Freedom to Learn

Project summary

Freedom to Learn (F2L) is based on the notion that for significant learning to occur, this needs to be based on personal involvement and most importantly, it must be meaningful for the learner. This project, spread over 2 years, aims to support 3 mentors (preferrably from the Senior Management team) and 6 teachers from 4 different countries and across multiple school levels to provide the freedom and structure for learners to engage in truly meaningful learning activities. Supported by the mentors in each of the schools, and through an online network, teachers will explore ways in which their actions as teachers can support this freedom while at the same time providing the structure that the learners need for significant learning to actually take place. This implies a concrete move from a teacher-centred to a learner-centred approach in which the teacher becomes a facilitator of learning, giving up some of his or her power in the classroom while modelling democratic competences in action. Teachers will be encouraged and supported to give as much freedom as they feel comfortable to give in their classrooms, taking into account the different contexts, as learners take on different small-scale projects of their choice. Teachers will be supported to provide the resources that the learners will need to accomplish their self-initiated tasks. These could range from material resources to specific activities that the teacher may need to carry out to support learners’ understanding. The mentors and online networking between the schools will provide a forum where teachers can ask for help and support, discuss, share frustrations and good practices, and in so doing create a small-scale community of practice. Throughout, teachers will be encouraged and supported to relinquish more and more of their power and authority in favour of as much freedom as they can afford. It is hoped that by the end of the project, teachers will have a deeper understanding of the learning process and feel more comfortable in a truly learner-centred classroom. Ideally, by the end of the project, teachers will feel confident enough to adopt the same approach to specific curriculum content, giving the learners the freedom to choose how they are going to learn the specified content themselves and engaging them in all aspects of the process including any final grading of the work where applicable. The different contexts and levels will provide an added value in terms of the common challenges that the participants will undoubtedly face. The different contexts and levels will also provide for objective reflection and candid support as well as cross-fertilisation of ideas. The mentors in the different schools will offer immediate face to face support whereas the online network will provide a context for reflective practice, as teachers make their actions explicit. 4 training activities involving mentors and teachers will consolidate the network while providing opportunities for participants to experience the different contexts, share good practices and develop their competences further. The project will directly impact mentors, teachers and learners in the 3 schools with concrete plans for dissemination throughout and across board. The mentors will also be responsible for the dissemination of the project’s ideals, methodology and results in the respective schools through the organisation of peer-to-peer observation sessions involving teachers not directly involved in the project and the long term sustainability of the project. A final meeting/training activity involving all mentors and teachers will be organised in order to evaluate and disseminate the results of the project.