Students love it when you take them outside to read under a tree or when they get a choice of activities or topics to explore.  What if there was a designated day of the week (or month or quarter) or hour they can plan to do this?  (Educational version of 20% time) What would happen if we put students in charge of learning what they wanted to know and teachers would coach them along and point them in the right direction instead of being the SME? What if these same students who are teaching themselves something they want to know turn around and teach others (and yes, gulp, even the teachers) what they've learned?  How can a school set aside time for this and still meet everything else they have to get done in the year?  Set aside the time and see what happens...and invite parents and community members to be resources on these days as well.  Hack the school day and flip learning to see what happens.

How can a minor disruption in the schedule promote student autonomy, mastery and purpose?