Independence - Skilled support for independent learners

Developing your classroom practice to support learners' independence and motivate them to attempt more on their own

Created byDr Frances Willis

Last updated 3/2025

English

What you'll learn

Understand how independence for learning affects students and teachers
Understand the impact of over-reliance on support for learners
Understand how to develop motivation in learners
Enhance your tool kit for helping learning become more independent

Course content

1 section • 5 lectures • 35m total length

Independence and the Zone of Proximal Development6:04
Explore what Vygotsky's classic theory of learning means for growing independence as a learner. What can children really do independently and are we increasing this for all learners?
Over-reliance on Support7:12
How can you tell when a learner is over-reliant on support and what does it feel like as a teacher and a learner? It can be incredibly challenging to start to withdraw that support, and it can be an emotionally charged situation for children who are used to high-levels of support
Motivating Independence as a Learner4:47
Why is it that little children are so motivated to be independent, but older children have lost this motivation? What can teachers and adults do to increase children's motivation to be an independent learner, and get these children back on track?
Reducing Reliance on Support9:18
In Lecture 4 we explore four different approaches and strategies to increase children's motivation. Building inter-dependence through effective self-evaluation allows children to be more open to working on their own. Then we look at the prompting hierarchy, back chaining and emotional scaffolding.
Growing Independence - Lots of ideas for your classroom8:03
Want loads of ways to promote more independence in your classroom? Here they are! Some are quick wins and others small interventions. What are you going to try in your classroom?

Requirements

No experience requires - if you want the children and young people you work with to be more independent in the classroom or nursery, then this course is for you!

Description

Hey! Busy Teachers!

Wouldn't it make a massive difference to you if the children in your class could work more independently? It would make a massive difference to them to! Not just in your class but as a valuable life skills.

In this course Educational Psychologist, Dr Frances Willis, will explore why independence skills are important for learners and why so many struggle with this. Through considering how it looks and feels to be over-reliant on support, you will understand what is really needed to develop more independent children in your classrooms - no matter their age! By building motivation for independence and using one of the many techniques in the tool box, you can develop your learners into more confident, students who are willing to try more on their own.

In this course, we will cover:

How to Zone of Proximal Development relates to independence learning skills
The huge gap between aspiration and reality when we offer too much support
How to tell when a student is over-reliant on support
What is feels like as a teacher and a learner
The consequences of over-reliance
Why motivation is key to increasing independence
How to increate motivation so that children want to be more independent
Four fantastic approaches for reducing reliance on support
A HUGE tool box, filled with easy-to-implement ideas for increasing learner's independence skills

Who this course is for:

Teaching who want their learners to become more independent in the classroom
Educators working with children and young people (of all ages) who have special educational needs
SENCos, Teaching Assistants and Classroom Assistants