How to own your own learning

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Owning your own learning is a key driver to future career success, empowering you to increase your ambitions, engagement, and self-direction, offering you a sense of autonomy, and responsibility in your educational choices and actions.

Ultimately, all learners have a fundamental need to feel autonomy in what they do. When students are autonomous, they have greater motivation to learn and achieve a stronger academic performance.

According to Educational expert Kathleen McClaskey, “Personalized learning is about helping each learner to identify and develop the skills they need to support and enhance their own learning, so that agency and advocacy can be realized.”

The empowerment that learners achieve through taking ownership of their learning can be the first step on the path to building a future career in leadership. By adopting self-regulating methods of learning, you can direct not only your own learning journey, but your future career path.

Adadie Kashumba, a Software Developer at HeHe, discovered the Andela Technical Leadership Program (ATLP) before he’d even started his career in software development.

With ambition and a desire to learn, he enrolled on the nine-month course, which is designed specifically for Rwandan technologists.

“Before joining the program I wasn’t working in the software engineering world, so the program opened the doors for me to the development world and it didn’t just open small doors, where I would have to squeeze myself in, it opened up big gates with lots of opportunities I could choose from.”

Receiving support from the whole team, Adadie felt empowered to focus on the skills that were most important to him and his career needs with a method known affectionately within his team as YOYOL – You Own Your Own Learning.

“Learning is personalized, so I got the chance to explore. The good thing is that during the program we weren’t taught a skill, we were rather given the chance to teach ourselves the skills we needed.

“We called it the YOYOL – You Own Your Own Learning! It helped us to really develop even after the program, it kept on pushing us. And as you know, once you teach a man to fish, you have fed him for an entire lifetime. So that is what the program basically did for me. It taught me to take ownership of my own learning, so I can continue to build skills throughout my career.”

As a new learner, Adadie lacked confidence prior to joining the ATLP. But very quickly, he felt ready to tackle new challenges.

“The program helped me build my confidence because a lot of the challenges we faced during the program, and the things we had to learn, it was my first time seeing them, and I used to look and these things and think ‘it would take me years to acquire these skills on my own.’ But with the ATLP, we managed to learn these skills in a short period of time, owning our learning as we went through the course. It built my confidence to know that I can do anything, no matter how hard it is.”

When it comes to owning your own learning, it’s still important to receive support in order for you to develop.

Adadie was not only impressed by the guidance he received from his team, he was surprised at the extent of the support available, as a result of Andela’s partnership with the Rwanda Ministry of ICT and Innovation.

“Before I joined the program I actually thought at some point I would have to pay for the skills we were learning. But I didn’t! And later on they surprised me by even offering us internet stipend and work tools to use.

“This really helped us to increase our performance in the program. They were really supportive.”

Adadie’s career has accelerated since graduation, landing a role at HeHe as a Software Developer. And he credits both the course, and his hunger for knowledge, for helping him to grow his career.

“I would recommend the ATLP to anyone, because there is a lot the program is offering, and it is essential to the development world.

“You will find these skill sets are rare and hard to find in other places. Join the program with a hunger for knowledge. The program has a lot to offer, and the skills you will acquire will depend on your hunger for learning, and the responsibility you take for gaining skills.”

Are you a Rwanda-based tech expert looking to grow your career?

Find out more about the Andela Technical Leadership Program

Join Andela Technical Leadership Program, cohort 28 – applications close December 8, 2022!


Want to be at the forefront of the future of tech?

Then join the Andela Technical Leadership Program!

Join the ATLP


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