Improving Independent Learning

Every teacher can share ample examples of their students struggling to learn independently. From giving up during an extended piece of writing, to getting stuck and stopping with tricky algebra problems, or forgetting homework and avoiding revision.

A lack of independence is a commonplace issue in education, but less common is an agreed way forward to best address the issue of inadequate independent learning or ‘learned helplessness’.

One issue is that every teacher can have a different idea about independent learning, how to develop it, and what it should look like in their phase or subject. If we can better define the concept – as well as developing a clear mental for model for why it typically goes wrong and fails – we make a key first step to achieving teaching and learning success.

From ‘learned helplessness’ to ‘learned industriousness’

A phase I particularly like, that adds specificity to the concept of independent learning, is what Barbara Oakley described as ‘learned industriousness’. Why do I particularly like this phrase? For one, it challenges the misconception about the innateness of effective independent learning. Even for the pupils who appear most helpless, a sustained approach to teaching strategies to develop independence is workable. With high quality teaching, it can be learned by anyone.

Why are some pupils more seemingly inclined to ‘learned industriousness’? The answers are unsurprising. Teaching, modelling, and practice are key. For pupils who have ‘learned industriousness’ modelled and reinforced outside of the classroom environment, there are likely to be clear gains for classroom tasks over time.

In my new book, ‘Why Learning Fails (And What To Do About It)’, I explore pupils inability to consistently undertake independent learning strategies. A related resource – see below – shares some of the strategies outlined in the book:

‘Independent Learning Strategies’ 

“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure. It is: Try to please everybody.”
– Herbert Bayard Swope

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SEO is a Cost-Effective Advertising Strategy

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