In the past few years, schools and teachers have come up with several new teaching techniques to encourage and engage students in learning. Making students take ownership and responsibility for their learning is one of the most successful ways.
The students can gain from it in many ways and make them better learners in academics and life. A few schools have exercised this method where students take ownership of their learning. Research has proved that such students have higher achievements, and these schools are more successful.
Students need to take ownership of their learning as:
- It would help them become more responsible in all matters of life.
- It will encourage students to take up responsibility and do things independently and not be dependent on others for anything.
- Students will make efforts to be more successful in academics.
- They will willingly engage in learning, rather than some adult pestering them to study for good grades.
- The students will become more devoted to their work.
- The students will be more invested in school and all kinds of activities that schools have to offer.
- The students will be ready to challenge themselves and put considerable effort into achieving arduous tasks.
- The students will become more persistent and work efficiently.
- The students will get higher achievements in academics as well as other fields.
- They will improve academically and show improvement in other areas.
- Their behavior and attitude will improve.
- Their concentration will improve.
- They will know which task requires hard work.
- They will know which work requires smart work.
- The students would explore new fields of learning.
- The students will understand what they learn and why they must learn that.
- They will understand not just the importance of education, but also the method of how they are being educated by being an active participant in it, rather than just being a passive observer.
- The students would engage more in class which will also reduce their anxiety about speaking up in class.
- The students will understand better and offer new perspectives on things. They will not simply give in to rot learning methods.
- The students will have more confidence and faith in themselves and will be prepared for new challenges they will have to face in life.
Role of teachers
Although this method aims to make students self-sufficient and remove their dependency on teachers for learning, nonetheless teachers play a key role in making students take ownership of their learning.
- The teachers must be ready to assist the students whenever required.
- The teachers must be ready to help the students with things that are not part of the syllabus, but the student is curious to learn.
- The teachers must find new, innovative, and creative ways of teaching so that the students are more engaged in learning.
- The teachers should make the learning experience more interactive so that more and more students actively participate in the class discussions.
- The teachers must make sure that not only a small bunch of students are always a part of the discussions. All the students should get equal participation.
Role of School
The schools also play a crucial role in nurturing the students’ personalities. The more successful schools have put efforts to give their students ownership of their learning.
- The schools should make some code of conduct which the students and staff must follow so that the students can become responsible.
- The schools should check on the effectiveness of the methods and modify them as and when required.
- The schools should make the students feel a part of the system and that they are important.
Role of the Learner
While the adults, teachers, and school staff have important roles to guide the students, the main work is to be done by the students themselves. They are the ones who have to take up ownership of their learning and hence they should adhere to some rules to make it work.
- The students should exert efforts to take up responsibility.
- They should be disciplined and punctual. They should reach school on time and not miss any materials that they might need in school.
- They should always complete their assignments on time.
- They should always come to class prepared.
- They should always ask for assistance when they require it.
- They should discuss assignments with their teachers if they have a doubt or if they come across something they do not understand even if it is not a part of their syllabus.
How to give students a sense of ownership of their learning?
- The first thing to do is to do away with the dependency of students on teachers.
- One should set academic expectations for students and the teachers as well. These can be short-term or long-term goals.
- The teachers and adults should have faith in the students to boost their confidence and make them believe that they can achieve these goals.
- The students should keep a note of their learning to give them a sense of success.
- The students should be supported even if they do not achieve the desired goals. The students must know that failure is a part of growing.
What are the outcomes of ownership learning?
There have been numerous kinds of research related to own in some schools. The National Center of Scaling up Effective Schools released a report in 2014 where they stated that the higher value-added (HVA) schools have higher achievements because they made efforts for students to take ownership of their learning. The students who took up the responsibility for their learning were more productive and more dedicated to their education and hence, had better results.
Conclusion
Students need to take up ownership of their learning to become self-sufficient and to do away with the dependency on teachers for learning. Research has shown that such students perform excellently in their academic fields and non-academic fields. They learn with a better understanding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.1) What does taking ownership of school work means?
Ans. Ownership means that the student is motivated and dedicated to doing their work on time.
Q.2) How does student ownership impact achievement?
Ans. The students who take ownership are likely to get more success. They will be able to make bigger goals and put effort into accomplishing them.
Q.3) How to empower students to take responsibility for their learning?
Ans. Setting goals for them to achieve in a limited amount of time is one of the best ways to empower students. Motivating them and setting examples for them is another way to do that.
Q.4) Why is it important for students to monitor their work?
Ans. By monitoring their work they will become more disciplined and achieve goals in the set amount of time. Secondly, it would give them a sense of success and let them know how far they have come since they started.
