Self-Directed Learning in the College Classroom (w/ Kevin Currie-Knight)

Learning By Living Podcast

On this episode, Gina interviews the show's co-host, Kevin Currie-Knight, about his experience with self-directed learning. Kevin is a professor in East Carolina University's College of Education where he teaches future teachers. But he teaches in a way that leans heavily on self-directed learning where students have control over what to learn, how to learn it, and even how to evaluate themselves. He's written a recent article about his experience teaching this way, and here is a fantastic conversation about it!
1:19 - Kevin’s self-directed college course: “At various spots along the way, my thinking started changing to include a lot more emphasis on self-directed education.”
9:20 - What types of projects do students do?: “It’s just so all over the map.”
17:17 - What motivates students? What doesn’t?: “I’ve seen in my own classroom the power of intrinsic motivation.”
25:13 - The difficulty of giving up instructional control: “Set up the rules for the class, monitor everything, but you don’t have to be the center of it.”
31:32 - What do students have to say about this approach?: “Every semester, I still get a few comments which are like ‘I’m confused as to what this is.’”