The potential of the "Independent Project" in education...

Firstly I would like to add that this is by far the most interesting topic we have covered thus far in this module. I am truly fascinated by this “Independent Project” which these students managed to start at their school. As mentioned in the video several times, I agree that this form or way of learning has the potential to really take off in schools across the world and be a huge success. I believe that it is very sad how learners are hating going to school and only learning because they are being forced to do so or they will fail as a result. Going to school and learning should be something which should be desired and learners should be hungry to learn more and expand on their knowledge. The Independent Project has the potential to change the mind-set of learners which are maybe struggling either as a result of inability to learn in normal schooling fashion or simply pure disinterest. Although this system or way of learning was a success at this school, I do however feel that learning in this way is dependent on a good group of learners. The potential for this system to fail is also very big as you can have students which will simply partake in this way of learning to escape a normal schooling system. I believe that this way of learning needs to be carefully monitored by a teacher or higher power because you could end up with learners teaching other students the incorrect things. I believe that teaching in this way can be guided by a teacher/bystander to ensure that progress is being made and that curriculum topics are being effectively covered and taught. Personally I would have loved to have learnt in this way at school as I too did not enjoy the classroom at all. I think that the greatest value that this system of learning has to offer is the desire/hunger which is instilled in learner to want to know more or learn more. This is effectively what an education is. This way of learning will definitely also give learners a much deeper understanding and love for the topics covered rather than trying to aimlessly memorise things from textbooks.