Summit – Self Directed
Learning
The Learning Cycle
The Habits Needed to Succeed
Why do successful people succeed?
• Research shows that there are behavior patterns
that successful people share.
1. They are life-long, self-directed learners.
2. This kind of learning is a process.
3. They support themselves through this process
with successful habits.
YOU!
Self-directed Learning Habits
• Challenge Seeking: Self-directed learners are always looking for challenges. They know that
they will not grow unless they are pushing themselves to try something they don’t feel
completely comfortable with.
• Persistence: Self-directed learners are persistent even when a task is not completely engaging
or interesting. They understand that deliberate practice leads to quicker processing and frees
up mental space to solve more difficult problems and think through more interesting ideas.
• Strategy Shifting: Not all strategies will work for every problem. Self-directed learners are
not just persistent but also realize when they are heading towards a dead end or getting
frustrated and when it is time to shift strategies even if it means starting the problem from
scratch.
• Appropriate Help Seeking: Self-directed learners don’t just feel comfortable asking for help
from peers and teachers, they also do it in a way that will help sustain their learning. Selfdirected learners are not satisfied with the answer or the next step in the process but want to
know why their current strategy isn’t working and why other strategies might work better.
• Response to Setbacks: Self-directed learners fail as often, and usually more often, than
anyone else. They don’t get discouraged by these failures but realize that these failures are
opportunities to learn and shift strategies if necessary.
Challenge Seeking
• Self-directed learners are always looking for challenges.
• They know that they will not grow unless they are pushing
themselves to try something they don’t feel completely
comfortable with.
Persistence
• Self-directed learners are persistent even when a task is not
completely engaging or interesting.
• They understand that deliberate practice leads to quicker
processing and frees up mental space to solve more difficult
problems and think through more interesting ideas.
Strategy Shifting
• Not all strategies will work for every problem.
• Self-directed learners are not just persistent but also realize when
they are heading towards a dead end or getting frustrated and
when it is time to shift strategies even if it means starting the
problem from scratch.
Appropriate Help Seeking
• Self-directed learners don’t just feel comfortable asking for help
from peers and teachers, they also do it in a way that will help
sustain their learning.
• Self-directed learners are not satisfied with the answer or the
next step in the process, but want to know:
• why their current strategy isn’t working
• and why other strategies might work better.
Positive Response to Setbacks
• Self-directed learners fail as often, and usually more often, than
anyone else.
• They don’t get discouraged by these failures but realize that these
failures are opportunities to learn and shift strategies if necessary.
Movie: Remember the Titans
• In the movie, the team members need to learn many new things in
order to become a successful team.
• Watch for examples of each of the Habits for Success.
• Make notes of examples to discuss, next week.