Self-directed learning enables individuals to tailor their educational experiences according to their own needs and preferences, instilling in them a sense of personal responsibility and promoting an entrepreneurial approach to education.
Fostering student agency requires support. In this blog post, we will cover tips and strategies for incorporating self-directed learning into your academic journey.
1. Set Your Goals
As part of self-directed learning, setting goals is the first step. These should be specific, measurable, attainable and time-based goals - it's also beneficial to set short-term goals so you can observe your progress along the way.
People who engage in self-directed learning quickly recognize their desire to acquire new knowledge, finding that learning opportunities exist all around them. Furthermore, they understand that lifelong education is necessary in an ever-evolving society.
Successful self-directed learners recognize that pushing themselves is the key to their own education, and persist even when tasks become challenging or daunting. Furthermore, they know when it is time to change strategies or seek assistance and are never afraid to ask for assistance when needed. Finally, they take note-taking and study skills seriously.
2. Find a Mentor
Self-directed learners enlist both human and material resources to achieve their goals, such as asking an uncle for guidance in fixing a car or researching online for tips on baking sourdough bread. Furthermore, these individuals use strategies they have refined over time in order to evaluate learning outcomes.
Mentors provide invaluable assistance for their mentees as they pursue self-direction by encouraging initiative and providing guidance along the way. Mentees often feel more motivated to succeed when having someone to turn to for support when necessary.
The best mentors are those who can foster a growth mindset (Dweck, 2007), encouraging the mentee to try out new strategies and face challenges head on. Furthermore, these individuals foster collaborative conversations which create a sense of community and accountability.
3. Create a Plan
Starting out self-directed learning correctly means setting clear, measurable, action-oriented goals for yourself.
If your goal is to expand your knowledge of management techniques, setting a goal like "Read three books on management techniques in the next six months" allows you to better target your learning and make sure it ties in with your career objectives.
Consider why you want to pursue this goal and how it will benefit others when times get difficult; this can keep your motivation up when things become challenging. Consider all the ways your new abilities could change lives in positive ways or increase happiness for yourself or others.
4. Get Support
Goal of education should be for students to build self-directed skills that enable them to be self-reliant, which means developing individualised plans of study for each child. Each child may need different help in this regard - some might need confidence-boosting, while another could benefit from learning how to find information more easily. In order to best assist our students with acquiring these abilities, it's crucial that we meet them where they are; that means dedicating time and energy into culture-building activities while getting to know each person individually.
Once students have identified their strengths, they can use these to develop self-directed learning readiness. It is also crucial that training and coaching opportunities be provided so they have all of the support they need in order to be successful - this is particularly helpful for students who may lack skills necessary for becoming self-directed learners.
5. Stay Motivated
Self-directed learning relies on intrinsic/self motivation in order for it to succeed, though this doesn't come naturally for all students; nonetheless, self motivation is something that can be learned with practice.
Example: Students interested in history might prioritize learning about ancient textiles of Africa over learning how to crochet, even though this latter skill will likely prove more useful for a professional career. They should also understand that not all sources are reliable and understand how to research information thoroughly.
Learners should set realistic and time-bound goals, tracking their progress along the way to keep themselves motivated and engaged with self-directed learning, whether that involves replacing car headlight bulbs or learning code. Self-directed learning is a powerful means of lifelong growth.
