Fostering Lifelong Learning
This past fall we sent my then two, now three year old, to his first year of preschool. It was only two mornings a week, but we felt like it would benefit him to start socializing and learning alongside other kids his own age. He’s our third, but given the eight year age gap and the demanding schedule of his older siblings, he hasn’t been exposed to his peers as much as they did at his age. So over the past year I’ve watched my kids as they have navigated learning in preschool, fourth grade and sixth grade. Some days they are eager to learn, and some days that excitement isn’t quite there. This got me thinking about the mindset of a student and what motivates them to learn.
Some students are results driven. They want to see that “A” on the top of their test when it’s handed back. They want the accolades that come with results. Although achieving high grades and being rewarded for it is a good thing, this shouldn’t be the goals of educators and parents. Extrinsic motivation has its place, but if a student is intrinsically motivated to learn, their potential to learn, create and impact this world increases dramatically.
If intrinsic motivation and lifelong learning is the goal, what does the environment look like that fosters it? I believe the following should exist:
Limit Stress: Students that are stressed aren’t learning. They’re jumping through a hoop to achieve a goal that someone else has set before them. Stress comes when students believe that earning a certain grade is the most important part of the learning process. Teachers can limit stress by not emphasizing grades. Some schools are even becoming standards driven rather than grade driven to put the emphasis more on the learning rather than the performance. Parents can limit stress by not being too harsh when their child doesn’t perform well, or too celebratory when they exceed.
Encourage Creativity and Exploration: When students are taught concepts and then asked to practice them to show their understanding, they are learning at a surface level. The teacher is dictating what they are learning and the depth of that learning. If however the environment allows for exploration and creativity, the engagement level increases and students are intrinsically motivated to learn and dig deeper into the concept in question. What would this look like? Rather than teaching students about the slope of a line by taking notes and answering questions, allow the students to analyze lines with different slopes and come up with their own conclusions. This also encourages collaboration. A great tool in the math classroom for this type of exploration is Desmos. I highly recommend it if anyone wants their students or own children to explore mathematical concepts.
Failure is OK: If deeper learning comes from exploration and experimentation, then failure needs to be part of the process. When students view failure as simply part of the process rather than a set back, they will be encouraged to keep trying. This happens constantly in coding. Years ago I taught myself to code so that we could offer more computer science related courses. The amount of failure I experienced was immense. However, with each failure I learned something. If it had gone smoothly, I would have never learned how to troubleshoot and debug my programs, which is an incredibly valuable skill not only in coding, but in all learning. Thomas Edison was famously quoted when discussing the thousands of setbacks he experienced. He said, “I have not failed. I just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” If only we all could have this same mindset!