free homework answers app

free homework answers app

The Importance of Independent Learning

1. The Drawbacks of Relying on Homework Answers Apps

Using technology and apps that offer answers to homework questions has many obvious advantages. With these simple and entirely too easy to find and copy and paste, it’s amazing how many students overlook the availability of these programs and continue to ask other students. Unfortunately, not only is time wasted when using these sites, but many students lose the answers to tests because they rarely are able to fully understand what is being taught, a factor that becomes increasingly important in regards to higher level and more cumulative material. If a student tries to learn the material by entering the problem into a search engine, it is very likely that the student will come across a forum post with the exact question from the homework that has already been answered. With even understanding how to find the answers himself on homework problems further decreases when the student receives a poor test grade, he may attribute it to being careless and lose further confidence, not realizing that his method of learning the material had been faulty from the beginning. This could have been prevented had the student actually used a real learning process to understand the material, possibly seeking help from a teacher or tutor.

2. Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills through Independent Learning

In the article ‘The nature of independent learning’, Candy (1991) states that students are ‘active creators of their own knowledge’. Critical thinking is an essential tool in this construction of knowledge. It is through the evaluation of information, and the application of newly attained knowledge, that a student identifies what information is valuable to them. Critical thinking is a higher order of thinking, and is not easily demonstrated to students through traditional lecture style teaching. Independent learning however, provides the ideal environment in which to develop critical thinking. Problem solving, one method of critical thinking, is an exercise in judgement. It is an attempt to select a solution for a specific question from several potential solutions. Locke (1989a) identified 2 types of problems relevant to critical thinking. Convergent problems, in which there is a single solution, and the solution can be evaluated by its correctness. A second type of critical thinking, divergent thinking, is often used to generate ideas. It is a way of looking at things from different perspectives, and provokes an open-ended search for many possible solutions. It can be said that solving divergent problems is, in fact, creating them. A student who is effective in his attempt to solve divergent problems shows that he is able to reinterpret information and can consider newly attained knowledge in more than one way. Bell (1991) states that ‘there is general agreement that one of the best ways to take a complex idea is attempting to teach it to someone else’. In having recognized this, we find that the creation of ‘concept maps’ could be an extremely useful tool in attempting to teach someone else, or to learn something more thoroughly for oneself. Divergent problems and concept maps are tools relative to enhancing knowledge, with an end goal of understanding something more deeply. Concise understanding is the essence of critical thinking and learning. The ability to judge when to use certain knowledge is an indication of deep understanding, and the use of resources provided, often by one’s own past work, to learn something systematically, achieves the best possible understanding.

3. Developing Self-discipline and Time Management Abilities

I must confess, independent learning will help in developing discipline and time management abilities, without which, it would be difficult to prioritize and set time aside specifically for learning. Usually when a student says that he/she is ‘revising’ what they actually mean is that they are going through notes while simultaneously chatting on the internet, watching television or listening to music. Revision of this sort is an ineffective way of using time. Independent learning requires a settled environment with minimal disturbances. It involves the setting of goals which can be achieved through short term scheduling and planning. The student can then review the goal, schedule and plan to determine how effectively they led to the accomplishment of the goal and can subsequently, modify them in the future. Self-discipline is having the ability to stick to the plan and schedule without being swayed off course.

4. Cultivating a Deeper Understanding of the Subject Matter

Related to this is the idea of greater synthesis of information. When a topic is understood in all its facets, the learner is able to store information related to that topic much more efficiently. Any new information encountered can be filed into the relevant place in the learner’s mental database, as the learner is aware of how this new information changes pre-existing information and its implications on the topic. This is in contrast to rote learning, where often information is stored as isolated facts, and if the rote learner is unable to see the relevance of this information at the time of learning, it is soon forgotten.

Due to the fact that independent learners have a much greater hands-on role in information acquisition, it stands to reason that, given a similar level of intelligence, the opinions formed by such learners should have a stronger logical basis. Having read and understood a topic for themselves, an independent learner is in a much better position to argue the case for and against a certain position, as they are aware of the underlying assumptions and have seen the implications of such assumptions on the topic. In a debate, an independent learner will have the knowledge required to cause doubt in the mind of a non-independent learner, without having to resort to ad hominem attacks or fallacious arguments. This promotes a civil discourse on the topic in question, which from beginning to end remains focused on the logic and information at hand.

5. Achieving Long-term Academic Success through Independent Learning

There can be a transitional phase for some students, but those who have developed independent learning skills at school will improve on this, and those who are new to this way of learning will have models to work from. The skills learned will be transferable and applicable to all future learning throughout their professional lives. Graduate employers are increasingly seeking employees who can demonstrate a range of transferable skills, and independent learning is an excellent way to acquire these. Studies show that students who have been successful in their independent learning and are self-motivated are more likely to achieve higher grades, finish their course, and progress to more advanced levels of education. {1} The list below looks at more specific benefits and provides a more holistic view of why independent learning is so important.

Independent learning has a long-term academic advantage that will strengthen students’ capacity for a successful career and well-developed quality of life. It facilitates depth of learning, develops good writing and critical thinking skills, and helps students become more active and engaged learners. Independent learning helps students to be more self-directed, take greater control of their own learning, and explore a subject in greater depth. In higher education, students are required to be more self-motivated and self-disciplined, independent learners in comparison to school or college.