Kohn's

Student Directed
Learning Theory
(2006)
and Classroom Common Characteristics
 Alfie Kohn

• He is a contemporary academic who studies and writes about

issues of education, parenting, and human behavior.
• He has published many books on these topics including
Punished by Rewards (1993), No Contest (1986), and The
Homework Myth (2006)
• Alfie Kohn lectures at Universities and groups with related
interests and has been a guest on The Today Show and Oprah.
• He lives in the Boston area with his wife and two
children.
Curriculum

• Kohn believes that most traditional methods of

classroom management foster extrinsic motivation
rather than intrinsic.
• Because of this, he is a proponent of what could be
termed a very “hands off” type of management
approach.
Ideally, such a classroom would feature:
• Multiple activity centers with various classroom structures for
group work
• Displays of student projects
• Students exchanging ideas
• A respectful teacher mingling with students
• Students excited about learning and actively asking questions
• Multiple activities occurring at the same time
• The ideal classroom, according to Alfie Kohn, is one in which
curiosity and cooperation are emphasized above all else.

• Kohn believes that the students’ curiosity should govern what

is taught inside the classroom; therefore, if standards are
necessary at all, they should be kept very general.
• Kohn believes that if the classroom is run with cooperation
in mind, and if the students’ curiosity is being nurtured, then
students will act appropriately and neither rewards nor
punishments will be necessary.

• Overall, curiosity and cooperation should govern the

classroom.
• In terms of modern school systems, Kohn’s approaches
are more consistent with those used in elementary
classrooms. The key element is a “shift from a quiet, well-
managed classroom to one that is lively and features an
emphasis on student learning,” explains Thomas Hanson
on OpenEducation.net.
What does Alfie Kohn think of positive reinforcement?
negative reinforcement?

• Alfie Kohn is strongly critical of both positive and negative

reinforcement. He is anti-behaviorism, and does not believe in
any type of reward or punishment; even praise is suspect. Rather
than manipulating children to change their behavior, his focus is
on helping children develop curiosity, love of learning, empathy,
and internalized morality. Internalized morality comes from
feeling good about yourself and wanting others to feel happy.
• This is true morality rather than obedience based on
consequences. Children are not to be controlled, but guided
and their learning facilitated. Internalized morality comes
from feeling good about yourself and wanting others to feel
happy. This is true morality rather than obedience based on
consequences. Children are not to be controlled, but guided
and their learning facilitated.
Apply Alfie Kohn's thoughts about the ideal classroom to
society. What would an ideal society look like to Kohn?

• Kohn strongly disagrees with competition. His

ideal society would likely be highly cooperative,
but he also values freedom of expression and
individuality. His ideal society would likely be
libertarian left- either social democracy or
Anarcho-syndicalism.
• In general, Kohn believes in classrooms where the student is at
the center of everything.
Thank you!