Articles
STRUCTURES FOR AUTONOMY – THE EXPERIENCE OF SELF MANAGED LEARNING COLLEGE
(Published in Education Revolution in the USA; 2010) Too often there is confusion about the difference between structure and control when talking about freedom or autonomy for learners. I want to say something about these ideas and to give examples from our practice in using... read more »
Young people - take charge of your own learning
Coco Kirkland joined Self Managed Learning (SML) College aged 13. She had been constantly in trouble in her mainstream school, because the teachers accused her of just doodling all the time. She is also diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. Having been labelled naughty, just... read more »
The problem of treating young people as children – the Caterpillar to Butterfly Fallacy.
There are a number of reasons why it is difficult to get adults to treat the views of young people seriously. And because of this syndrome we have problems in convincing many adults to accept a truly personalised education... read more »
WHAT IS WORTH LEARNING IN SCHOOL?
(Published in ABC Magazine, Winter 2014) There is currently a debate in educational circles about whether it is more important for children to learn facts or to learn skills. This either/or thinking – where it has to be one or the other – does not... read more »
Why schooling is a major contributor to the crisis – and what can be done about it.
(Published in Lorimer, D. and Robinson, O. (2010) The New Renaissance, Floris Books, Edinburgh) IAN CUNNINGHAM bio. Ian Cunningham BSc, MA, PhD, FIoD, FRSA, Chartered FCIPD, FCMI is Visiting Professor at Middlesex University; chair of Strategic Developments International Ltd and chair of the Centre for Self... read more »
Teaching Times - In This Revolutionary College Students Manage Their Own Learning
Introduction In this article I want to explain how we work with young people, such that they can take charge of their own learning. As well as running a college on the Sussex coast, we have also been working in schools utilising the approach. I will... read more »
Uspire Life - Overhauling the education system!
College thrives as it rewrites curriculum BY NADIA MENDOZA September 20, 2020 For original... read more »
Personalised Education Now
Big thanks to Josh Gifford and his team for the second edition of P.E.N Journal. The first edition brought together some of the contributions of last years, very successful Alternative Educational Futures conference. We were delighted to be asked to contribute once again. You can download... read more »
Career direction
It’s best to know where you’re going - and why Some years ago I was working in a school running a Self Managed Learning project. In the group with which I was working there was a talented 13-year-old girl musician. She said that she would... read more »
Going to the Big School? Choices in secondary education.
SIZE MATTERS The transition from a small primary school into secondary education is an issue for many parents. There are serious choices to be made for children at this age. We know that many children feel nervous about going into a large, more impersonal school... read more »