On this episode we will be speaking with Peter Gray, Ph.D, about self directed education as an alternative to conventional schooling. For the first part of this two part episode we’ll be focusing on Peter’s own journey into self-directed education as well as what it is, how it works, and evidence that it works. On the second part, we’ll return and discuss the benefits of mixed age classes, how the principles of self-directed education fit into conventional schooling and how skills like learning to read are nourished in a self directed setting.

Peter Gray, Ph.D., research professor at Boston College, is author of the book Free to Learn and Psychology, a college textbook now in its 8th edition. He has conducted and published research in comparative, evolutionary, developmental and educational psychology. He did his undergraduate study at Columbia University and earned a Ph.D. in biological sciences at Rockefeller University. His research and writing focus on children’s natural ways of learning and the lifelong value of play. His own play includes not only his research and writing, but also long-distance bicycling, kayaking, backwoods skiing, and vegetable gardening. 

https://www.self-directed.org/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn