5 Ws and How

  • Who/Why

    For adults, leaders, parents (including grand parents) who enjoy growing their perspectives and skill, to increase their engagement, communication, or connection with their team or children, to increase independent learning/ school grades and productivity.

  • What

    Self-study individual and group mentoring sessions to support growing self/team leadership skills and critical thinking skills, which grows independent learning.

  • Where

    Mostly online/Zoom, and in-person at select/ requested locations.

  • When

    Weekday evenings and weekends US central time. Depending on requests, other times may be available.

  • How

    Mentoring sessions (see details below): 1.) Free audio-only Zoom group sessions. 2.) Smaller video Zoom group sessions. 3.) One-on-one video Zoom or in-person sessions.

Goals of iLearners Mentoring

  • iLearners mentoring is similar to a book club, but focus is on self/team leadership and critical thinking topics/ concepts rather than specific books. Of course, reading related books, audio books, your own research/ learning, etc. is a highly encouraged/ necessary part of the self-study.

  • Increase our understanding of the learning processes and related vocabulary/ communications skills (i.e. self/ team leadership and critical thinking skills), so we can learn more effectively on our own and help our teams/ family do the same.

  • We support leading the leaders; i.e. upskill ourselves to upskill our team.

  • Focus is on long term sustainable skills and increasing self directed learning. It's one thing to learn new skills, and it's another thing to learn how to sustain the skills/ understandings for long term results and minimize regression/ forgetting. This is one of the main reasons iLearners offers the membership option, to stay connected in practicing leadership and critical thinking vocabulary to support sustain skills for the long run.

  • iLearners mentees/ students identify as effective communicators and independent learners, with focus on win-win results; which is a result of big picture perspectives, general understanding of human nature, leadership vocabulary, and communication mechanisms.

Types of Mentoring Offered

iLearners offers the following mentoring options to grow self/team leadership and critical thinking skills.

  • Self-Study

    $1/Group Session

    Create a free membership and have access to updates and weekly topics/ group sessions. See details/link below. Learn through self-study/ research of leadership and critical thinking related topics each week (i.e. homework, questions, vocabulary, etc.).

  • One-on-one or Custom Group Mentoring

    $80/hour

    See details/link below. Individualized and faster conversational mentoring.

  • Free Group Mentoring

    Free/Donation

    We have limited free group mentoring spots available. If possible, individuals can donate to iLearners. To apply, please email us at [email protected], let us know that you're interested in the free group mentoring, what you'd like to learn and your goals.

Self-Study Group Sessions $1/Session

iLearners Self-Study Membership is similar to a book club, but focus is on self/team leadership and critical thinking topics/ concepts rather than specific books. Of course, reading related books, audio books, your own research/ learning, etc. is a necessary part of the self-study. iLearners Self-Study Membership provides one weekly topic to research (i.e. homework, question, vocabulary, etc.) related to self/team leadership skills and critical thinking skills. The goal is to increase our understanding of the learning processes and related vocabulary/communications skills, so we can learn more effectively on our own and help our team/family do the same.

As a free bonus, depending on questions submitted, more than one topic to research may be provided each week. Another free bonus, on occasion iLearners members have access to online group mentoring sessions covering self/team leadership skills and critical thinking topics, and covering questions submitted. Sessions are in evenings and weekends (US Central Standard Time), and the schedule to sign up for sessions is available within the membership account. The online sessions are only offered live, past sessions not available. Members will also have access to schedule one-on-one or custom group sessions at a reduced price. Click on the link below to sign up for your iLearners membership account, which has a 30 days money back guarantee if you're not satisfied and can cancel anytime.

Quick Link to Schedule Mentoring Sessions

For customers who need a quick link to schedule one-on-one or custom group sessions without a membership, click on the following link.

Contact Us, Free Consultation

Feel free to contact us at [email protected] or call us at (708) 312-2300 for questions/ more information. Or click on the link below to schedule a free 30 minutes consultation/ overview for one-on-one or custom group mentoring; which can be done using an audio/ video Zoom link or over a phone call.

To Support/Donate

iLearners/ Independent Learners LLC has been working in our communities for years at no cost and supporting non-profit organizations. Wether we've worked with you or not, and if you'd like to support our mission, your contributions support growing Leadership and Critical Thinking skills in our communities, teams, and families! Please note that donations are not tax deductible.

Overview: iLearners Encourages Practicing Key Skills as Part of Our Daily Routines

Learning is in the questions. iLearners provides topics, perspectives, opinions, and questions for adults to explore to support development of independent learning, study skills, internal motivation skills, job interviewing skills, collaboration, career growth, general business skills, and related vocabulary and communication skills; centered around practicing self/team leadership skills and multi-perspective critical thinking skills. See details further below.

Mentoring Approach

iLearners provides individual and group mentoring to support self/team leadership skills development and critical thinking skills practice, led by both the mentee and mentor.

  • iLearners mentoring is for adults over age 18; see below for details.

  • iLearners focuses on general leadership skills, understanding learning processes, and related vocabulary/communications skills development.

  • For parents, iLearners does not focus on any specific parenting skills, but encourages parents to ask questions, learn from each other, and do their own research to increase their parenting and leadership skills.

  • The information, products, and services provided by iLearners are for informational purposes only for self-study, and not a substitute for professional medical or mental health help.

iLearners Background

iLearners stands for Independent Learners, part of Independent Learners LLC. iLearners goal is to support open minded, compassionate, self-teaching individuals who want to increase their self/team leadership skills and critical thinking skills. We support by providing our experiences, opinions, sharing our insights, ideas, strategies, tips, and perspectives. Inputs provided by iLearners are based off of our team's experiences, tutoring students from elementary grades to college, job interview preparation coaching, volunteer work in our communities, being parents, and professional work experience in engineering, mentoring, leading, and building small teams. The information, products, and services provided by iLearners are for informational purposes only for self-study, and not a substitute for professional medical or mental health help.

iLearners Encourages Practicing the Following Skills

iLearners provides topics and questions to research, related to practicing the following self/team leadership skills and critical thinking skills.

  • Socratic Method of Teaching

    Socratic method of teaching, where many times questions are answered with additional questions, multiple perspectives, and doing your own non-bias research encouraging an agile experimenting mindset/ approach. Building on concepts like the following quotes: "Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers" - Josef Albers, and “A problem well stated is half solved” - Charles Kettering.

  • Independent Learning and Study Skills

    Practice developing independent learning, study skills, learning techniques, intrinsic motivation, effective listening, multi-perspective critical thinking, contextualization, asking effective questions, note-taking, reflection, transferable skills, focus, attention, and memory.

  • Learning and Teaching Facilitation Skills

    Encouraging individuals to develop their own learning & teaching facilitation skills and strategies, to grow the joy of self-directed learning in themselves, students, and teams/families. Building a personal culture of agility, accountability, story telling skills, authentic leadership style/branding, rapport building, open minded, experimenting mindset, resourceful, and continuous learning, while being aware of what we may be forgetting or regressing on.

  • Big Picture Perspectives, and Balancing Distractions

    With so much information, distractions, and content available through the internet, it's easy for many of us to lose sight of the big picture, and lose the practice to build our critical thinking abilities and independent thought. iLearners believes writing questions and notes in our own words is one of the best ways to learn something sustainably. These skills also help us work better with the latest technologies, and can supplement working better with other leaders, teachers, tutors, mentors, coaches, etc.

  • Healthy Habits

    It's also equally important to prioritize and track our healthy habits: such as enough sleep, physical exercise, breathing exercises, drinking sufficient water, quite time, and nutrition; as these habits greatly impacts learning and thinking.

  • Learning Framework

    iLearners helps with a learning framework, the language of learning, conversations skills that include teaching & learning. Tracking objectives, results, and wins list.

  • Leading Leaders, Win-Win Leadership Traits

    Readers can be leaders, listening with critical thinking creates better leaders, and writers are even better leaders. Leaders who take notes, ask questions, and write for themselves with accountability are better leaders. Our definition of accountability is: Do what you say, say what you do, and admit when we're wrong with a measurable plan to get better. Sometimes to grow leaders we need to make space for other to practice leading, and support from the background.

  • General Understanding of Human Nature

    If we can understand the general aspects of learning, adapting, growing, and human nature, then we can understand general cause and effect and align our expectations accordingly; and then practice predicting ourselves related to learning, memory, attention, motivation, and self/team leadership. Then we can train ourselves in the aspects we prioritize. In a way we are constantly being trained by the influences around us, so we can learn to influence ourselves in the aspects that we prioritize.

  • Additional Related Skills and Topics

    Additional self/team leadership and critical thinking related skills and topics covered as skills progress. There are two sets of skills we focus on, first set is to grow leadership and critical thinking, and second set is to sustain these skills for long term success and to minimize regression/ forgetting.

iLearners Self/Team Leadership Skills Levels:

Following framework is how iLearners categorizes self/team leadership skills levels to grow ourselves and teams related to academics and career; with compassion and accountability at the center.

  • Level 1:

    Lead self (includes being an independent learner, multi-perspective critical thinking, resourceful, agile, accountable, authentic, measurable continuous learning, tracking what we might be forgetting, etc.).

  • Level 2:

    Lead one other person to be more independent and support them on their path to growing their level 1 skills.

  • Level 3:

    Lead two or more people/team(s), who interact/work/live with each other, to be more independent and support them on their paths to growing their level 1 skills.

  • Level 4:

    Leading/growing other level 2 and 3 leaders with their own authentic style/branding and voice.

Learning Is in the Questions, Learning Is a Process, and Learning Is in the Interactions.

Below are some of our favorite learning and leadership related quotes.

  • “I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” - Socrates

  • “If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.” - Ignacio Estrada

  • "Teaching is listening, learning is talking." - Deborah Meier

  • "Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers." - Josef Albers

  • “A problem well stated is half solved.” - Charles Kettering

  • “Variety is the very spice of life." - William Cowper

  • “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” - Peter Drucker

  • Empowerment: "A teacher is one who makes themself progressively unnecessary." - Thomas Carruthers

  • “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” - Albert Einstein

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