Allow Your Students to Become Life-long Learners With These Tips

Lifelong learning has always been a worthy goal with significant benefits. Due to the rapid pace of change today, it’s no longer just desirable but essential for students to be equipped with the skills to become life-long learners.

Experts claim that the transformations in the way we work and live, brought about by artificial intelligence will be on a similar scale to those experienced during the industrial revolution. The education system is still catching up when it comes to equipping kids with the knowledge and skills they’ll need in the future. 

Follow these tips to assist your student to embrace a life of continuous learning. 

• Nurture Curiosity 

The foundation of life-long learning is curiosity. Young children are curious about everything and ask many questions about the way the world works. As they get older kids tend to lose this curiosity, so it’s important to do what you can to keep it alive.

Instead of brushing off questions, take the time to research the answers together. Teach them how to find things out online, as well as by visiting museums, science exhibits, libraries, art galleries, botanical gardens and zoos. Try to connect new knowledge with what they’re learning at school, so your child recognises the value of education. 

• Read Widely 

Most people, including children, find a genre or topic they’re interested in and stick to it. Combat this by encouraging your child to read widely on a range of subjects. Introduce them to fiction in different genres, non-fiction, magazines, comics, blogs and news reports. 

Many libraries have regular author talks on diverse topics, ranging from local history to astronomy and meditation. Take your child along to expose them to different ideas. It’s also a great idea to listen to podcasts and e-books in the car. 

• Watch Documentaries 

Documentaries are another ideal way to encourage curious minds. There are some excellent choices for kids that will introduce them to different cultures, ideas and social issues. Watch with your child and discuss the issues raised. 

Our top picks include In My Blood It Runs, about the experiences of a young Indigenous boy in Alice Springs trying to reconcile his traditional upbringing with his school life. Blindsight is an inspiring true story about six blind Tibetan teenagers who set out to conquer Mount Everest. 

• Have Fun

Too many children have been taught to see learning as a chore. One of the best ways to encourage life-long learning is by helping kids view learning as a fun pastime, and not something they only do at school. You can help your child change their view of learning by buying toys that are both fun and educational. 

There are many quality toys to choose from which develop language and STEM skills. Gaming can also be a great educational tool for developing memory and concentration. Gently point out to your child that they are learning at the same time as they are having fun. You can model this behaviour by making learning an enjoyable hobby.

• Encourage Resilience 

All learning involves failure. Unfortunately, many children give up when they try something and discover they’re not good at it. To become life-long learners, kids need to recognise that they have to make mistakes to grow. 

Help your child develop resilience by praising effort instead of results. Encourage them to consider what they learnt from the experience of failure, and to try again. By thinking about their own learning process, children develop the valuable skill of self-reflection. 

Life-long learners will thrive in the future.