Learn how to learn

“Lifelong learner,” “facilitator of learning,” and “learner-centered classroom”… We repeat these words in every workshop and educational article.

How do we ensure the classroom is learner-centered?

It may seem easy initially, but changing our beliefs is challenging. You may read many educational books and articles and attend countless workshops. However, when you return to your classroom, you revert to outdated methods and strategies. You continue to teach today’s students using old techniques. Today’s students need to learn inside and outside the classroom, alone or with peers, in-person or virtually.

Everything around us changes educational theories, communication tools, and the human brain. Only the school remains steadfast with its daily routine, like waking up very early and going to school by bus with a bag heavier than the student to learn lessons, take exams, and memorize texts, most unrelated to their daily life or future. Let’s remember their adherence to school schedules designed for the convenience of parents and sometimes teachers, not for learning or considering into account brain science theories.

In a constantly changing world, the only solution to adapt and keep up with everything new is to learn how to learn. This skill is considered one of the most important skills not highlighted in the past because everything revolved around the teacher and memorizing knowledge. It is now regaining its position as an essential skill that is indispensable for both teacher and student because, when we acquire this skill, we can learn anything independently or with the help of a facilitator or guide. Why should we all know how to learn? Because, as the saying goes, teaching you how to fish is much better than giving you the fish.

How does a teacher teach you how to learn?

When they:

– Allow you to ask questions that matter to you and answer them using multiple resources they have prepared for you.

– Create opportunities within the classroom to directly teach you research, thinking, communication, social work, and self-management skills- Listen to your voice and prepare units that meet your needs and interests.

– Personalise education and provide sufficient support to achieve the required progress.

– Make you a partner in the learning and teaching process.

The teacher has been a role model for the student and played an important role in the past. The teacher can maintain this status today, no matter how circumstances change, by becoming a teacher who:

– Follows the changes around them and links them to the curriculum.

– Shares with learners that they are also learners: attending courses, trying to implement new ideas, reading books, and trying new strategies.

– Becomes a human being who tries, experiments, and removes the mask of infallibility.

– Helps parents understand the changes in the world of education and invites them to participate in the learning journey.

– Opens the classroom doors to colleagues, new ideas, and initiatives.

Change is complex and requires risk-taking, persistence, guidance, and mentorship. It is rather a journey of exploration. It means making some mistakes and learning from them. Change requires support from a coordinator or guide we trust and who trusts us. Change requires a school culture that provides appropriate support for the teacher, so they can also provide the appropriate support for the students. It is like a domino effect. It’s a cycle that can be either empty or full of learning.