FOSTERING COURAGE AND CREATIVITY WITH A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO EDUCATION

Learner-centred education can give us a curriculum for developing in-demand soft skills

AMBER PAPOU

In July 2021, RBC released a special report1 on how the impact of COVID-19 has rapidly increased the value that businesses place on creativity as a key requirement for future success.

Businesses and organizations that have been able to turn the challenges of the pandemic into opportunities have not only survived but have also thrived. As a result, individuals that demonstrate creative skills such as flexibility, critical thinking and an openness to learn are in high demand, according to The Coming Creativity Boom report. However, as employers can attest, finding individuals with these skills is not always easy.

In recent years, a lot of pressure has been placed on schools to “teach” these skills to their students. The big question that arises is how? The answer may lie in the degree to which schools focus on learning rather than on teaching.

Over the past few decades, a slow evolution is taking place as many school systems move away from traditional or factory-model education to a learner-centred approach. Schools that adopt this model focus on the unique qualities of the individual – not only on the way they learn, but also on what inspires them to learn. The educator’s role in this model is to build a collaborative relationship with learners by guiding and encouraging exploration rather than by directing and leading. By allowing learners to take ownership of their own educational path, they learn to love learning. More importantly, along the way, they develop many of the highly sought-after soft skills employers are looking for, such as problem solving, critical thinking and the courage to make mistakes – all of which are essential components of creativity.

Here in B.C., schools such as the SelfDesign Learning Community (SDLC), a pioneer in a learner-centred model of education since 1983, offers an inclusive K-12 program that supports learners of all ages and abilities in authoring their own lives and designing their own learning. This approach to learning, in which thousands of learners have successfully graduated, focuses on their passions, and on learners continuing to follow these passions into their careers.

Based on the SelfDesign philosophy, the school has grown into one of the largest independent provincial online schools in B.C. and the largest school of record for children diagnosed with special needs. Following the Ministry of Education and Child Care curriculum in a way that puts children at the centre of their learning journey, SelfDesign acknowledges that learning is a process, not a product, and that it is centred on relationships and conversation. Learners are guided with the support of a B.C. certified educator to develop a personalized learning plan to help them achieve the path to completion that best suits them – a certificate of graduation, an adult graduation diploma or a school completion certificate.

Although the school offers additional support for those that require it, all of the 2,000 learners enrolled each year follow a unique and personalized approach to learning. By focusing on the unique potential of each of the learners, the course-completion rate for high school learners at SDLC is 95 per cent, which is higher than the provincial average. Moreover, the school bases learner success far beyond its graduation rates: The courage to be creative and to be lifelong learners are the school’s ultimate objectives. Proof is in the pudding as the old adage goes. As we move into a post-pandemic world that is increasingly decentralized and unpredictable, creating educational pathways that encourage and nurture courageous and creative individuals will continue to be crucial to innovating solutions for everything from our economy to our environment. Schools such as SDLC that foster these skills throughout learners’ K-12 education will be key to building strong communities and businesses. í

Amber Papou has been president and CEO of the SelfDesign Learning Foundation since 2017. She has over 20 years of experience leading organizations and businesses in the education, skills development, technology and economic development sectors.

THE EDUCATOR’S ROLE IN THIS MODEL IS TO BUILD A COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH LEARNERS BY GUIDING AND ENCOURAGING EXPLORATION RATHER THAN BY DIRECTING AND LEADING