Becoming Your Own Apprentice and Master - Independent Learning

The certificate that those who want to practice the teaching profession must obtain during their undergraduate education is called "Pedagogical Formation". Teacher candidates who want to take "Pedagogical Formation" gain basic information about subjects such as "Education and Teaching Psychology, Learning and Teaching Principles, Classroom Management, Measurement and Evaluation in Education, Child Psychology, and Adolescence Psychology". I also have this formation and I also took these lessons. As I started thinking about learning and teaching, I realized that my interest in reading and learning was increasing. So much so that this interest made me get a Master's degree after my undergraduate education and then start my PhD adventure. As if it wasn't enough, after many years, it offered another undergraduate program again. It led me to study Classical Philology. After gaining a taste for Latin and Ancient Greek, it led me to change departments in order to do research on a subject that interests me very closely. This time it brought me Polish Language and Literature. It started my journey of learning Polish and…

My self-learning journey

I decided to learn on my own. There was always something missing. I did not find the training provided comprehensive and was trying to complete my shortcomings on my own, so I decided to continue my journey of learning on my own. I would reinforce myself with whatever information I needed, measure and evaluate what I learned myself, and manage my psychology of receiving education and training in this process myself, within the framework of the principles of learning and teaching. After a while, I was introduced to the concept of "Independent Learning". I decided to examine, unpack, and exemplify this concept for Bibliobibuli readers. This is the story of how I came to write this article, you are welcome!

Independent learning has endless curriculum

In the process of independent learning, the student gains ownership and control of his or her learning. He directs the process himself. He learns through his own actions. He does his own editing and programming. In the end, he evaluates what he has learned for himself. At the end of the self-learning or independent learning process, the student does not receive any certificate or diploma. In a society where the interest in certification and the documents given by branded educational institutions is intense, he cannot prove to others what he has learned and his level, because if he does not have the appreciated documents, all these processes and results are considered null and void by employers. Self-learning has an endless curriculum. The individual who chooses to enter this process can seek alternative paths in education, develop new methods, and use them to gain proficiency in his education.

Comfort zone turns into a learning area

In individual work, achieving experiential education requires being one's own apprentice and master. He creates his own training techniques. The individual can program to read the books he finds and chooses, watch videos, listen to audio recordings, and visit informative pages. A person who can improve his study skills and use critical thinking in a broad learning environment can eventually create his academic comfort zone. He can freely use most of this academic comfort area as a learning area.

"Autodidaktikos" - self teaching

The etymology of this concept, whose content is "self-teaching", dates back to Ancient Greece."Autodidaktis”- Self-teaching. In ancient Greek, αὐτός (autós - to oneself) means διδακτικός (didaktisos - to teach). Various terms are used to describe self-education. One of these is heutagogy, introduced in 2000 by Stewart Hase and Chris Kenyon of Southern Cross University in Australia; the others are “self-directed learning” and “self-determined learning”.

Learning in the heutagogical paradigm

The student places himself at the center of his learning. The axis he creates enables the student to discover different approaches to knowledge. He learns by experimenting with his personal curiosity. Heutagogy determines the potential to learn from new experiences. Andragogy means efforts for autonomy and self-direction in learning. The student manages his own learning. Autodidacticism can sometimes be used as a complement to modern formal education. Educators can encourage students to do more independent work.

Traveling lecturers in England

University teaching was based on classics in fields such as Latin, philosophy, ancient history, and theology until the early nineteenth century. At that time, only a small minority could receive advanced academic education. There were even traveling lecturers in England who offered their services for a fee. Let me explain with an example: Scottish inventor and engineer James Watt (1736-1819), the developer of the modern steam engine and who played an important role in the formation of the Industrial Revolution, was a land surveyor and tool maker. He was described as "largely self-taught". Watt, like some other autodidacts of the time, became a member of the Royal Society and the Lunar Society. In the eighteenth century, these societies frequently held public lectures. They were instrumental in teaching chemistry and other sciences with industrial applications neglected by traditional universities. During that period, Academies also emerged to provide scientific and technical education.

You can learn by yourself

If you can collect, process, and store information without the help of another person, you are a self-taught learner. Any knowledge you acquire outside of a formal education environment is within the scope of self-learning. If you can manage yourself toward learning, it means you can sail towards new skills and new areas of expertise. Self-directed learning can provide various benefits for professionals who want to improve their careers. If you intend to learn, you must first love reading books. Books, videos, podcasts, webinars, what you can learn while pursuing online certification, and any format you can think of can be effective in your independent learning journey.

A Philosopher, Artist: Nicolaes Maes (1872)

Independent learning or system-centered learning?

When you choose to learn on your own, you gain the flexibility to think, interpret, and apply the information you learn at your own pace, which you cannot achieve with system-centered learning. You have the freedom to consult as many sources as you want until you learn. With independent learning methods, you can easily control your learning process and adjust it to suit your preferences. Traditional classroom learning systems may not be suitable for all students. While some students enjoy reading books and can easily understand and digest the written texts they read, others can learn using current methods such as videos and podcasts. Self-directed learning enables the student to understand and retain maximum knowledge. It increases the enjoyment of the learning process and provides the ability to determine the learning goal, time management, and planning to achieve the goal. It increases attention to detail and focus. As the individual acquires and applies new information, he or she can capture new sources of motivation. They can create a reward system for themselves, take more responsibility in every aspect of the social environment, and their self-confidence increases.

Set realistic goals toward big goals

On the path to independent learning, you first need to create a road map and adhere to the rules you set yourself with discipline. Set realistic goals to achieve your greater goals. Set goals that align with your commitments to yourself. If you work a full-time job, set learning times for yourself outside of your working hours, depending on your workload. You can achieve your learning goals by fulfilling your responsibilities. Create a schedule, implement a learning ritual, and learn by following that ritual. For example, study while listening to classical music, find a quiet place, and learn in that quiet place at the same time every day. The next day, at the same time, in the same place, with the same music, review and reinforce what you learned the previous day.

“Ancora Imparo – I'm still learning.”

Look inside yourself

While studying acting, I saw that an actor's biggest problem is memorizing his lines. I learned to learn the lines, to internalize what was written, to create another person inside me, containing pieces of myself but completely different from me. While doing this, I developed methods for myself as an actor. I have figured out how to isolate myself from the environment under all circumstances, to look within myself, to feed on myself but to develop an independent system of thought and interpretation, and then to go out and socialize as I go inward. In this process, I figured out how to read while walking, memorizing while moving, and learning even while watching movies, reading books, or listening to music. Look inside yourself. Who knows what different type of learning method you will develop and…

It is possible to learn at any age. Remember what Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni said when he was 87 years old;

“Ancora Imparo – I'm still learning.”

With friendship from Bibliobibuli.

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