Workshop Leader
Peter Gray
Peter Gray is a research professor of psychology at Boston College who has conducted research on how children learn when they have the opportunity to control their own education. This research includes follow-up studies of people who grew up homeschooled. He is a founding member of the Alliance for Self-Directed Education and author of the book "Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life".
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Peter Gray: Mother Nature’s Pedagogy: How Adults Can Facilitate Children’s Natural Ways of Learning
Children come into the world biologically designed to learn about the world around them and prepare themselves for full participation in that world. Their curiosity, playfulness, sociability, and willfulness have been shaped by natural selection for the purpose of education. Our standard schools, sadly, shut off these natural learning drives. In this six-part online course, based on his and others’ research, Peter Gray will describe children’s natural ways of learning, present evidence of the success of educational approaches that facilitate rather than counter those ways, explain why traditional schooling has become increasingly ineffective in today’s world, and explain why child-directed education, with adult facilitation, is easier and more effective today than ever before. The course is designed for homeschooling parents, people thinking about homeschooling, educational professionals, and anyone interested in the nature of childhood and the future of education.
As with our other paid programs, upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email that includes a link and password to access recordings. Recordings will be posted at that link within a day or two following each session.
Dec. 9. Children’s Natural Educative Instincts and How they Work
Dec. 16. The Educative Power of Play
Dec. 23. How and Why Conventional Schooling Fails in Today’s World
Dec. 30. How Children Acquire “Academic” Skills When Allowed to Learn Naturally
Jan. 6. The Roles of Adults in Children’s Education
Jan. 13. How Digital Technology Is Revolutionizing Education Outside of Schools
