Learning is natural. Do you know a small child who shows natural curiosity, awe and wonder at the smallest things? A bug, an insect and so on. Of course you do! They learned to walk, talk and so on when they were ready. No one rushed in with a lesson plan or placed them in a classroom!
Learning is creativity, with a passion and interest in something. Do you feel that your classroom or school fosters this? Or is there an experience that schools stop creativity? Creativity is: curiosity, open mindedness, imagination and problem solving
Learning is knowing about things- but also having the skills to access, create, make connections, analyse and so on.
We believe that as teachers we are only the designers and advisors of learning, who create the conditions for the students to conduct their own curriculum.
Choosing what to do, rather than being told is a very powerful learning tool. The psychological effects of feeling a sense of control are well-documented and include greater levels of achievement and productivity and lower levels of anxiety. Educational research has shown that choice leads to more confident, capable, and more engaged students. The learning map, while at first a teacher created document, slowly develops into a student created document.