I too think the childrens can know and learn alone. But, the teacher is the key of the knowledgement and can offer the most ways for "to know". A lot of peoples said that technology can replace the teachers. I not believe! Never!

I too think the childrens can know and learn alone. But, the teacher is the key of the knowledgement and can offer the most ways for "to know". A lot of peoples said that technology can replace the teachers. I not believe! Never!

This is a great question...actually, it may be THE question in education, one that may lead to the re-definition of education for the distant future.  and it leads to many other questions:  

*what knowledge can people learn "by themselves" at any stage of life?

*at what stages and for what kinds of knowledge is a teacher/facilitator necessary?

*just as knowledge of gameplay is acquired by choice and is often successful,  what knowledge can we trust people to acquire by their own choices?

*what do people NEED to know to be functional in their society?  

*what do children NEED to know to be prepared for the next stages of their lives?

*it seems that knowledge of gameplay is tested immediately by playing the games, just like knowledge of carpentry is soon tested on construction jobs.  so how long can educators keep testing academic knowledge with artificial assessments?  it seems that the attempts at "authentic assessment" are still artificial.

*if people acquire specialized knowledge by their own choice and by themselves, will that process lead to less glutting of the career markets?  

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to add an answer for Mohtaram Kohistani: we may eventually see people achieve a Master Degree in significantly less than 16 years as education programs become more efficient through purposeful self-learning.

and i agree with Sr. Silva that teachers will continue to be important to learning, although the role of "teacher" may change.

rk

I think that the pedagogical aspect of learning would not be complete without a teacher, who can be a live or virtual teacher, sometimes called a pedagogical agent in the online environment to humanize the learning environment. The attached article highlights the need to accommodate for the diverse learner backgrounds which may be overlooked in the online environment: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263045869_Curriculum_Inclusiveness_Challenge_Responding_to_Multiculturalism_among_Workforce_Education_and_Development_Graduate_Students_Journal_of_Dept_of_Behavioural_Sciences_Vol_1_1_March_2012?ev=prf_pub

Best regards,

Debra

Data Curriculum Inclusiveness Challenge: Responding to Multicultu...

Ironically, I think children come into the world with a natural ability to learn on their own. How many times have we seen babies and toddlers get really absorbed in some activity, usually involving the manipulation of some object, and are quite happy to do so, all on their own?  Unfortunately, as they get older, and have to fit into the formal school curriculum, much of that innate skill is lost. While I agree that teachers have a key role to play in the education of the young, teaching must also include strategies to assist the young to regain the capability for independent learning. In the final analysis, all education should be geared towards assisting human beings to become lifelong learners.

You may find the attached article useful:

Stoeger, H., Flieschmann, S. & Obergriesser, S. (2015). Self-regulated learning (SRL) and the gifted learner in primary school: the theoretical basis and empirical findings on a research program dedicated to ensuring that all students learn to regulate their own learning. Asia Pacific Education Review, 16: 257-267.

See pdf file attached.

Though children can learn individually yet they need teacher. Now the role of teacher is becoming facilitator. Progressivists can facilitate learners where learners have to be well motivated themselves.

hi,

This is an interesting question, now-a-days children's are having the ability to learn their self because of the new technologies. Teacher is teaching in school or anything else means it will be a limited one but learning from the internet or any other new technologies mean it will be getting more knowledge.

thanks,

saran 

Hi,

Very interesting question and thought provoking.

First of all, learning without teacher needs lot of self determination, curiosity and interest, self motivation and the ability of higher order thinking skills.  Self-learning cultivates proactive thinking, critical thinking and innovative thinking.  Those who cant able to manage these three factors they become the loser and learning become difficult and challenging.

Whereas, teacher supportive learning is a kind of alchemy reaction between teacher and learning. Always student will be getting external stimulus from the teacher.  Trial and error will become minimal. Continuous guidance will be provided. In this method teacher could shape the students based on how they are. 

Especially slow learner and poor learner teacher supportive learning is the optimal one.

hi dear researcher

I think and belief, each person for create excellent ontology and epistemology need  to lifelong learning and development in all day of life with emphasis on self-awareness , self-motivation, self-resposibility, self-starting, self-directing and self-control and self-supervising learning process , but each person can not received to this level of learning... self-development mechanism such as self-direct-learning need a primary  mental maturity that it is very important and essential.

world is a changing and evolutionary world for mankind, so lifelong learning and development is definitive essential, not only for student but also for all people...

i don't believe in self-directed learning without teachers. this said:  the ways of learning and of teaching can be rethought. like a good parent, or mentor, a good teacher needs not be DIDACTIC all the time, let alone obsessed with  measurements. the same goes of learning: learning doesn't happen AS A RESULT of being taught!  it's just that every child needs caring and capable adults around. Another way of saying: it takes a village to raise a child. And.... it takes a hundred children to keep the village alive.

Yes, just watch a kid learning to walk. It is a 3D skill. 

Also, look at the material coming out of Physics Educational Research, engagement pedagogy which relies of self teaching in many instances as any active strategies would. Besides, was there no learning before Bologna (the first University)?

Hi,

We, a group of three researchers, at the American University of the Middle East are looking into 'proof-of-concept' study into this particular area. The theory goes: Can an interactive app, following a standard US or UK curriculum, be sufficient alternative to sending a child to school. In theory, we believe it could. Already we have many families in the US and UK who prefer home schooling as alternative to sending their kids to school. The Department of Education points to 1.5 million children who are home schooled in the US and the trend is growing. The same situation is reported in the UK. We believe an app that would be student centred, interactive, multimedia, with integrated elements of A.I. could be an alternative for many families who choose or are unable to send their children to school. The built in teaching, learning, and assessments process would allow pace and subject customisation, and cheaper alternative to top private schools. Thus it will win over parents.  However, an extremely important social interaction would be missed. This is something we are hoping publish on this subject in the near future following our extensive review of tablets in education. 

Can we learn facts and skills independently?  Absolutely.  As researchers, we spend a lot of time learning independently.  But, one of the main needs for learning and one of the shifts in focus for educators in 21st Century learning paradigms is in the development of the "soft skills" that come through team work and social environments.  I think we are just beginning to see the shift in education with students developing much of their understanding independently, both in and out of school, but with the need for teachers and schools to continue to guide and direct the process in developing the various skills that promote and surround learning as well.  And, I would add, we also research better in teams, as the dynamic of conversation and mutual questioning leads to deeper understanding.

Hi,

The question is topical and I agree with answers above. Just want to add the point of view on meaningful obstacle to self-learning. Today we see a great contradiction between 'how does it RIGHT to learn' setting from classic school teacher and actual possibilities for learning of technologies and information environment. It is often gets opposite.

As a result there is a gap in children's (or student's) mind between two spheres of life: school is the place for learning (by the given instructions) and all the rest is for joy, improvisation and all important for me. If the opposition is strong then 'learning' and 'life' can't connect with each other. Perhaps that causes such primitive habits in using technologies, just for entertainment or escapism.

I think the teacher of future is a wise guide who trains to work with such big data as we have today and convert it to individual knowledge or even new creative ideas. Yes, the teacher should keep in mind the final goal of specific learning process, but provide enough freedom on the path to it. So this is dialogic approach.

 Surely many children and adults can learn on their own through alert attentiveness to experiences, through book and article readings, and  through media explorations. Yet, as Vygotsky taught us years ago, with a good mentor/teacher, then children can achieve and learn beyond the boundaries of where they might , on their own, struggle to understand and grasp new concepts, facts, ideas, reasoning.. Thus a wise, patient., and loving teacher  figures out  just  where a child is at in learning ,and then  figure out  ways to help that child ' enhance learning through guidance, Socratic questioning,, through stories and parables and examples and sometimes modeling,  and also  pointing out pathways to more in-depth knowledge and insights.  Such a t mentor is a precious person in education and in society and  is specifically and profoundly  helpful for  furthering learning for that child whose understanding and abilities are  enhanced by that  teacher working in "the zone of proximal development" , as Vyygotsky called it. ..

I agree with the concept that yes people can teach themselves, but also agree that education does so much more than just educate. Many parents decide to home school, but then still have a group of chosen people to have intramural sports and other group events. An educator needs to see and change with the paradigm shift that we need to coach and mentor a students ability to learn. They need someone to show them the path to take and keep them motivated. Self learning needs to have a motivator and that usually comes from with in. The student needs to be self directed, self gratifying, and very structured. Of the students you know and teach are there many that meet those criteria? Do not short change the importance of the full educational experience that is guided by an educator.  

As an educator, I would like to think that my role in the spreading of knowledge is inviolate. But I know better. Autodidacts have been around as long as the concept of education. We are a species that learns through trial and error, and everything we know now is due to someone pushing, experimenting, and learning, usually on their own or alongside their equally precocious colleagues. And now, with information being so readily available, I think the notion that the only person who can truly be knowledgeable is one who has completed a course of study at a recognized institution will become obsolete right alongside the belief that not everyone is capable of learning. I believe, soon enough, knowledge, ability, and skill will take precedence over a piece of paper from an institution. Do some people learn more quickly in an educational setting versus as a self-driven pursuit? Of course. But I believe, I hope, it will very soon no longer be the practice to insist students progress through a pre-determined course of study at a set pace, taking tests that profess to be standardized but which are, statistically speaking, arbitrary at best, in order to demonstrate mastery.

Thanx All Scholars Your Precious point of View  .....

in SDL the learner is responsible but learning do not occurs without learning facilitator and resources. Education is creating learning opportunities for student, but student is responsible for learning...

Whatever, age of participants increases, they less need to teacher and suporter, but SDL is type of thinking about learning not only is a method of learning... it is a different approach from traditional approach about learning. In SDL, people start learning based on self-assessment,  self-awareness, and they can become self-motivate and began learning and have self-commitment to learning and they are self-control about their learning process and outcomes...SDL is a mechanism for self-development and SD not only is a method but also is a academic approach to human development...h have 22 articles and 2 book about the SD approach and believe, the excellent sustanable  approach to developmnet is SD and their mechanism such as SDL, self-management, self-leadership, self-organazing, self-regulation and others... 

Technology can never ever replace the physical presence of a teacher and their contribution to students in terms of monitoring students on a regular basis, after all this theory of self study in many ways are not beneficial for learners.

An effective learning process starts from a teacher not  from text book.

Thanx All Scholars Your Precious point of View  ....We have not good economic condition in Rural Areas Of My Area We have not Good Literacy Rate But We have very High fever and enthusiasm  toward Technology. but Purposeless wasting of Time nothing Else Even Poor Children and Their parents are buying These Equipment  from their Saving These children whole day playing Games Watching Movies And Dramas These Activities s repeated in their lives and these tools have high impact on behavior ......So Can They Learn Independently through self learning Environment.............? 

Distance learning is basically learning without a teacher. Plus, the web library is there already.

But learning without a teacher should not be applied to children, please.