Open Pedagogy
When I think of "open" I imagine the open sign on a business, the that lights with neon lights that tells people they are welcome to join or enter. Open to the public, anyone is able to enter and exit as they please.
Pedagogy is the teaching practice. How is information given to learners?
"Open Pedagogy" is then giving learners (the public) access to how they want to receive information, how or what do they want to learn. What kind of sources do they want to explore? What skills do they want to master? What knowledge do they want to gain?
While I see this ideology working very well in students who can advocate for themselves, like in university and high school education, I am not so trusting of the process in elementary schools. Simply because of the fact that they do not know what they do not know. There is no harm in letting them explore information so that we are not ripping what interests them from their hands. But I think it is important to maintain a grip on the steering wheel as it is possible that they do not yet know how to drive through their education yet. So then perhaps the next step is teaching them how to do so, with topics they choose but also following you as a model.
