Youth organizations
My experience with youth in learning environments outside of the formal school classroom is similar to Declan's. The participants are often highly engaged and the learning is more often internalized. I agree that part of the reason may be the built-in fun (one of the boy scout program themes here in the US is "fun with a purpose"), but I think the bigger reason for the participants' engagement may be that they have clearly chosen to participate (the learning is self-directed) and in many cases the experiences happen in an environment that is more forgiving of different learning styles. The learning that takes place is student- (learner-) centric.
Although I do agree that WE modules would be useful in the kinds of youth organizations that Declan mentions, I believe that the open, adaptive WE content currently in development may be the impetus for self-directed student-centric learning to become a reality in many more situations.
Alison
