• Falling in love with learning

Carl Morris, Principal of Carfax College and Head of Learning for the Carfax Education group explores how to encourage children to fall in love with learning by sparking their curiosity and letting them explore their passions

Carfax answers the big question – How to keep kids motivated in learning

Children love to learn; they may not always love education, but they are all natural learners. Babies learn at an incredible pace; from the day they are born they are learning new skills. For example, it takes children only a couple of years to begin comfortably communicating in their native language, which is mind blowing to those of us who have spent countless hours on duolingo attempting to pick up a new language.

What is even more remarkable is the fact that no-one “teaches” them to do it. They develop these essential skills because they have a natural capacity for it, and they love learning new things. They listen to their parents, encouraged by their smiles, copying them and others around them. Most importantly children are all born with the confidence to take risks, to make mistakes and learn from them. So, the big question for parents is - how do we encourage this love of learning throughout a child’s education?

The key is to light the spark of curiosity, and from there children require very little further assistance. All too often certain subjects are valued over others, but education needs to feed students’ passions. If you really want to engage students, you need to explore their interests. What is it that excites them? How do they want to make a difference in the world? And what do they want to know more about?

Students should all dream big and be inspired to change the world – because they can! You may think it’s too early for your child to start their own research, but children have come up with the most amazing solutions to complex problems, from how to clean the world’s oceans, to the early detection of pancreatic cancer.

At Carfax we want children to fall in love with learning, so we encourage our students with hands on learning projects; studying the life cycle by hatching chicks; learning about cells in Biology by baking cakes in the shape of a nucleus and mitochondria, and by exploring the fundamentals of computer programming by building their own robots. These are experiences children will never forget.

We find a great way to motivate students of all ages is to get them to write letters to experts in fields that interest them. They can ask questions or discuss their own theories, and who knows they might just get a response that stays with them forever.

For students ready to take their education into their own hands, there are literally millions of amazing online courses available. From taking virtual tours of museums like the Smithsonian or British Museum to exploring the universe with Nasa’s Kids’ club, there is something to pique every young learner’s interest.

We are all hard-wired to learn, and all naturally curious. By exploring the areas that interest students and giving them the tools and resources to find their own solutions to complex problems we can ignite the spark of curiosity and nurture a lifelong love of learning.

As the Principal of Carfax College Oxford, & Head of Carfax Private Tutors Carl Morris MChem (Oxon) graduated from the University of Oxford with a Master’s degree in Chemistry and went on to become an ACA qualified Chartered Accountant. Having worked in education for the majority of his professional life, Carl has a wealth of academic experience and is an enthusiastic about sharing his love of Science and Maths.

For more information, visit carfax-education.com