One of the questions that arises in discussions of self-directed learning is how such an approach might be used with younger students who may benefit from guidance. Teachers in traditional schools do provide direction, but efforts to foster self-directed learning in such schools have not taken hold as major features and as a result students tend not to develop habits of independent learning despite the often stated intention of schools to develop “life-long learners.”
The emergence of micro-schools and micro-school networks may hold at least one answer to this dilemma. As Kerry McDonald reports, the micro school model in which entrepreneurs and parents create intimate learning spaces in local organizations for students of mixed ages under the guidance of a teacher is growing in Arizona. McDonald highlights the Prenda micro-school network that currently offers self-directed learning experiences in the core academic subjects at 80 locations serving 550 students. An integrated software platform provides a foundation for scaling this model.
As we consider how the education sector might be transformed in light of changes in the availability of networked learning resources, the micro-schools movement is worth watching. It has the potential to offer less expensive, more equitably distributed learning experiences that are more supportive of student self-direction.
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