enjoyed reading it!
I agree with you that there is stiff resistance to the learner-centered approach to teaching from many teachers and students. However, I think the tide of learner autonomy is so strong that we will inevitably have no choice but to follow this trend.
Yours,
Mohamed
Dear Ellen,
ReplyDeleteI could't agree more with you. Teachers are faced by certain constraints either from the students who resist the innovation as they are used to traditional ways of learning and they are afraid of trying new ideas because they want to pass their exams and the traditional methods worked fine for them, or by the rules imposed by the educational system to follow a unified strucure.
I believe if we have the freedom to change our assessment methods and try to promote the idea of learning for the sake of learning and not for the sake of passing the exam, then we might have something to start with
Best
Maha
Dear Ellen,
ReplyDeleteyou stated here some interesting problems and you made me remember of some of my students, 3 years ago. They were used that the Romanian teacher came in front of them and dictated them a whole commentary on a writer or a novel - all they had to do was to learn by heart for the final exams. One day, the Romanian teacher changed and a yeaong teacher came in front of them and dictated nothing - she tried to make them autonomous, to learn by discovering, to express themselves. Students were shocked. As I was their headteacher, they came to me and started complaining about this. I told them to pay attention to the class and do what the teacher asked them to do. Some weeks passed, they got used to this learning style and they realized they learned more and better, without realizing they were actually learning.
I consider it's up to us to teach our students to become autonomous. They will be shocked, they will complain, they will even say we are not good teachers, but once they realize this method is good for them, they will be grateful.
All the best,
Nadina
Dear Ellen
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post.I agree with you that learning autonomy is shaped by socio-cultural environment. So it is difficult to adopt activities or techniques of teaching which promote learner autonomy. There will always be resistance towards change in any field. It is very difficult to chage the beliefs and attitudes of people. This applies to the case of learner autonomy too. However, we should keep on trying to promote learner autonomy. We should be courageous to challenge traditional teacher-centred teaching. One day we will be a change agent.
Cheers
Prem
Dear Ellen,
ReplyDeleteIt was enjoyably reading your reflections about this week. I can't agree with you more in what you are planning to do. Lao Tzu said: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." and this is will be our journey, whether for our Ss learning styles, their autonomous learning, their use of technology, etc. WE are the one who should start making a difference in THEIR lives.
All the best,
Hala