Self-directed learning was used to describe how adults learn for many years (it was part of Malcolm Knowles’ definition of andragogy.) With access to everything, everywhere – and people of any age being able to easily pursue interests – it is used with broader strokes. “Self-directed learning is a necessary component of education and yet there is little emphasis on this in both public and private schools. Here and there one will hear about a pilot program that addresses the power of autodidactic learning but it is infrequently assimilated as a pedagogical alternative to traditional education. Our teachers are stuck within the confines of a system that no longer serves our children.”
via Rethinking Education: Self-Directed Learning Fits the Digital Age | Innovation Insights | Wired.com.
New Images of Education 