ATP mentor training/Training to be an autodidact

Training to be an autodidact
Being an autodidact is not a yes-or-no decision. Very few people decide to become airplane pilots or neurosurgeons and accomplish the goal solely as autodidacts. A protégé doesn't have to achieve perfect self motivation and independence but as a mentor you can try to understand the degree of self motivation your protégé possesses and help him to develop good learning habits in fields of knowledge where your protégé can be expected to benefit from your assistance but can at the same time accomplish learning goals as independent achievements.

Somebody who completes an assignment with very limited goals and because it is expected is not necessarily an autodidact. Your protégé can best train to be an autodidact if the motivation to learn is his very own motivation and not an assignment that must be completed, therefore one of the foremost goals for the mentor is to understand the interests and motivations of the protégé.

A mentor can try to direct the protégé to new spheres of knowledge but the decision whether something is sufficiently interesting or not must be made by the protégé, the mentor can only try to present a sphere of knowledge as exciting and interesting.