Are you an Independent Learner?

Are you an Independent Learner? Hear from one of our NAIS Dublin Grade 9 students share her experience at our school and how she has evolved into an independent learner.

We as students are taught not only the information within the textbook, but also what can be done with that information.

As a student who had never studied the IB curriculum prior to NAIS Dublin, I noticed the benefits immediately. We as students are taught not only the information within the textbook, but also what can be done with that information. We constantly work on research projects, group projects and more, to understand how what we are learning can be used in a real-life scenario.

Along with this there is an emphasis on reflection. We learn to critically analyse our work in order see how we can improve. We are always given a criteria, which has been very helpful while revising for assessments, as we can look at our own work from an examiners point of view. In addtion, our assessments are mostly continual assessments, which helps us to stay on track and focused all year round.

The main benefit that really stands out to me is that we are encouraged to be independent learners. We usually don’t rely on textbooks for the answers to our questions and problems as we are encouraged to do some research of our own. This can help us to find multiple different ways of solving one problem or answering one question, which helps us to see it from many different perspectives.

We also develop information literacy skills, through practicing finding and organizing information relevant to the task. Because of the small class sizes, I find that I am always engaged, as classes often don’t feel like classes, and rather a very interesting and enjoyable conversation. Teachers facilitate this in a collaborative way, which means all participants in the discussion feel included and respected.

Written by: Ailbhe, Grade 9 Student

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