Who actually chooses how to learn?

It’s interesting to draw comparisons to the learning required at schools/colleges and that required to learn how to drive.

Schools are bending over backwards to maximise results.  No stone is left unturned in the quest for good grades.  Teachers are so driven by this need for success that the question of who is motivated and who takes responsibility for learning can become a little clouded.

I see this on a daily basis but in a different context.  Although the motivations of some of my pupils leave a little to be desired, believe me, I’d rather take that, than have someone sat next to me with no motivation.

But the responsibility of learning is a massive factor in my work.  The subject of independent learning is key.  If a pupil has been conditioned to expect teachers to run around for them, then is it any surprise they require extra support from the large employers just to assist with the job application process. 

Part of the equation is how my pupil intends to learn, what is their motivation, what is their strategy to learn, giving themselves the maximum opportunity to learn well.  The other part is my responsibility.  How I go about nurturing learning.  Do I want my pupils to be fully prepared for life as an independent driver post test, or am I just concerning myself with covering the absolute minimum standards to pass the test only.  Am I conditioning my pupils by repetition to do actions ‘on command’ so to speak, or do I take the time and trouble to instil in them a sense of assessing as and when the need arises for such actions.   The driving ability outcome is hugely different between those two approaches.

You see if a pupil of mine sits in the driver seat and in mind only says “Ok Tom, tell me how to drive”, then that will have a fundamental effect in our instructor/pupil relationship.  In other words, they do not do any structured, quality practising outside of lessons with me, they do not learn the theory in a manner that the knowledge will be remembered and applied to the driving, they do not want to ‘learn’ they just want me to ‘tell’.  And I see that ‘approach’ being reflected in the parents that I liase with.  I normally end up speaking to one parent in particular.  Sometimes I sense that if the parent could, they would take the test on behalf of their child, such is their desire to get their child through the test.  Which is all very natural and understandable except it’s compounding this problem related to who is responsible for ‘learning to drive’. 

The main contributing factors of how a pupil learns to drive seem to me to be the approach taken by the parent(s), the opportunity the pupil has of other, reinforcing, learning resources and the instructor... probably in that order I would say.