Help Your Student Learn to Love Learning

February 14, 2024 by Valerie Kirk

6 min to read

Help Your Student Learn to Love Learning

While we often help our students think about the love they feel for others, it’s also a great time to explore with them how love impacts other areas of their lives, including learning.

There are many benefits of having a love of learning and an eagerness to learn that will help them throughout school – and throughout their lives.

Benefits of Loving to Learn

Students who learn to love learning develop a passion for understanding how things work. They maintain the natural curiosity we are all born with, and they like to explore, analyze, and ask questions. Developing a love of learning extends beyond a single subject, and instead turns every experience into an opportunity to learn something new.

During school, a love of learning helps them find success on their academic journeys. They embrace learning and enjoy trying new subjects. They also step up to the challenge of working through subjects that they may find difficult. They don’t shy away from seeking help from teachers to expand their knowledge.

Other reasons to encourage a love of learning include:

Resiliency

Students that love to learn overcome obstacles by problem-solving solutions. Not succeeding doesn’t stop them; it drives them to understand what they may have missed and inspires them to find a solution to achieve success. These are the hallmarks of resiliency. Being resilient will empower them to face the challenges they may experience after they leave school.

Change Management

Parents who teach children to love learning have students who are brave in the face of change. Unforeseen challenges or sudden changes, which happen throughout life, don’t limit people who have a love of learning; challenges are seen as opportunities to grow and learn something new.

Resourcefulness

People who love to learn like to solve problems. They are resourceful and explore different solutions to reach their goals. They tend to think outside of the box. They often have the key soft skills that employers are looking for, including innovation, critical thinking, and adaptability.

Lifelong learning

People who have a love of learning are lifelong learners. Older adults who learn with love are open to trying and learning new things as they reach retirement age. That could include taking enrichment classes at local junior colleges or traveling abroad, which can lead to a more active and fulfilling life in retirement.

A group of students, who are learning to love learning, doing a STEM activity with their Learning Coach.

Teach to Love Learning: Five Tips for Learning Coaches

Parents, Learning Coaches, and other trusted adults play a critical role in helping students develop a love of learning. Here are five tips to help you build and nurture a love of learning for your student.

1. Read with your student.

Having a love of reading goes hand-in-hand with a love of learning because books and resource materials are a primary way for students to learn new things.

Developing a love of reading starts at infancy when parents read to them. Hearing an adult read aloud throughout early childhood helps kids learn the language, broadens their vocabulary, helps them understand grammar and sentence structure, and ultimately leads to them becoming better writers and communicators.

Diverse stories help kids learn about the world around them – and often makes them curious to learn more. Reading together is also a great bonding opportunity for parents to connect with their child.

As a parent and/or Learning Coach, stock home bookshelves with a wide range of books and make frequent trips to the library. Let kids pick out the books they want to read, which will make them more likely to read them on their own.

It’s also important to model the behavior you would like to see in your own kids, as kids who see their caregivers reading for pleasure are more likely to pick up a book to read when they have free time.

2. Ask questions.

Asking students questions daily about what they see, what they are experiencing, or what they are learning in school helps them formulate answers and think more critically about their own experiences. If they don’t know the answers, they can be inspired to learn them by doing research, asking their own questions, or connecting with their teacher.

For example, when the leaves start to change in the fall, you could ask your child why the leaves are changing colors. Ask them why they can see some trees that have leaves that change colors while others don’t. Also ask for their opinions. Developing opinions requires critical thinking and, in many cases, research.

There are opportunities throughout the day to ask children questions about what is happening around them and what they think. Seize those opportunities when you can because they empower kids to think on their own and develop a love of learning.

3. Give them choices.

Kids crave autonomy. While there are subjects they are required to learn, giving them choices about when and how they tackle those subjects gives them control over their learning journey, and helps make school more enjoyable. If they have a choice to pick their own electives, let them choose what subjects to take. Students who are given choices about their learning tend to be more engaged, which helps them build a love of learning.

The flexibility of online school encourages a love of learning because students often have more control over their day-to-day schedule. Online school also offers students the choice to extend learning on subjects they are curious about, further feeding their eagerness of learning.

4. Make learning fun.

Kids, especially pre-school and elementary-aged students, learn through play – and play is fun! When learning is fun, students are more engaged, and they are more likely to retain knowledge.

Connection Academy’s Learning Coach Central and Resource Hub includes several hands-on learning activities that are fun for students of different ages, such as science experiments or virtual field trips for experiential learning. When you make learning fun, your student will grow to love learning and love school.

5. Build relationships with teachers.

Other than parents, caregivers, and Learning Coaches, teachers have the most influence over a child’s learning experience. Ask any adult, and they can tell you about a teacher that positively influenced them and made the learning interesting and fun.

It’s critical for Learning Coaches and teachers to work together as a team to create a nurturing learning environment where the student feels safe and supported and can learn with love. Students should feel empowered to ask questions and shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help. When they have a positive experience in school, their love of learning will grow.

Encourage your student to connect with their teachers and take advantage of teacher office hours to get any extra help they need. They can also ask their teacher for additional lessons on subjects that interest them to further foster their love of learning.

Support for Learning Coaches

Visit Learning Coach Central for more information, tips, and advice on helping your student have a positive experience in online school that will help them develop a lifelong love of learning.