Learning, unlearning, relearning…

“The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”

Alvin Toffler

As educators, when we think about what we teach our students, the first thing that comes to mind is knowledge. Nevertheless, their knowledge must not remain inert: students should be able to apply what they learn through skills like critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration.

Students must learn how to learn

They must watch how they learn to become better learners

They must learn to set goals, select strategies, and evaluate their progress. They must internalize a growth mindset, believing effort matters and approaching challenges with excitement. They must build constancy, perseverance and mindfulness during the learning process.

Traditional methods of improving students’ learning strategies often focus on prescribed procedures such as note taking, self-testing, and scheduling. While these tactics may work in the short term (for an exam), they do not actually result in the long term as a deep, lasting change.

Learning is not something that just happens, and it does not happen the same way for all of us at the same time.

Teachers play an important role by modelling appropriate practices, so that students can follow the thought process of an expert, and eventually internalize it for themselves. After that, it is important to move from “awareness” to application. Mapping out a plan to make improvements based on self-awareness can be a challenging. We have to send the message that it is normal for these changes do not happen automatically. They take dedicated thought, practice, and reflection. Students must focus on internalizing skills and competencies rather than achieving a high but short-term level of performance.  

We must teach our students to apply what they have learned to their lives

We have to transfer what we know from one sphere of life to another, to figure out a more optimal way of achieving goals, and to live according to principles.

This not only achievable in our classrooms, it can enhance learning at every life stage.