Self Organised Learning Environment (SOLE)

SELF ORGANISED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (SOLE)

Education 4.0, an approach to learning aligned with the fourth industrial revolution, is impacting our daily life with smart technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics. A paradigm shift, especially towards the Internet, has opened a plethora of avenues in education. The teacher's role has undergone a tremendous change: today, the teacher is not a sage on the stage, nor just a guide by the side, but a meddler in the middle, learning alongside students, challenging them to expand their horizons.

We have adapted from flipped classrooms to blended learning, adjusting to the new normal. However, fatigue is setting in. Listening to lectures on mobile phones, copying notes, connectivity issues, blurring videos, and lack of meaningful engagement hardly connect to students’ true understanding. The initial excitement of online school has faded to boredom, muted microphones, off cameras, and students lying on the couch.

At this point, we need a paradigm shift in our approach—moving from compliance to engagement, creating an environment where students want to learn rather than have to learn. This reminds me of The Hole in the Wall project and the power of self-organised learning, as demonstrated by Prof. Sugata Mitra. In 1999, a computer was embedded in a wall in a New Delhi slum, accessible to anyone passing by, with Internet access and software but no instructions.

Gradually, children in the slum learned to use this strange device on their own. Driven by curiosity, they taught themselves to click, explore, and surf the Web—learning through self-direction. Empowered with resources, they became independent learners. Extensive research shows that children develop deeper learning by directing themselves; this is called Minimally Invasive Education (MIE).

We are all natural learners. Nobody teaches a newborn to stand, crawl, or talk. Similarly, these children learned technology without direct assistance, making accidental and incidental discoveries along the way.

But learning independently can be challenging, even for the brightest and most motivated students. There are four stages to independent, self-directed learning:

1. Being ready to learn
2. Setting learning goals
3. Engaging in the learning process
4. Evaluating learning

Readiness to learn involves independence, organization, self-discipline, effective communication, acceptance of feedback, and engagement in self-evaluation and reflection.

Setting learning goals is a collaborative effort where the teacher helps students outline learning outcomes, activities, timelines, resources, grading, feedback, and evaluation.

Engaging in the learning process can follow three approaches:

• Deep approach: Understanding ideas for themselves, applying knowledge in new situations, using innovative ways to explain concepts, and learning beyond basic requirements.
• Surface approach: Doing only what is required to complete a unit, reproducing material without deeper understanding.
• Strategic approach: Focusing on maximizing grades, memorization, and practicing from past exams.

Evaluating learning means self-reflection and assessing progress towards learning goals.

Here, the teacher as facilitator provides feedback and creates opportunities for self-reflection. Building a cooperative learning environment, motivating students, and supporting their learning experiences are key. Teachers guide, encourage, and inspire rather than instruct.

Such empowered classrooms shift from giving choices to inspiring possibilities. Instead of making a subject interesting, let us tap into student interests. Instead of "You must learn this," ask "What do you want to learn?"

It is a shift from differentiated instruction to personalized learning—adjusting pace and resources, letting students shape their own inquiries. This move toward self-directed learning fosters ownership, better focus, and stronger attention spans. Our students will become creative, critical thinkers and problem solvers—equipped for the workplaces of the future, with meaningful, humanistic learning at their core.