Progressive education is grounded in the idea that learning should be active. The primary objective of teaching is to prepare students to learn and engage in society. This contrast traditional teaching where success is determined by students capacity to recall. Such principals encourage students to take a more active role in the learning process. By developing the learning experience soft skills can be more readily achieved. In practice, it looks like learning by doing or experiential learning. In a classroom, it may look like a co-op term where students are placed in a real-life working environment with a mentor. This allows the student to gain social and personal skills needed rather than facts or figures as one may focus on in a traditional classroom. This style supports a more progressive curriculum that is more flexible to students interests and the current context of the learners. Such curriculums allow students to follow avenues of interest and bring in their own experiences to the course. This can enrich the learning for others and encourages participation and accountability among learners.
In a digital age, this style of learning is increasingly important. Every day we are exposed to mass quantities of information. As access to information increases with the internet the capacity to filter information is ever more important. Being able to decide the quality of information and how to seek out answers from trusted sources is critical. Teaching skills related to digital literacy should be integrated into progressive education spaces. If you are interested in learning more about this topic there is a youtube course on Navigating Digital Information by Crash course https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLlv2o6UfTU . I feel the content and platform of this series plays on the key ideas of online learning.
Hayes, William. (2007). Progressive education movement: Is it still a facto in today’s schools? Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Amidon, J., Monroe, A., & Ortwein, M. (n.d.). Education, Society, & the K-12 Learner. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/teachereducationx92x1/chapter/progressive-education/