As educators, we are always looking for ways we can partner with our students in their education. We want to equip them to be independent learners and thinkers, and our partnership is in pursuit of that! Here at Mr. D Live, we’ve found that there are five key steps educators can take to get our students to their goals.
1. Let your students set goals, and hold them accountable
Speaking of goals, encouraging your students to create and write down their plans will help them in the short term and the long run. Goal setting is a crucial part of success in every path of life. Every student will benefit from learning how to lay out their goals for optimal success. There are many different goal-setting strategies you can utilize with your students. Allow them to experiment and find the method that best suits their needs and learning styles, and guide them along the way.
Holding your student accountable to their goals is critical for developing the goal-setting skill. Writing down and planning out your goals is one thing, but taking action is another! Help your student develop strong internal accountability by setting the example. Once they break down their goals into daily steps, hold them accountable for accomplishing these actions. Your student may have a natural sense of accountability, and others might need practice. Following through and completing your goals is a skill, and skills require practice.
2. The Weekly Meeting
A great way to foster accountability is by holding a weekly meeting with your student. Find a day, and make this a regular appointment. What this will provide your student with is a deadline, a time they need to finish by. Sometimes, a floating or open deadline for their goals can foster procrastination. A regular appointment will give your student a routine.
Creating and developing healthy routines is a skill as well, with a wide range of practical applications. A student who knows how to make and stick with a routine will succeed in many areas of life. Whether it’s a simple morning or evening routine, a workout routine, or a studying routine, holding a weekly meeting will foster accountability and develop their ability to stick to a plan.
3. Have your student teach you!
An excellent method to foster true discovery (for any topic) is to teach someone else what you learned. We talked about this in our April blog post on the difference between learning and knowing. Teaching someone else is a practical use of the information in action. Teaching it back fosters true discovery. Next time your student is trying to master a topic, have them try and teach it to you!
4. Help your student discover their learning style
Every student is unique, and every student’s learning style is going to look different. There is no “one size fits all” for education. A great tool to true discovery is finding the best way to get there.
Encourage your student to experiment with many different techniques and strategies in your daily studies. Your student may need to approach things in a hands-on way, or they may prefer a black and white approach. They may need to record lessons because they retain information auditorily. Maybe your student needs to turn the data into visuals aids; you never know!
While your student is exploring their learning style, they may need to try several different strategies before finding what works for them. Make sure they understand that every path to discovery is different. Theirs may take longer than their peers, or they may find it right away! At the end of the day, it’s the journey that matters. Encourage your student to approach this journey with a positive mindset by giving them the time and space to settle into their unique learning style.
5. Let your students solve their own problems
One crucial skill every problem solver has is breaking down a problem and finding the root of the issue. Reverse engineering an issue is a tool that your student will benefit from mastering. You can teach this skill to your students by allowing them to solve their own problems.
Instead of simply telling them how and why they are wrong, walk them to finding the answer themselves by asking questions and letting them discover the solution along the way. Encourage them to fully explain their approach and break down where it went wrong. Leave them a bread crumb trail to follow to the root of the issue. Your student is so bright; they can figure it out! One way they can practice this is by correcting their own work. Give them the opportunity to dive into the problem by having them check over their work and sometimes even grade it.
If you decide to try applying these tools to your student’s education, remember to have some patience for yourself. Give yourself the space to experiment with setting your own goals and figuring out the best way you can partner with your child.
If you try out any of these techniques, comment below and share how they worked for you! To hear more about helping your student discover knowing, follow us on TikTok!
