Progressive Education
in Any Setting
Karl Sikkenga
Summers-Knoll School
Ann Arbor MI
summers-knoll.org
Friends School of Minnesota
April 13, 2016
Summers-Knoll 7-8s
history
Confucius’ method of teaching was Socratic. Always informal, he seems not to have lectured but instead to have conversed on problems his students posed, citing readings and asking questions…… Not for a moment assuming that he was a sage himself, he presented himself to his students as their fellow traveller, committed to the task of becoming fully human but modest in how far he had come.
Huston Smith
a few names
John Dewey
Rudolf Steiner
Agnes de Lima
Maria Montessori
Deborah Meier
Dennis Littky
Alfie Kohn
three by three
AUTONOMY - MASTERY - PURPOSE
PLACE - PROJECT - THEME
AUTHENTICITY - DIFFICULTY - DYNAMISM
authentic, dynamic, hard
Work is authentic if it has meaning outside the classroom.
Our work is dynamic in that it is never precisely the same from year to year. Progressive educators are allergic to the status quo.
SK kids always know what they’re doing and why.
They are responsible for so much of their own work, and that is so much harder than being told what to do all the time.
exhibitions
autonomy, mastery, purpose (Daniel Pink)
These are the fruits of these labors, the characteristics that any given project
or job of work is expected to help SK kids develop.
What our kids are doing looks cool, but that isn’t why we do it.
We do it because we believe it’s the best way to learn.
legacy projects
projects, themes, places
http://sikkenga.blogspot.com/2015/10/projects-and-assignments.html
CONSTRUCTION
SCALE
DISCIPLINES
AUTHENTICITY
AUTONOMY
MASTERY
META
Ann Arbor civic engagement
INNOVATION
IDENTITY
SYSTEMS
any setting
Why do we educate children?
What are the qualities needed to support these goals?
What approaches are best suited to develop these qualities?
How can a teacher adapt the principles of progressive education
to any school setting?
AUTONOMY - MASTERY - PURPOSE
PLACE - PROJECT - THEME
AUTHENTICITY - DIFFICULTY - DYNAMISM
Karl Sikkenga
Progressive Education in Any Setting
Summers-Knoll School
Ann Arbor. Michigan
summers-knoll.org