NEW DELHI: Quest Alliance, a not-for-profit trust focused on building 21st Century skills among learners and facilitators, launched a whitepaper Self-Learning: Concepts, Principles and Strategy.
The paper encourages nurturing a self-learning mindset, as a potential way forward to close the gap between the aims of education and what is practiced.
The COVID-19 pandemic has unraveled a lot of challenges, especially for learners and educators alike. As the full impact of the pandemic continues to unfold, the undeniable fact is that this global crisis has challenged age-old, entrenched ideas about classrooms, the role of educators, and traditional methods of learning.
This paper is focused on educators, leaders, organizations, and government officials, who work tirelessly to change the way we learn and help nurture learners to be truly prepared for an uncertain future. There is a need to acknowledge the changing dynamics in the world around us, and reimagine the way we think of learning.
This paper seeks to curate the existing understanding of self-learning in the Indian context, explore some of the foundational principles and values that define self-learning, and identify ways in which individuals and organizations follow their Self-learning pathways.
With this premise, it can be established that self-learning is critical, especially now where the learner has the agency to control what they learn, how they learn and when they learn. The whitepaper touches upon structured ways of learning which will help in filling the gap between what skills are taught in classrooms and what skills are required on the job.
Over time, self-learning as a process builds skills such as self-awareness, critical thinking, communication and collaboration – all highly-valued traits in today’s employment markets, more commonly defined as 21st century skills.
Aakash Sethi, CEO, Quest Alliance said “This study explores the use of Self-learning as an answer to India’s learning challenges, especially in rural areas. In particular, women and other marginalised groups bear the brunt of being pushed out of the mobility pathways, employment opportunities, and access to newer developments. However, we believe that adapting the concept of Self-learning in their communities and learning spaces will help in designing experiences and mindsets where an individual looks at every opportunity as a learning opportunity – as an aspect of building a learning identity.”
Through the nurturing of self-learners and the creation of self-learning environments, communities will be empowered to be reflective, resourceful, curious and resilient, with the ability to evolve to cope with a rapidly changing world. The belief that Self-learning can lead to transformation keeps us on the lookout for ways in which it is manifested, nurtured, sustained, and leveraged, in different contexts and scenarios.
Through this working paper, the aim is to find collaborators who could join hands in enabling self-learning pathways for our learners and equip them with the skills, attitude, and knowledge to navigate the future of the world.
