Why Self-Paced Learning is Good For Students

Introduction

Self-paced learning is one of the biggest benefits of online schooling. Yet, we noticed that parents sometimes struggle to understand what that actually means.

Take a look at your child, and you can tell what their favorite food is, what kind of clothing they like, do they enjoy group activities, or they are more quiet and introverted. It doesn’t matter if they are five, 12, or 18, children have certain habits and needs which also apply to how they study. Each student is an individual for themselves and has a unique style of learning. Yet, traditional schooling does not allow them to follow that unique style but rather forces them to mold into one style imposed by the school. 

Online schooling brought a small revolution and introduced self-paced learning. With this style, a student learns at their own tempo. There are no timetables that limit or oblige them. This type of learning allows a child to move through the program at their speed. They can go quicker through material that is easy for understanding, or if they cope with something, they can spend as much time as they need to master it. 

Let’s say, for example, that your child is very good at math and they can learn the lesson and do daily assignments in half an hour or 45 minutes. However, they are struggling a bit with History and Geography. Self-paced learning enables them to spend more time on lessons and subjects that are harder to handle, without worrying that they are falling behind as it would be in a traditional school. At the same time, if they finalize school assignments earlier, they get more free time. 

Why is Self-Paced Learning Important?

Aside from improving memory performance and increasing knowledge retention, self-paced learning also teaches students to deal with commitments. By allowing them to create individual plans for studying and learning at their own tempo, Education World Wide created a supportive schooling environment. In such a setting, children do not feel the pressure to learn the lessons in a particular time frame but master it in general. The time span in which they achieve it is not that relevant. 

In other words, this type of learning gives everyone equal opportunities. Therefore, if a student is a fast learner, they can finalize school assignments quicker and enjoy extra free time. On the other hand, if a student struggles with some material, they can take as much time as they need to master it. By doing that, they won’t feel embarrassed because they are falling behind from the rest of the class. Because they do not learn in a group, they learn individually. 

Once we free students from timetables and time frames in which they have to obtain knowledge, they do not feel the pressure anymore. Children learn at their own time and their own tempo. They learn faster, and with understanding, which means that they acquire knowledge and remember it easier. Students develop a habit of learning every day. By building these habits and developing personal studying affinities, students have control over the process of learning. 

Benefits of Studying at Own Pace 

Let’s summarize the advantages of self-paced learning: 

• Increases the memory performance
• Improves the retention of the knowledge 
• Boosts student’s self-confidence 
• It takes the pressure out of studying 
• Enables a student to create an individual learning plan 
• Allows student to develop a personal learning style 
• A student develops critical thinking and problem-solving mindset
• Positively affects the overall student’s performance

Everything mentioned above sounds fantastic, but it requires a certain discipline from the student’s side. With self-paced learning, students need to manage their time better and to have initiative. Since they decide when they learn and for how long, they have to be self-motivated and eager to do it. If a student is lazy or takes this freedom for granted, they will most likely fall into procrastination, leading to overdue assignments. 

At Education World Wide, we never leave things to chance, which is why teachers at our online school remind students that they have to learn and if they have some overdue assigns. Even if a student falls behind a lot, our teachers will develop a learning plan to help them get back on track. 

Conclusion 

Self-paced learning is a form of freedom. A student is free to decide when they will learn, for how long, and even what they want to learn at a particular moment. Allowing a student to learn at a self-pace is more fruitful than forcing them to adapt to some general tempo. This type of learning has multiple benefits for a student and helps them develop habits and skills useful later in life.