Child-led learning means that the child can learn more about what they are passionate about. Not following a typically learning routine or schedule, the adults play the role of facilitating.
It seems to go against the grain of many, but not all (see the Montessori method) learning establishments. However, we all learn differently, and there are a lot of studies that show when children can pursue what they love, they have a passion for learning and are more motivated too.
How soon can you start with child-led learning?
This is what makes child-led learning so exciting; it can start from the moment your child is born. Young children are naturally curious, and they want to know about everything. There is a reason they ask somewhere in the region of 500 questions a day.
We can see child-led learning by observing when the child starts pulling themselves up to walk, when they start talking, how they communicate before words are possible, and how they interact with their environment.
A parent or career will often help them, but let the child do it when they are ready. Child-led education is similar.
There are many benefits from child-led learning, but here are three big ones.
Motivation
Intrinsic motivation is one of the most important things when it comes to learning - learning for the love of it. When a child becomes the leader in their learning, they can explore the topics that they want to know more about.
They take an active role in what they learn, how they learn it, and what they want to know. You can facilitate it by helping them to find places to go, books to read, activities they might like to do, and more.
Pressure-free
Often learning can come with certain expectations, and that can make learning feel like it is filled with pressure. While, in most cases, certain grades are expected to unlock higher levels of education and career paths, the pressure attached can be detrimental.
When a child is able to direct their learning journey, they are more likely to be eager to learn more. Using encouragement rather than pressure has been shown to have more positive results in intelligence tests later in life. They can choose what they feel motivated to take part in and dip further into things that they are currently interested in. The amazing thing about children is that they will naturally look for ways to learn more about what they love - when they are given the room to do it. Some days it might involve sitting at a desk reading and researching; other days, it might look like printables and an ABCmouse app combination.
When learning about what you are interested in, there is no pressure.
It’s Quick
When searching for answers, you will find them quickly - because it is about something you want to know. With traditional learning methods, often there is a gap between what the child wants to know and what is taught. However, the moment a child is ready to learn something, it happens at a lightning pace because they are ready and open to it.
They will give the topic their full focus because they simply can’t wait to know as much as they can about it.
Endless
Once you start to dig into a topic, you’ll quickly find that there is no end to the learning. And it might span across things like math, English, science, the natural world, society, and so much more since almost all topics are far more complex than they appear on the surface.
When a child is allowed to follow their curiosity, there is no end to what they might learn and how they might learn it.
When you first start to help facilitate your child exploring their interests, but helping them to set goals is incredibly important - you can learn more about that: Setting Educational Goals And How To Achieve Them.
