Today I attended the Learning Technology Research Symposium at
the Centre for Research on Computer Supported Learning and Cognition (CoCo) at Sydney University.
A lot of fascinating topics were covered, but in particular I’ve been thinking about three themes:
- self-regulated learning
- cultivating a sense of ownership in learning
- assessment of blog reflections
This clip is a reflection on these themes. I’d wanted to devote a more well-considered text-based post to it, but my son is sick at the moment and my hands were full at the time 
Hey, Mike ~
So glad to have stumbled upon your blog today. I am a HUGE proponent of self-teaching, or self-regulated learning, as you refer to it here. I operate in the homeschooling realm, and I have devoted my life to educating my children in the best possible manner. The best possible manner has been via self-learning.
The way one cultivates a love of learning in students is by giving them as much choice as possible. High standards, choice, and flexibility are very, very important in education. My kids who have graduated so far from home school high school have gone on to the university level, and they have been quite dismayed by the amount of “bunk” they are forced to study in the realm of “liberal arts” colleges. It is hard to be motivated to learn something for which you are not convinced has relevance to your life. I could write a book on that itself.
All of this is to say thank you for your thoughts. It is always a pleasure to meet people across the globe who are coming to some of the same conclusions that I have come to as well.
And the fact that you are caring for your little one is marvelous, too! =D
Warmly,
joanne calderwood
http://www.URtheMom.com
http://www.HomeschoolCoach.Wordpress.com
Hi Joanne,
Very nice to meet you first of all.
Believe it or not my family operates in the homeschooling realm as well – sort of a modified version of radical unschooling/natural learning. I’ve not admitted that here before due to concerns about seeing myself branded a radical – I do work in higher education after all. Though realistically I’ve since realised that my previous posts would have revealed my true colours by now already – Illichian Rant alone would have.
So many of my views on the role and power of the individual relative to that of the class and institution – and indeed the purpose and nature of learning itself – stem from these ideas – such as Illich and John Holt for example.
As you might expect, it’s a very interesting life straddling these two seemingly opposing spheres of education, and yet one of my reasons for working in formal education is to help influence change from the inside.
This is one of the key reasons why I embrace and advocate the personally empowering nature of new media and am so intrigued by new learning theories such as Connectivism. I see changes emerging inside and outside the walls of formal education that are forcing existing structures to re-evaluate their place and purpose. It’s a pretty exciting time really.
Thanks for the thoughts – nice to meet you
Cheers,
Mike