A change of teaching paradigm

When using Open Schooling, the education gets connected with real life. It is not an abstract subject, but it is always associated with hands-on experiences, practical examples, and learning by doing.  This means, that by using Open Schooling, teachers undertakes a change in the teaching paradigm. Teachers approaching Open schooling will indeed engage with active teaching, encouraging intrinsic motivation of the students and their passions, as all the cutting-edge researches on educations suggests to do.

Here, you can find a series of teaching techniques that are enhanced when teachers uses Open Schooling:

a. Project‐Based Learning/ Problem-Based Learning/Experiential learning

Whilst teachers will draw distinctions between project, inquiry, and problem based learning,  in  reality  the  differences  are  minor,  particularly  in  comparison  to  more  transmissive,  lecture  or  worksheet‐based  forms of learning. 

Learning begins with a problem to be solved, and the problem is posed in such a way that children need to gain new knowledge before they can solve the problem. Great projects and interests grow from inquiries. In open schooling, students are engaged because they are conducting work that is meaningful to them and their families or communities. 

Rather  than  seeking  a  single  correct  answer,  students  interpret  the  problem,  gather  needed  information,  identify  possible  solutions,  evaluate  options  and  present  conclusions.  

This approach relish the opportunity  to make adult‐world connections, work across disciplines, and in extended blocks of time.

 

b. Multidisciplinarity/Interdisciplinary approach

Multidisciplinary learning means integrating education into a comprehensive unit rather than dividing into seemingly unrelated parts. It empowers to see tangible correlations across subject matters rather than view each in a silo.

 

c. Student-centered learning

Student-centered learning puts students' interests first, acknowledging student voice as central to the learning experience.
In a student-centered learning space, students choose what they will learn, how they will pace their learning, and how they will assess their own learning.

This is in contrast to traditional education, also dubbed "teacher-centered learning", which situates the teacher as the primarily "active" role while students take a more "passive", receptive role.