2.2: Self-Directed Learners
More than current trends that emphasize learning styles, cognition, motivation, collaboration, and differentiation, my mentor teacher holds perseverance as the greatest predictor of a student’S academic success. His thoughts on multiple intelligences are summarized in his portfolio. While there is merit to meeting various needs and addressing all learning styles through differentiated instruction, the student that is not ready to progress probably still will not. He believes as teachers we do more to help driven students find ways to help themselves than anything else to ensure their future success. Teachers must be committed to providing a classroom community that cultivates and supports independent and empowered learning on the part of the students. Those students with dedication and work ethic can do more to impact their learning and performance than any teacher can, regardless of time and energy spent on differentiating practice to meet any learning style needs.
My mentor teacher also keeps a list of "Questions for Success" that he not only discusses with individual students as situations arise, but also uses to target student performance and accountability to parents at parent-teacher conferences or through other means of communication about student performance. This list summarizes all of the things he expects students to do in order to reach their potential in his class.
This philosophy of student perseverance is probably best described in the poem Attitude, by Charles Swindoll. Life experience (which adolescents notably lack but think they have in abundance) has taught the author how one's approach, intent and effort can determine the outcome of a situation. He clearly and eloquently describes the importance of one's attitude on their success.
"The test of the walkabout, and of life, is not what he can do under a teacher's direction, but what the teacher has enabled him to decide and to do on his own," states Maurice Gibbons in the article Walkabout: Searching for the Right Passage from Childhood and School. In the article he describes the Walkabout experience as a model for schools and emphasizes mastery, risk, growth, adaptability and self-awareness. The Walkabout model is based on real experience and gives little merit to simulations, demonstrations and observing. It is all about learning by doing and making decisions with real consequences. In doing so, students are stretched beyond their comfort zones into areas that force them to encounter inability at whatever level they are currently performing and embrace the challenge of changing inability into ability.
In slight contrast, the Foxfire approach is more classroom-oriented. While it still relies heavily on active learning, it is less immersive in its experiential activities. It is, however, a highly collaborative and empowering approach to student learning. Students govern much of the learning process, while the teacher serves as more of a facilitator. The accountability and responsibility for directing the learning process lies with the students. Active and creative lessons are met with rigorous standards and assessments. Student reflection and empowerment are effective motivators and keys to the success of this non-traditional approach.
The Foxfire model reminds me a lot of A Community of Teachers. Each seminar is responsible for their own learning, from the planning stages to the delivery, we come together collaboratively on many levels to reward one another with meaningful, relevant, practical and active learning experiences. For me, the self-directedness of the CoT program has allowed me the opportunity to interact collaboratively with colleagues/peers as well as creatively and selectively guide my learning to suit my character and content specialization. We benefit greatly from shared experiences and support, and challenge one another both professionally and personally. I have benefited greatly from the freedom I have to develop my thoughts and apply them in a practical setting. Then there is the reflective part that often makes me want to try it all over again right away. The process is rewarding because of the ownership I have in my learning, the learning of my fellow seminar members and the continuing development of A Community of Teachers as a teacher education program.
Some complications, however, may arise from self-directed learning. First and foremost, student-directed learning is not professionally trained or experienced. It could be compared to researching on the Web. Many self-proclaimed "experts" that publish information on the Web are qualified to do so, and so it is with teaching. Student-directed learning must be carefully monitored by a qualified facilitator.
The more "defined" the No Child Left Behind Act becomes, the more undefined it seems to be. I think the only way to truly leave no child behind educationally is to remove the constraints schools have when they must meet standards and surpass "failing" benchmarks. Schools that boldly embrace characteristics of community and collaboration ahead of standards and regulations serve student's needs better than those that struggle to meet regulatory requirements and feel compelled to resort to social promotion and high-stakes standardized assessments to remain open.
Self-directed programs would be ideal if all students were driven, but they are not. I do believe that students can become driven and motivated by inspiring experiences. In a community where students care about one another and their collective successes, a little personal inspiration may be all it takes to transform a school, a community, a generation into examples and models for the future of education in America.
