When you’re teaching students, do you give students the same project to compete or teach students the same way? No! The “One Size Fits All” approach doesn’t work in the classroom, nor does it work when you are learning. The whole idea that We are the expert when it comes to our own learning (pg. 202), is the idea that is key to being better educators and learners. Students need to understand how they learn and be confident to expand knowledge.
As the instructor or educator your goal is to give all students the opportunity to learn. A big part of learning is not just listening to an instructor teach, but allowing students to search, discuss, question, and reflect on a given topic and themselves. One of the big ideas discussed in Chapter 9 of Building Online Learning Communities is discussing and reflecting on differences. On page 194, it says Acknowledging the fact that the process is different and may be difficult can relieve anxiety on the part of learners that they are not doing it right. What may be the process for a teacher online may be different than that of the teacher in a face to face classroom. You and your students have to reflect on how the learning process is different and how finding out the ways that student learn will help them grow.
The final thing I want to discuss in this post is self refection. Too many times we don’t reflect on what we learned about a subject or, maybe more importantly, what we learned about ourselves. Students need to reflect on the learning process and how is was Transformative for them. There also needs to be a place for a student to reflect privately; either in a journal or blog ( pg. 199). When teaching or learning, self reflection is an important tool to understand if what you planned for the students to learn is what they learned and how they grew as an individual. Remember, students need to know how they learn best, you are the guide to help them grow as a learner and as an individual.
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