Reflections on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Leader Program
by Itır Beğen
Last month on October 12th I attended The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Leader Program, known as Uluslararası Gençlik Ödülü Türkiye. The program offers participants a structured path for personal growth, teamwork, and community engagement. In particular, it prepares participants to mentor and coach students as they work through stages that emphasize meaningful goal-setting and self-discovery. I thought that this program would help me with guiding our SL students to better self-regulation.
Although I have only just started implementing some of the techniques I learned, I have found that these strategies promote a greater sense of student ownership and accountability. For example, students are more mindful of their goals and begin evaluating their progress independently. Specifically, one of my students recently reflected on how breaking a long-term goal as into smaller milestones has helped her stay motivated and focused. This approach was particularly effective for a student aiming to improve her writing skills. Instead of overwhelming herself with the broad goal of "writing better LP tasks," she sets smaller, achievable milestones:
1. Mastering how to write strong topic sentences in one week.
2. Focusing on using transition words effectively the next week.
3. Practicing how to structure paragraphs logically in the following weeks.
By tackling these smaller tasks one at a time, the student felt a sense of accomplishment at every step and gradually built the skills needed to write a full LP task confidently. This not only improved their writing but also boosted their self-confidence and independence in learning. I am confident that, over time, these tools will support them in becoming more autonomous learners while fostering resilience and adaptability.
If you would like more details about the program, have a look at https://intaward.org/
