Independent Learning

«After all, that is the ultimate goal of school and teaching, that the students become willing and able to learn on their own, that learning is no longer just the concern of the teacher, but rather a self-chosen and affirmed goal.» (1983d, 9)

«We must not let him (the student) constantly learn in dependence. If we do so, we indeed impart necessary knowledge and also the perspective of possible objectives and values; but without the opportunity to choose and realize them with a certain freedom, the crucial learning processes do not take place.» (1989d, 618)

«The attempt to constantly and tightly guide the child’s concept formation cannot lead to satisfactory results. We have to give the child greater freedom in the development of his thinking. This requirement is fulfilled if we can get the child to build up his concepts and operations himself through his own exploring and searching. Exploration is in actual fact the mental activity that is seeking to develop new responses. The first didactic problem that we need solve will be to determine precisely how the child's own exploring can be stimulated initially and thereafter be directed towards the intended goal.» (1951/1976, 90)

«If we therefore undertake to let the child capture not only all sub-elements, but also the overall structure of an operational complex, it does not suffice to let the student carry out each single step of the thought himself. He must be led to establish the fundamental (intrinsic) relationships that characterize an operational complex, and only thereafter integrate the partial operations. The child’s exploring therefore needs to be given a framework, which from the very outset is aligned to the whole organization and which confers meaning to all steps that are taken in the course of searching. Now, this power which drives the process of inquiry can be engendered through nothing else but through a problem that is vivid in the student’s thinking.» (1951/1976, 91/92)

«As soon as the distance between the known old thinking schema and a new operation exceeds a certain limit, the class becomes lost in the course of researching. Hence, the rule for tasks which require independent seeking and researching from the student: Narrowing the breadth of the problem such that the class is able to find the solution itself, but without exceeding the limits of meaningful tasks.» (1951/1976, 94)

«Setting a task in a clear and vivid manner is the indispensable prerequisite for the student’s own seeking and exploring.» (1951/1976, 94)

«As far as is possible, the student who is groping for the solution must be given the opportunity to effectively perform the operations.» (1951 / 19766, 96)

«What shape does a didactic unit take in school practice when the student is personally researching and seeking? As we have seen, it begins with a problem which is posed in the course of practical activities, either in real work in the school garden, workshops and suchlike or with other school work (fictitious problem of practical action). The task is discussed together until it is clear and vivid in the student’s mind. The students then begin to search for the solution themselves.» (1951/1976, 99)

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