Q: How can active learning help students reach their full potential?
A: “Students have to know who they are. They have to know what they’re good at,” says Kathie Freer, middle school director at Ruffing Montessori School. “They have to know how they can serve others, and they do that through a strong program of academics that links it to real world work. Whether it’s in math class or whether that’s in a greenhouse, active learning is going from the head to the hand, becoming more abstract in our thinking and giving students real opportunities for real work. We give students opportunities of real independence so they can discover that. We have a micro economy which is a real business where they actually make something, make money and have worth through good hand-to-hand work.”
