Democratic communities are built on foundations of trust and respect. All students can make decisions regarding their own learning. Read a Case Study of one 5 year old and his teacher and mother as they navigate their way through constructivism and emergent learning.
Teaching Self Directed Learning for Healthier Communities
1. How do students
respond when teachers
give up the quest for
externalized classroom
control and, instead,
embrace guidance and
self-reflection?
Alicia Davis
Portland State University
Case Study in Early Childhood Education
MS ed Curriculum and Instruction, Portland State
University, 2017
2. How do we invite students into community?
Respect
Integrity
Valuing all perspectives
3. Questions
What kind of self-directed behaviors are
young children capable of? How do all
students respond in a more positive way
when given the tools of intrinsic versus
extrinsic direction? The salient question of
this research is this, How do students respond
when teachers give up the quest for
externalized classroom control and, instead,
embrace guidance and self-reflection? As
expected, the students will test and re-test
theories of power and control until they have
optimized their internal guides for self-
regulation and intellectual development.
6. Non Violent Communication,
Marshall B. Rosenberg
needs
• Safety
• Peace
• Quiet
• Health
• Frustrated
feelings
• Vulnerable
• Nervous
• Ashamed
• Afraid
• Sad
7. “When I see (hear, notice)
_________, I feel
_______________.
Could you ______________________
so that I can have the __________
I want (need)?”
(from Non-Violent Communication)
8. Processes include:
• Dialog and guidance regarding What Kind of
Person I Want To Be (“What Kind Of School
We Want to Have”)
• Self assessment in “Responsibility Chart”;
• Observation/documentation
9. Strategies include:
constructivism;
emergent learning;
student directed learning;
play-based learning;
project-based curricula;
trusting students;
peer to peer problem
solving;
critical thinking;
curiosity;
RESPONSIBILITY CHART;
OMISSION OF POSITIVE
REINFORCEMENT;
INTEGRATION of
EMOTION WORDS
10. Procedures include:
Omit Positive reinforcement;
Return the onus to the student;
Implement calendar (Responsibility chart);
Refer to Rosenberg’s script;
Introduce (directly and indirectly)“needs and feelings” words
Constant observation and documentation
11. From Extrinsic to Intrinsic Guidance
(Do I look to the outside world for validation of who I am, what I
want to learn, and how I learn it?)
• Relationships built on trust and respect
• Emotional intelligence modeled by teachers with self-respect and respect
for others
• Healthy relationships as the foundation for everything
• Relationships before tasks, behaviors, or academics
• Behaviors are the outward manifestations of (often misguided) internal
thoughts and feelings, perceptions, and misconceptions ( reference:
Positive Discipline)
12. Findings
∞Students of all ages respond when
given the tools to self-direct
∞True learning and community
comes from having self-value and
self-worth
∞Learning to respect yourself AND
others is a foundational step in
learning emotional intelligence
∞Emotional intelligence is not to be
sacrificed for academic
performance or controlled behavior
∞Learning best happens when
students are under reduced stress
and are excited about learning
∞These things can happen in a
student-led, community-centered,
egalitarian environment comprised
of mutual respect and non-violent
communication
13. Limitations
This case study was done with my own child, in our home
This study was not representative of a large group of students
As a case study of one child, the results are not applicable, as of
yet, to a majority of the population
The results may be skewed as I am of close emotionally proximity to the case
study subject
More research in this area is needed: with a larger population, with a diverse
population, with students of different ages, and with students in other
environments
14. When students are allowed to self-reflect on their
own behavior, they CHOOSE to create conscious,
communicative, and democratic spaces.
15. Outcomes
• More time is spent on real work/play vs. managing
behavior
• Student(s) verbalize what they are passionate about
learning and are more receptive of true knowledge
when the work/play is student-directed
• Democratic thinking and conversation drives
community forward, propelling co-construction of
knowledge
• Constructivism in the classroom leads to student-led
hypothesizing and theory making (and breaking)
• Project work and social emotional development is
heightened with the addition of needs and feelings
words (Rosenberg)
16. Resources
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1998). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper Collins. NYC.
Duffy, R., Erwin, C., and Nelsen, J. (1998). Positive Discipline: The First Three
Years: From Infant to Toddler. Harmony Books. NYC.
Kohn, A. (1996). Beyond Discipline, From Compliance to Community.
ACSD. Alexandria, VA.
Rosenberg, M. B. (2003). Nonviolent communication: A language of life.
(6th ed.) PuddleDancer Press. Encinitas, CA.
