Self-Determined Learning: Fanning Sparks Into Flames

Mark Gutkowski

Source: Mark Gutkowski, used with permission

If you want someone to be motivated to complete a task, a reward (like a gold star or grade) works well only for tasks that are highly routine; anything involving creativity or deeper thinking requires an emphasis on autonomy, mastery, and/or purpose to tap into deeper motivation (Pink, 2018).

Consider autonomy. Anti-smoking ads that used to tell children and teens to not smoke failed miserably because people prefer making decisions themselves and restriction creates a psychological effect called reactance; by contrast, the most effective large-scale anti-smoking program ever — the “truth campaign” — cut teen smoking rates in half within a couple of years (and ultimately by 75% nationally) by exposing how big tobacco companies manipulate youth, and then asking teens what they were going to do about it (Berger, 2020).

Telling students what to do, with no wiggle room for independence, can backfire. Obviously, we can’t surrender classrooms to chaos, but there is a sweet spot in the middle. We know that students work best when they have more say in their education, yet choices are too often limited to whether students want to complete Project A or Project B. How can we offer students more freedom without sacrificing stability, rigor, or mastery?

I had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Gutkowski (@mark_gutkowski), who is an award-winning educator and innovation designer who has been recognized by both Princeton University and the New Jersey Department of Education. Since 2015, Gutkowski has been responsible for the development of the Mastery program at Avenues: The World School. He is currently a Global Academic Dean on the Avenues Tiger Works R&D team.

Jenny Rankin (JR): What is the difference between self-directed vs. self-determined learning?

Mark Gutkowski (MG): This is the sort of question that gets people into a bar fight before the first drink is served. Thanks for the softball opener!

Self-directed learning is about the management of learning. The content in self-directed learning has been provided, usually by a teacher, and students manage the learning of that content on their own. For example, strategies that a student would use in a self-paced environment (e.g., planning, sequencing, etc.) would be largely self-directed.

Contrast that to self-determined learning, where the learner is actively identifying what it is that they intend to learn. In self-determined learning, the student usually has an interest triggered by material that they have encountered, and the teacher is there to support student inquiry into that object of study, effectively helping the student fan that spark into a flame.

Ultimately, it’s a question of control. Who is controlling what is being learned? The learner or someone else? Pass me that beer, please.

JR: That’s a great explanation, and self-directed learning sounds very in line with nurturing students to be lifelong learners. Why should we spend valuable time in school allowing students to pursue their own interests, as opposed to only curriculum that experts have approved?

MG: Because interests are the key to unlocking human potential in our schools. Interests have been neglected in our schools as unworthy, frivolous pursuits. Personal interests are not frivolous. They are universal psychological states that connect us both to others around the world and to the history of that endeavor across time. They give meaning and purpose to our lives. Our advancement as a society depends upon the pursuit of interests. We need to finally acknowledge the value of this experience in our schools.

JR: Can students realistically achieve Depth of Knowledge (DOK) through their interests?

MG: I’ve been working in this area for well over a decade, and my last six years at Avenues have been intensely devoted to the development of it through the Mastery program (6th-12th grade). In short, I’ve seen a lot. When we allow students to actively pursue their interests in schools, they tap into a capacity and potential that far exceeds what most adults expect of them. A little autonomy and support go a long way.

When I present student work to audiences, I have had adults openly challenge the truth of what I’m showing them because they cannot believe that teenagers are able to achieve that depth of expertise. There’s my former student Michael who built, designed the circuitry for, and programmed a drone from scratch. There’s Olivia who created the first-ever High School Law Review, receiving letters of congratulations for the achievement from four U.S. Supreme Court justices. Four! This is what real rigor looks like.

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Every single student in the world has the capacity to engage their interests like this. Every student deserves the opportunity to fall in love with a vision of his or her future.

JR: They sure do. What specific strategies or changes should teachers incorporate into their instruction to foster self-determined learning?

The first step is to create space and time for this type of learning to happen, whether that be in our individual classrooms, schools, or districts. In my TEDx Talk, “Let’s Start Taking Genius Hour Seriously,” I outline reasons for us to create autonomy-supportive environments in our schools. These environments are critical to the success of the work. I’d recommend that people look into Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Edward Deci’s book, Why We Do What We Do, is a slightly dated but brilliant introduction to SDT that will resonate with educators. Beyond that, Renninger and Hidi’s “The Four-Phase Model of Interest Development” is instrumental for understanding how best to identify and support students at their level of interest. Those are solid starting points.

JR: Thank you for those recommendations. What are you working on now?

MG: Avenues is a place that actively encourages and supports innovation in education. So our team has labored to take these ideas even further, exploring an immersive space that threatens the very foundations of traditional education. What if we inverted the current model of school and gave students the ultimate agency to determine their academic experience, while still connecting their work to mandated learning outcomes? What would that look like? People say it’s impossible, that it can’t be done. It can be done. We are doing it in Mastery. We are creating a new paradigm and pedagogical approach for the future. Don’t you just love that moment when the impossible becomes possible?

JR: I sure do! And I love that you note the need for work to connect to mandated learning outcomes, as well. Thank you for your time, and for educating and inspiring students in a way that will have lifelong benefits.