How to Create an Independent Learner
I earn a commission from products purchased through links in this post.
One of the great things about having high schoolers is that the majority of their schoolwork is done independently. Sure, I do biology labs with them, help them with difficult math assignments, and check their work, but they spend hours each day working independently.
Luckily, you don’t have to wait for your kids to turn into teenagers before learning how to create an independent learner.
Benefits of independent learning include
- Faster lesson planning
- Frees up time for teaching other students or taking care of parenting duties
- Students take ownership of their learning
- Students develop metacognitive skills such as planning and managing time
- Fosters a sense of independence
- Helps nurture a growth mindset
- Students begin to set their own goals
You can begin creating an independent learning environment when kids are in elementary grades by following these tips. Keep in mind that the development of independent learners does not happen overnight. However, independent learning is a skill that is worth developing.
How to Create an Independent Learner
This post was sponsored by Night Zookeeper, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Read my disclosure policy.
Choose a Curriculum that Doesn’t Rely on Parents for Teaching
Not all curricula work well for independent learners. If creating an independent learner is important to you, look for curricula that support this goal.
Some of the best ways to determine if a curriculum is a good fit for independent learning are:
- There is no teacher’s manual or guide – this generally means the curriculum is open and go without prep work
- Online with adult tutors – Active tutors provide feedback and keep students moving forward.
- There is a way for students to check their work to make sure they got the right answer – Completing assignments is not necessarily the same as completing assignments correctly.
Night Zookeeper is an online language arts curriculum that fits all of these criteria.
There is no teacher’s manual because the program walks kids through all of the lessons. Students learn language arts skills in small increments through creative exploration.
Night Zookeeper has fantastic adult tutors who keep the online space safe for kids while also gently correcting writing mistakes. They are also great at providing encouragement!
Students can check their work by posting it for a tutor to review. This is super simple and the feedback is quick.
Let Learning Be Fun
If we expect elementary or middle school students to learn independently, then we need to make sure it is fun. It is unreasonable to expect a child to do something they don’t like without adult oversight. They just don’t have the skills to force themselves to endure misery or boredom now for a payoff down the road.
This is especially true for little learners!
Starting with a fun subject or curriculum is a great way to begin. Creating positive memories of learning goes a long way in creating a lifelong learner.
Night Zookeeper makes learning fun for grades K – 6 by offering games and storytelling opportunities. Kids are encouraged to use their creativity while drawing new characters and writing a story. This is an online language arts curriculum that feels more like a video game, so kids will actually want to log on.
Give Your Student Ownership Over Their Schedule
Letting our children set their own schedules makes them feel powerful and capable.
Of course, young children might not have the skills necessary to plan their entire daily or weekly schedules yet, but we can start small. Let your child know the expectation and then brainstorm with them about how they can meet that goal.
For example, if you expect your child to work independently on language arts for 45 minutes a day 5 days a week, talk through your homeschool schedule and see where they want to fit the lesson in.
As they gain experience setting their own schedule, you might tell them that the expectation is to spend a total of 4 hours working on the lessons throughout the week. Then they are in charge of making that happen.
I really think that allowing my children to begin taking ownership over their schedules at a fairly young age is part of what makes them strong independent learners now.
They each played around with various types of schedules until they found ways to efficiently meet their goals. They developed independent learning strategies that improved their academic performance. Now that they are both in high school I can give them most of their assignments with a due date attached and know that the work will be completed on time.
Night Zookeeper is available online 24/7, so kids can work whenever fits their schedule.
Ask Your Child About Their Progress
Even if children are working independently, parents should still check in and keep an eye on progress. As the official homeschool administrator for your children, you are ultimately responsible for keeping track of their learning.
This doesn’t need to be anything formal.
I like to ask my kids how they are doing at the end of the day. Did they learn anything new or discover something interesting? Act truly interested, give them a few minutes of undistracted time and ask open-ended questions.
Night Zookeeper makes it easy on homeschool parents. Parents do not need to be involved in the daily lessons, but there is a parental dashboard that provides detailed information about how the child is performing.
You can even see their latest art creations, which gives you a great discussion topic.
Children who are homeschooling need to know that they can ask for help from mom or dad even if they are working independently. They are still learning and might need a little help getting past a stumbling block. Eventually, they will not need much help.
The beginning of the school year is the perfect time to start working on independent learning skills. New responsibilities can come with a new school year.
Night Zookeeper is a great way to have an early independent learning experience. It can be used as a full language arts curriculum or as a supplement.
Keep reading . . .
