Abstract:

When I started teaching Math and Physics in high-school 2 years ago, I did my job like most teachers do. I prepared lessons at home, delivered lectures, assigned homework problems and kept this process under tension through frequent testing and grading. It worked relatively well, but I was not yet satisfied, because I felt that a majority of my students were bored and disengaged.

After a year of intense research, frequent group reflection with my students and continuous prototyping of various learning approaches, the class is now living a radically different experience. Lessons and homework are optional; explanations are only offered on-demand, mostly through videos; exams and grades fully disappeared, except for the ones imposed by the system.

My vision on how to effectively generate engagement within students has transformed. I used to trust our grading incentive system to keep the students under positive tension to achieve excellence. I now trust the students themselves on fully assuming responsibility for their learning and their life. More importantly, beyond becoming a different teacher, I feel like having grown as a learner; living this experience with my students helped me to become a more humble and sincere person.
This book aims at fueling a debate on a simple question which I encourage the education community to think about. Students, parents, educators, administrators: can we and should we trust young people with being responsible for their own education and life path?

Keywords:

Self-directed learning, trust.