You may have heard it called many different things before. Progressive Learning, Individualised Learning, Personalised Learning, Student Centred Learning, Active Learning, whatever term you are familiar with, there is no doubt that there is some exciting things happening in the world of Education.
Where Did It Originate?
Progressive Learning originated in the late 19th Century and was coined by educational reformer and philosopher John Dewey. He proposes that “Education is more than preparation for the future; it is life itself”. In Democracy In Education, published in 1916, Dewey proposed that education should be active and interactive and that the method of teaching should fit the student.
He saw education a less of “an affair of ‘telling’ and being told, but an active and constructing process.” Since then, other philosophers and educators built on the work of Dewey to create what we now know as the progressive schools movement.
Importance of Progressive Learning
Students are Encouraged to Follow their own Curiosity and Learn by Doing
Under the guidance of experienced and expert faculty members students connect the dots between their personal interests and a variety of subject areas via appropriately scaffolded learning. Students are encouraged to construct, produce, and articulate their thoughts in a number of ways through practical investigations, art, and design problems. This helps students to develop a lifelong love for learning.
Pay Attention to the Results of Learning and Cultivating Intrinsic Enthusiasm
Personalized teaching and strong student-teacher connections are made possible by progressive learning. Teachers encourage students’ natural interest by fostering peer-to-peer interactions and establishing links between the student and the subject. Instead of traditional grades, standards-based evaluations and continuing assessments are employed. Instead of relying on extrinsic incentives, students find fulfilment in the growth and mastering of intellectual problems. A meta-analysis of studies on progressive education found that students in progressive schools showed higher levels of critical thinking skills and creativity compared to students in traditional schools.
Improves the Academic Performance of the Child
When methods of progressive learning are incorporated students tend to retain and remember things by heart. This results in boosting their academic performance. A study conducted by the University of Cambridge found that students who participated in a progressive learning program showed an average improvement of 10-15% in their academic performance compared to students in a traditional learning program.
Focuses on the Holistic Development of the Child
In addition to their academic demands, children also have social and emotional needs, abilities, and problems. Progressive learning fosters connections, critical thinking, and compassion in order to prepare students for leadership in high school and beyond. Learning takes place in a nurturing, secure, and empowered environment. Students develop a sense of belonging and self-assurance in themselves and their skills.
Progressive Learning Model
Student learning under a progressive model places emphasis on problem-solving and critical thinking, group work and development of social skills. Learning is more personalised and revolved around a number of key components working together harmoniously.
Student centred learning
Students have more ownership over their learning. They have a voice and make choices according to how they learn best. Whether that is where they physically learn in the classroom or how they learn in a visual, oral or written sense.
Self-reflection & goal setting
Students adopt a growth-mindset and are able to reflect on their failures as opportunities for improvement. They are then able to set smart goals to achieve their desired level of improvement.
Students progress at their own pace
When students have completed their tasks and learning objectives of the day and demonstrate they have mastered the specific skill or knowledge they can move onto their next goal. Tests and assessments let teachers know when their students require more practice and can provide additional support.
Students can learn anywhere anytime
Digital and online resources are incorporated into learning modules to provide a variety of mediums in which students can understand a topic or concept. They can also access these resources during class or at home.
Progressive Learning Styles
Personalized Learning
ISTE explains that it is the “purposeful design of blended instruction to combine face-to-face teaching, technology-assisted instruction, and student-to-student collaboration to leverage each student’s interests for deeper learning.”
Social-Emotional Learning
Social-emotional learning is exactly what it sounds like. The ability to understand your own feelings and the feelings of others to know how to react in specific settings. Casel.org defines social-emotional learning as, “the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.”
Flipped Learning
With the flipped learning model, teachers begin the school day explaining the content outline, but instead of teaching the content, the students spend the next portion of the day accessing the content on their own. While students work either in groups or individually, teachers are there to coach them through the learning process and at times facilitate group discussions.
Project-Based Learning
PBL Works defines project-based learning as, “a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects.” With project-based learning, students are able to gain real-life experience while building on and connecting concepts previously learned.
How Progressive Learning Affects Teaching
Traditional teachers would see themselves as the absolute authority. Their main role is to deliver instruction from the front of the room and assess whether or not each student has successfully comprehended the information. They are expected to teach using the same methods devised hundreds of years ago and see any deviation from traditional practices as risky.
The problem is that the world students grew up in hundreds of years ago is vastly different from the one they are now growing up in.
We now understand each student learns differently from one another and one strict educational model does not suit all. A more progressive teaching model involves teachers becoming facilitators that support students as needed and encourage them to solve problems independently or collaboratively with their peers.
They plan lessons that evoke curiosity and encourage collaboration. Gone are the days of standing at the front of the classroom lecturing before a blackboard while students passively consumed and parroted information back into their exam papers.
Many teachers today are embracing new technologies and implementing them in their classrooms to engage students in new and more meaningful ways. It’s becoming more and more common to see iPads, apps, videos, games and robotics in today’s classrooms being used as educational tools to assist in student learning.
Final Thoughts
Holistic development of the students is supported via outstanding academic and physical surroundings, as well as improvement of their social, emotional, and mental health since these factors support progressive learning, the growth of creativity, and discovery.
The progressive learning model takes inspiration from some of the ideal best practices that can empower students to spread their wings and soar without having to worry about falling or being afraid of heights. Future leaders will be produced through a system that uses multi-dimensional tactics that incorporate forward and backward integration models of skill and competency development.
