Self-learning for future readiness:
There is an almost universal agreement that the present education model of “one size fits all” and designed for the last century is not adequate for the future. Existing programs may need to be be supplemented with mentoring programs that build the knowledge, skills, attitude and dispositions that would help in flourishing and prospering in the unpredictable and unforeseen future. John Holt has suggested that the best strategy to prepare for an unknown world is to foster the love of learning and the ability to learn very well anything one sets out to learn.
I have with these goals in mind, developed this 3 month (12 weeks) personalised mentoring program for self-learning and self-improvement for future readiness that is structured as a series of 10 weeklong learning adventures. The program is accessible through a mobile phone with WhatsApp.
Beginning February 2021, mentees can join at the beginning of any month,and will follow a personalised trajectory. This is designed as a 12 week ( 5 days a week) or 3 month program . The suggested activities would require a couple of hours every weekday. Any weekends and extra days that become available during the 3 month period may be used for catching up on missed activities and for further reflection on the activities of the week.
This is a program for both boys and girls of all all ages from about 13 upwards. The program is being offered only in English medium. Parents of minors will if they so wish be included in the program without any extra charge, in their ward’s mentoring journey. Of course they will have to pay the regular fee if they also want to be ‘mentored’ on how to deal with their own future.
It is often said that healthcare has continuously improved because the outcome of new knowledge and research in the medical sciences leads to better diagnostics, better pharmaceutical products and better treatment protocols, but the outcome of research in education, learning, including what neuroscience informs us of how the brain learns and the technologies including its latest incarnation in the form of AI is not applied to improve the practice of teaching and learning. Often the findings of latest research are actively prohibited from being used in classrooms.
Under the present conditions, the formal education system does not hold much promise for the learners and the only hope is individuals taking charge of their own destinies, and applying what great thought leaders have suggested in their books, blogs, conference keynotes, articles and TED talks. Preparing students for future success is the main role of a teacher. Simply teaching facts is no longer an acceptable means of instruction ( New Education Policy 2020). Teaching students to be self-directed learners is necessary for success in the unfolding future.
Unlike a course curriculum, this program is not spelled out in detail, but a broad sequence of the activities over a period of 3 months has been planned. We expect that most people will then onwards be able to chart their own future trajectories, but if some want some more support, that would be available.
We will not abandon our mentees or abdicate our mentees if they need further help and hands holding.
The broad flow of the 3 month ( 10weeks) program of guided self-discovery and self-improvement. These are preliminary thoughts, and may be tweaked during the course of 3 months depending upon the interactions with the mentee.
1st week : Beginning Level 1
Day 1: Avoiding/ overcoming procrastination
Day 2: Learning from WhatsApp
Day 3: Learning from other mobile Apps
Day 4: Learning from MOOCs
Day 5: Enhancing the span of attention (focus)
2nd week : Working for Level 1
Day 1: Creative Thinking
Day 2: Critical Thinking.
Day 3: Fact-checking
Day 4: Effective Learning Techniques
Day 5: Time Management
3rd week : Beginning Level 2
Day 1: Using mind maps
Day 2: Learning agility: learning, unlearning and re-learning
Day 3: Ultralearning
Day 4: Google search skills
Day 5: Using AI tools to become a better learner
4th week: Working for Level 2
Day 1: Learning from YouTube
Day 2: Using an app to get the text of an audio or video narration
Day 3: Grit : determination to overcome one’s barriers to learning
Day 4: Growth mindset
Day 5: Knowing your element
5th week: Beginning Level 3
Day 1: Cognitive Flexibility
Day 2: Negotiation Skills
Day 3: Complex Problem Solving
Day 4: First Principles
Day 5: Social learning/ peer learning
6th week: Working at Level 3
Day 1: Multitasking
Day 2: Information Management
Day 3: Team Orientation
Day 4: Attention to detail
Day 5: Digital presence and communication
7th week: Beginning Level 4
Day 1: Identify your own learning needs
Day 2: Set learning goals to address those needs
Day 3: Identify experts and mavens in your domain to follow and get inspiration fromDay 4: Curate appropriate resources to achieve your learning goal.
Day 5: Process the knowledge resources to achieve your learning goal
8th week: Working at Level 4
Day 1: Apply appropriate learning strategies
Day 2: Emotional Intelligence
Day 3: Empathy
Day 4: Finding your Ikigai
Day 5: Evaluate the outcomes of your learning
9th week: Beginning Level 5
Day 1: Developing Foresight
Day 2: Identify self-learning needs
Day 3: Set self-learning goals
Day 4: Effective decision making
Day 5: Research competence
10th week: Working at Level 5
Day 1: Ability to teach others
Day 2: Developing dispositions for success
Day 3: Avoiding Stupidity
Day 4: Ideas: their creation and dissemination
Day 5: Computational Thinking
Running through the 12 weeks, will be an extended Capstone project,somewhat similar to the extended essay in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. This extended project will be settled by mutual agreement with the mentee, during the first week of the program.
To know more about this mentoring program, the fees and enrolment procedure please send a WhatsApp message to Prof MM Pant at :+919810073724
———————————————————
Sharing the full list of dispositions and skills at each level of learner autonomy.
Level 5: (10 skills) Fully autonomous learner with the right dispositions and skills
- Developing foresight
- Identify Self-learning needs
- Set self learning goals
- Effective Decision making
- Research competence
- Ability to teach others
- Developing dispositions for success
- Avoiding stupidity
- Ideas: their creation and dissemination
- Computational Thinking
Level 4: (10 skills) A fully autonomous learner that can function well in limited domains ( cognitive geo-fencing)
- Identify your own learning needs
- Set learning goals to address those needs
- Identify experts and mavens in your domain to follow and get inspiration from
- Curate appropriate resources to achieve your learning goal.
- Process the knowledge resources to achieve your learning goal
- Apply appropriate learning strategies
- Emotional Intelligence
- Empathy
- Finding your Ikigai
- Evaluate the outcomes of your learning
Level 3: (10 skills) The Autonomous learning enabling system requests to be superseded by the human educator ( an AI fluent SmartEducator)
- Cognitive Flexibility
- Negotiation Skills
- Complex problem solving
- First principles
- Social Learning/ Peer Learning
- Multitasking
- Information Management
- Team orientation
- Attention to detail
- Digital presence and communication
Level 2: ( 10 skills) An autonomous learning system that supports the learner but can be superseded by the human educator ( an AI fluent SmartEducator)
- Using mind maps
- Learning agility: learning, unlearning and re-learning
- Ultralearning
- Google search skills
- Using AI apps for better learning: text to speech, speech to text, machine translation
- Learning from YouTube
- Using an app to get the text of an audio or video narration
- Grit : determination to overcome one’s barriers to learning
- Open mindedness
- Knowing your element
Level 1: (10 skills) Some inclination towards self-learning and core abilities of self-learning
- Creative thinking
- Critical thinking
- Fact checking
- Effective learning techniques
- Time Management
- Avoiding/ overcoming procrastination
- Learning from WhatsApp
- Learning from other mobile Apps
- Learning from MOOCs
- Enhancing the span of attention (focus)
Level 0: No self-learning disposition or ability.
The 50 listed above can be acquired by joining a self-learning for future readiness program given at : https://mmpant.com/mfr/
The fee for this WhatsApp delivered mentoring program is Rs 10,000/- and can be easily remitted by PayTM to +919810073724
For those who would rather pay into a Bank account, the relevant information is :
Madan Mohan Pant
HDFC Bank, Unitech Cyber Park, Sector 39, Gurgaon
A/c 26451000000301
HDFC0002645
(The account number is 26451 followed by six zeroes followed by 301)
For any further queries contact Professor MM Pant through Whatsapp at+919810073724