Headline Dec 23,2011/PRODUCING INDEPENDENT LEARNERS

What does a teacher need to do to bring change at grass root level ?

A good tutor never gives out answers. He would ask questions and provide examples so that the learner can create the knowledge for herself. And that's the long lasting knowledge.

How to incite courage and motivation for a student to become independent learner? Students learn in order to tutor each other or their parents and teachers. The act of vesting a student with the responsibility for teaching someone else, will push him or her to really master the material, to become an independent learner.

The teacher is only a link that leads a student to a situation where he can think independently and in the right direction. Students can learn on their own. Experienced teachers are needed to catalyze and nourish the learning communities of students. They need to model habits like patience and curiosity. But teachers can only do so if they believe students can show off these qualities too. And where does that belief come from? Teachers need to see and experience independent learning in action, firsthand.