I had some thoughts about Bean Dad’s daughter’s “teachable moment”, having spent most of the last 6 years building a self-directed learning course @makersacademy.

(Disclaimer: I don’t work there any more, so I don’t really know what their learning approach is like these days.)

Self-Directed Learning (SDL) can often look like trying to open a can of beans while lacking the tools to do so. It can certainly feel like this.

Bean Dad’s daughter’s experience sounds like misapplied and poorly-coached SDL. There is a chance it has done real harm. But, it doesn’t have to be this way.

SDL is an adult training approach. Learners are in control of defining and achieving their goals. Learners are provided with the tools to achieve those goals, including coaches and a community of peers, but not explicitly told how.

I passionately believe that SDL is a powerful way to re-architect learning and education. It can empower lifelong learners. But when it’s implemented poorly, it can destroy that instinct, and harm people.

SDL may be facilitated by a coach. Coaching is very hard, and getting it wrong can be dangerous. @johnroderick’s daughter’s learning experience sounds dangerous.

There are four main reasons.

1. A child’s relationship to food and parent is not an appropriate subject for a (non-therapeutic) SDL experience. Just don't mess with that stuff.

2. @johnroderick’s daughter didn’t consent to this kind of learning experience. She especially didn’t consent to her father coaching her in this way. SDL is consensual.

3. SDL is a pedagogy technique for adults. Children haven’t developed the faculties to manage self-directed experiences. They are just likely to get traumatised by them.

4. @johnroderick’s daughter didn’t feel *held*. This term is from psychotherapy. It boils down to feeling cared-for and secure. SDL coaching must make the learner feel *held*. …http://relational-integrative-psychotherapy.uk/chapters/holding-containing-and-boundarying/

SDL is effective when applied to more adult learners, in a consensual learning environment, who feel held.

It’s a good idea to put learners in control of achieving their goals. It’s a good idea to help them clarify those goals. It’s a good idea to provide them with the tools to achieve those goals, especially if they can rely on a community of peers.

SDL is not about building “perseverance” or “character” in the traditional sense. Perseverance isn’t an abstract skill, it’s highly context-dependent. See https://twitter.com/vgr/status/1345777095696236544.

SDL coaches should recognise and inform learners where they should persevere and where they should not, based on (among other things) an understanding of a learner’s aptitudes.

If you would like to know more about Self-Directed Learning and how to do it well, I recommend “Self-Directed Learning: A Guide for Teachers and Learners” by Malcolm Knowles. https://www.google.com/search?q=Self-directed+Learning:+A+Guide+for+Learners+and+Teachers+Book+by+Malcolm+Knowles

For contemporary learning in general, I loved “Contemporary Theories of Learning”, edited by Knud Illeris. https://www.routledge.com/Contemporary-Theories-of-Learning-Learning-Theorists-In-Their-Own-Words/Illeris/p/book/9781138550490

I’m saddened when self-directed learning is misapplied. In our world of strict instruction and exams, it’s so important that we build self-directed experiences in to our pedagogies: to help people to create, organically.

But the world is also a difficult and frightening place to be anyone, especially a child, especially right now. We cannot afford to be callous in how we interact with other people.

Thank you for reading. I love chatting about this stuff so feel free to reach out!