More than 80% of teachers and 65% of school administrators say students have become less independent in recent years, according to an EdWeek study released earlier this year.
I have been an educator for 10 years now, and I have seen public school students slowly but surely decline in their social and interpersonal skills as well as their ability to learn independently and effectively employ critical thinking skills, one teacher said, anonymously, in response to an open-ended survey question.
The question of where to assign blame for this state of affairs is a complicated question. So is the question of how to resolve it. However, it seems clear that students exposed to educational programs that incentivize (or require) self-directed, independent learning are better positioned to succeed in an ever more competitive global economy.
More educators are waking up to this reality. At the same time, K-12 institutions like Oregons Delphian School have been independent learning strongholds for years. Heres why the've come to the conclusion that their approach gives their pupils a better chance to excel after graduation.
It May Improve Students' Quality of Work
Self-directed learning may improve students' work product, according to some recent academic studies.
Two studies suggested that students who are independent learners work to higher standards, are more motivated and have higher self-esteem than other children, education expert Barbara Meyer notes in a recent literature review.
It Boosts Students Confidence and Personal Independence
Self-directed learning may also boost students self-esteem, as Meyer notes. Other educators have found this too, including Delphian School itself.
The Delphian model ensures students develop the confidence and knowledge to tackle the most challenging subjects independently as it fosters integrity, leadership, and true enthusiasm for learning in each student, the school says.
In time, students who learn independently may become more independent in other areas of their personal and eventually professional lives. They develop, in other words, those core qualities: integrity, leadership and lifelong curiosity, that many adult high performers share.
It Fosters Cross-Functional Learning
A comprehensive curriculum built around self-directed learning is by definition cross-disciplinary. It requires students to gather information from disparate sources, then synthesize it into a coherent work product.
This is one reason why the Brookings Institution found that college graduates who earned liberal arts degrees most of which require cross-functional capabilities earned nearly twice as much, on average, as high school-only graduates.
It Demands A Mix of Individual and Collaborative Work
Independent learning methods would seem to put individual effort ahead of collaborative, project-based learning, but that's not always true. Delphian and other schools that embrace independent learning design their pedagogy around age-appropriate collaboration, fostering social and intellectual development in tandem.
Compared with more rote, memorization-based approaches, collaborative education may develop more well-rounded graduates capable of working more effectively on their own, in small groups and in larger units as well.
It Supports Student Relationships Based on Mutual Respect
Students who pursue independent learning programs while collaborating freely with their peers are more likely to develop relationships based on mutual respect, rather than competition. This, in turn, may improve outcomes for all students, experts say.
Research suggests that increased respect for students is associated with outcomes ranging from equitable achievement to resilience to engagement, says Dr. Whitney Hegseth, a scholar of early childhood education.
It Can Reinforce Students' Strengths and Address Their Weaknesses
Independent learning programs allow students, and the educators and support professionals they work alongside, to spend more time working on weaknesses or areas for improvement. Independent learning also gives students more freedom to reinforce their own strengths, putting them in a position to pass on their skills to peers who may need more help in those areas. This is another way in which self-directed learning can lift all boats when adults give children some space to pursue their educational goals.
Chart Your Own Course, Guided by the Wisdom of Others
Independent learning is not a cure-all for the shortcomings of the American education system. No instruction model is perfect; school administrators and educators have limited control over what happens beyond the school grounds.
However, the case for self-directed learning grows more persuasive by the year. The achievements of graduates from institutions like Delphian School speak for themselves, and the U.S. education system, along with its patrons and participants, have taken notice.
In the future, a world in which even the youngest students are invited and encouraged to pursue their own learning objectives may come to be seen as the norm, rather than the exception. A world in which students forge their own path ahead, illuminated by the collective wisdom of those who came before.
