What happens when you put a group of bright, young individuals from across the continent together in a room and present them with an innovative new way of learning?
In true ALU fashion, known as African Leadership College (ALC) in Mauritius, the students did just what ALU’s learning model predicts – they learned from each other. As part of the Student Orientation happening this week for the second cohort of the inaugural class, students from the October cohort who had experienced the learning model for a trimester sat on a panel and answered any questions their peers had on the way learning is done at ALC. Ukeme Jonah from Nigeria and Flora Nyoro, Eric Maingi and Linda Onyango, all from Kenya, were the four student panelists.
Before a Q&A session, students were asked to to identify something they are good at and how they became that way. It was no surprise that not a single success story was a result of repeated classroom lectures.
The ALU Learning Model consists of four parts: Discovery, Individual (Self-paced learning), Peer to Peer Learning and Facilitated Group learning – all designed to build on how students learn.
It starts with you. Intriguing. Objective-oriented. Adventurous. Fun. Interactive. Relevant. Passion.
Those are just a few of the many words and phrases our students used to describe what they imagine learning at ALC is like.
The biggest questions revolved around time and energy management, working with peers and self-discipline for self learning. All the panelists assured them of one thing: uncovering how to approach those problems is part of the learning model.
“I was aware of the defects of the traditional learning model. I knew what I wanted to experience,” said Nyoro when asked about the difficulty transitioning from a traditional learning model to the ALU learning model.
At ALC, everything is a learning experience geared towards our five learning beliefs: Active, Personal, Social, Integrated and Holistic.
In the words of our very own panelist, Ukeme Jonah, “Don’t freak out, you’ll be fine.”
