“These children are engaged in something that traditional school seldom offers: serious projects that involve working on hard technical problems for many hours a day, every day for several weeks. In the course of doing so, they come into contact with a wide range of technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge, some of which may be in the usual school curriculum, some not. All come out at the end having learnt a great deal more about these subjects than anyone learns in a much longer time in a classroom. In addition, they have had some tough experience learning what it is like to manage a complex project.
The scenario fits the ideal of learning that has been advocated for more than a century by proponents of “open”, “progressive”, “child-centred” education. But the scenario is radically different in several ways from the forms of progressive education that have been tested in schools and often found wanting.”
Papert, S. (1998) “Whose Finger is on the Button?” The Independent. London. Thursday 21 May 1998.
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