Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 6: Understanding Your Role
• Method 2 of 6: Organization of self-education in the classroom
• Method 3 of 6: Planning Your Self-Study
• Method 4 of 6: First Class Self-Study Activity
• Method 5 of 6: Resolving Conflict
• Method 6 of 6: Further Self-Study Activities
• Tips

Self-education belongs to the category of an independent, organized learning environment.It is the brainchild of Sugat Mitra, professor of educational technology at Newcastle University in the UK. With this program, a direct learning process is created for children ages 8 to 12, but many of the traditional educational approaches do not use this method. This program relies on the use of collaborative technology as a framework to encourage learning. Provided that you are able to connect to the Internet at school, this program can be used as a way of teaching in your classroom. Setting up a program at school is a simple process that will make it easier for children to learn. ...

Steps

Method 1 of 6: Understanding Your Role

As a teacher, you must fully understand the importance of your role as an educator and a person who instills a love of learning. Your enthusiasm for teaching will help establish a positive attitude in the classroom. There are other ways to use this teaching method.

1. 1 Be open to new ideas with your students. In class, students may sometimes be worried that they might ask a “stupid question”. This can harm learning if children fear that their peers and teachers will judge them unfairly. As a teacher, you can show that there is no such thing as a stupid question, and you can help children see that often the person who has the courage to ask a question will get an answer that will be of interest to everyone!
   • Discuss the importance of the questions with the class. Ask them how they feel about the questions, who they would like to ask the question, and why. This will help them understand what might be holding them back from asking questions in different situations in their lives.
   • Lead a discussion by asking questions and encouraging questions among peers in the class.
   • Make your class feel that they will not be ridiculed for asking.
   • Help students formulate the questions themselves. Some of the students may find it difficult to ask questions, but this skill needs to be developed.
2. 2 Set the stage for self-education on a regular basis. It is necessary to choose a time for self-education once a week. These activities can be based on routine tasks to help you create the right atmosphere.
   • Self-education activities will last no more than an hour, although the first time it may take longer, as you will need to explain to students what it is.

Method 2 of 6: Organization of self-education in the classroom

1. 1 The class must have the necessary equipment. It is likely that you already have the basic items, but just in case, remember what you will need:
   • Computer or laptop. The class needs access to a computer; about one computer for four.
   • A multimedia board or whiteboard where you will write down the questions you ask.
   • Paper and pens. This will help the children take notes. Remember that using pen and paper helps to connect the mind to the body, as opposed to typing. Many creative people insist that it helps to think.
   • Webcam, microphone, creative programs for creating pictures, videos and music.
   • Name tags. This is not necessary, but it may be necessary if you work with young children and they do not know each other well. This is a good way to find a helper.

Method 3 of 6: Planning Your Self-Study

1. 1 Follow a question, research and review approach. It is a simple approach that allows you to discover and explore new things, use your creativity, analyze and draw conclusions.
2. 2 Define the question. Ask an interesting question that engages the imagination and interest in the class. The best questions are large, complex, and interesting open-ended questions:
   • Encourage students to be interested in theories rather than specific answers. If a question appears to be unanswered, children will make assumptions that will help develop their mental capacity.
   • Broader and more complex questions help develop deep and long discussions.
   • Combine the known facts with the lesser known. For example, you can ask a question about a course that you have already taken, as well as questions about something that has not yet been learned.
   • To learn more about good questions, see the article How to Formulate Questions for Self-Study and http://www.ted.com/pages/sole_toolkit
3. 3 Add an offhand to the question. Here you have a wide field for action. You can arrange to read short information, show a video, put on music, show pictures, or do anything else in addition to the question. Typically, you should find something that encourages children to express curiosity and helps them look deeper into the matter.

Method 4 of 6: First Class Self-Study Activity

1. 1 It will take you one hour. This may take less or longer depending on the issue, context and children's involvement.
2. 2 Tell the children what self-education is all about. If this is your first time doing this, you need to explain what it means. Explain how a self-study lesson differs from a regular lesson and what the teaching is. Concentrate on the fact that this is a self-organizing exercise and say that you will not interfere, but will simply wait for the results.
3. 3 Divide the class into groups. When forming groups, keep in mind that there will be 4 people per computer for the best results.
   • Assign a “helper” for each of the groups. The facilitator will be in charge of group discussions such as resolving questions and problems. This in itself is an important aspect of learning in helping children learn the basics of leadership.
4. 4 Ask a question (see above).
5. 5 Allow at least 40 minutes to research the question of self-education.
   • Tell the groups to take notes. These can be notes, photographs, quotes, audio recordings, drawings, diagrams, printouts, and so on. Basically, anything will do that can explain the results of the study. These notes will help you make your presentation in the next step.
   • When researching a question, leave it to the children. An assistant should help in resolving issues. Intervene only when really needed.
6. 6 Analyze what was said. After 40 minutes, tell the groups to get together. Sit them all together. Ask them about what they discovered and talk about how the research went. As a teacher, organize discussion about the research by listening and encouraging group members to observe. Your role is to correct; do not overestimate the presentation. For example, if it seems to you that the children are not answering essentially, just ask them to think carefully about how to answer the question.
   • Ask what conclusions the children have come to and what ideas they have. At the same time, it is necessary to encourage each participant to talk, and not only the most ardent ones who want to draw conclusions. Even within the group, there will be differences of opinion.
7. 7 Summarize. After the presentation by the children, you should take stock of what was said in the group. In this case, you can emphasize the importance of what was said.
   • Ask the participants how they felt during the experiment. Ask them to compare the lives of different children, their experiences and knowledge.
   • Ask participants how they felt during the study and tell them that they did well. Also ask them what they would change next time. It is very important to understand what is not suitable for such an experiment.
   • Ask the group how they feel about the answers and ideas from other groups.

Method 5 of 6: Resolving Conflict

As with other group activities, sometimes participants face difficulties that lead to conflict. Everyone must deal with this in their own way, and participants must learn to cope with problems in order to develop self-organization.

1. 1 Encourage participants to find a solution to the problem as soon as possible. Try to intervene, but have the children solve the problem on their own. Typical problems are:
   • One member of the group complains about another member who does not help the group at all: Ask the assistant to organize the work with the children. This ability will help children learn to behave like adults.
   • One of the participants is not interested in cooperation: Ask the helper to help the other children understand that they can make changes to the study. If you are researching with groups of children, give the children the chance to change groups, but generally this is only suitable for a school or classroom situation.
   • There is a conflict about the computer: Help the children solve the computer problem and help them find solutions to the problem by asking leading questions.
   • Helper behaves inappropriately: Suggest ways to help the helper learn to manage the group. If you need to discuss bad behavior, do so, and always reward the helpers for organizing the work well.
   • Wrong answer... This is a good opportunity to investigate the sources used by the children and the reasons why they made certain conclusions; it is a great opportunity to teach children critical thinking and help them find reliable information.

Method 6 of 6: Further Self-Study Activities

1. 1 Continue to use this method in your class on a regular basis. Even class trips can be part of the exploration, such as visiting a museum or gallery.
2. 2 Tell the children to do similar activities at home. Help them start learning outside of the classroom.
   • You can even do self-study lessons with your parents. Tell them how the system works and provide ideas for conducting similar activities at home.
   • Encourage self-study programs after school.

Tips

• If you have the ability to deviate from your schedule, do this in the classroom more often. Children who have learned to organize themselves in the learning process will soon realize that this is a more open approach to learning. They will be able to digest information that would otherwise seem difficult. Children will learn to gather information and communicate in an accessible way. Any time devoted to improving these skills is time well spent.
• Some children may say that it is difficult for them to find materials on the Internet. Try to deal with this and tell the children that they have the opportunity to use different sites and express ideas in their own words. The skill of translating a formal and complex language into a more understandable language is very useful in and of itself. Pictures and diagrams can also help children overcome difficulties and better understand information.