Learning by Doing and the Youth-Driven Model

Development, it has long been the motto that youth learn best when they are actively involved in relevant, realworld situations. This “learning by doing” is often associated with the type of learning model encouraged by 4-H and other nonformal youth development organizations. In it, youth are actively engaged (hands-on) and having fun exploring a variety of topics with minimal rewards or extrinsic motivators. The self-directed learner is the foundation of the youth-driven model. In a nonformal setting, self-directed learners take control of both the outcome and the means of learning (Mocker & Spear, 1982). They can choose the topic of study because the choice is relevant to their future (Rodin, Schooler, & Schaie, 1990). Youth often participate in activities because of internal motivation, internal rewards or satisfactions, and/or lack of evaluation. Samdahl (1988) refers to intrinsic motivation as self-motivation that can strongly influence the outcome of one’s experience. Even as early as 1918, Kilpatrick suggested that intrinsic motivation leads to lifelong learning. Csikszentmihalyi’s (1975) flow theory is closely tied to intrinsic motivation and intrinsic reward. Developed from the stimulus-response paradigm (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975), flow theory adds the component of mental control. The stimulus is the activity and the reward is the flow experience. Flow is described as the harmony of mind-body experienced through the loss of awareness of time. The theory of flow is identified as the ratio or relationship between an individual’s skills and the challenge of the activity. As skills improve, so should the challenge to maintain the flow experience. The flow experience results in a sense of discovery, higher level of performance, engrossed attention, perceived control, loss of a sense of self, and intrinsic rewards. Flow experiences are goal-related, require skill or action equal to one’s opportunity, and include a motion or action that becomes almost effortless. Recently, flow has been applied to educational/recreational experiences that occur in a variety of settings (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988, 1990).