An Educators Role for a Lifelong Learner

As an educator I realized how important it is to motivate and encourage self-learning. It is my responsibility to build and maintain a fire within my students to be passionate about the subjects I am teaching. I need to teach my students how to learn on their own and follow their own life passions to be lifelong learners.

“There are few educators who would disagree with the principle that lifelong learning is a good thing but the important questions are about the types of learning that the concept promotes, the life that it encourages us to lead, who benefits from this and the nature of the society that it upholds.”

When I first read this quote it made me happy because I was focused on the aspect of lifelong learning and the positive emotions I have associated with that term. As I re-read it a few times, I began to realize more of a warning message directed at educators to beware of the way we teach our students, and how important our roll is in promoting lifelong learning. Educators could potentially make a learning situation miserable for a student, but as an educator I want to aim to have every student leave every single one of my classes feeling positive about something new they have learned. If someone leaves one of my classes having not learned a single thing or feeling less than excited about the topic, then as an instructor I have failed. The last thing I want is to have someone feel as if I have wasted his or her time. I know there will be students in my future that may completely resist learning, but I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen without my greatest attempt to inspire them.

This quote has inspired me as a learner, as a citizen, and most importantly as an educator. I am excited to have the privilege as an educator to instill and promote self directed learning in students so that they can become lifelong learners to benefit society as a whole.

Some ways that I can motivate my students to be lifelong learners is to play off both of their intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, such as finding commonalities in subject matter to find personal meaning and value in the learning material, and provide plenty of opportunities for students to be rewarded with marks for participation or simple assignments that will encourage them to remain engaged in the subject matter. The atmosphere of the learning environment must stay positive, open, and creative to allow for critical thinking and problem solving. Every individual must feel that they are valued members of the learning community in order to create a positive synergizing environment. Most importantly, I must lead by example and be a role model for my students in order to promote the benefits of lifelong learning.

Czes, C. (2011, June 10). 7 Ways to Spread Your Passion. Retrieved from http://tribe.betterbasketball.com/motivation/7-ways-to-spread-your-passion/

Heick, T. (2013, December 13). 6 Ways to Honor the Learning Process in Your Classroom. Retrieved July 15, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/6-ways-honor-learning-process-terry-heick

Kirk, K. (n.d.). Motivating Students. Retrieved from http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/motivation.html

Types of Learning Styles Types of Learning Styles: The Three Main Types - See more at: Http://www.learningrx.com/types-of-learning-styles-faq.htm#sthash.YNdkR7b3.dpuf. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2015, from http://www.learningrx.com/types-of-learning-styles-faq.htm

WHAT IS SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING? (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2015, from http://www.selfdirectedlearning.com/

#LifelongLearning #SelfRegulatedLearning #Motivation