Tuesday 1 September 2009

Learner's Charter: Real Things That Matter to Us

Have you ever wondered what people would say if you asked them what sort of learning experiences they would like?

What would you say, if you were asked? What experiences have you had where you were inspired, motivated, energised, curious about a topic?

Well last year 170 young people from diverse schools and backgrounds were asked and the simplicity and authenticity of their answers is illuminating and inspiring.

One of their requests was "to learn real things, that matter to us."
Note - no desire to learn for simply the sake of it, nor to learn abstract ideas or concepts, nor things that matter to other people.

Research into learning in adults echoes these results - that relevance is one of the most important aspects of learning.

However many times you have communicated about your area of expertise, the one thing that changes every single time is your learners. And when your learners change, so does what matters to them.

How do you find out what matters to them?
The simplest way of all is to simply ask them: "why do you want to learn how to do X?"

This is not about showing your ignorance, it is about listening to them. About involving them in their learning. About making sure you give them what they need: real things that matter to them.

So before you teach them anything, ask them.

Find out more at http://www.childrenscharterforlearning.org.uk

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