In recent years, educators have come to focus more and more
on the importance of lab-based experimentation, hands-on participation,
student-led inquiry, and the use of “manipulables” in the classroom. The
underlying rationale seems to be that students are better able to learn when
they can control the flow of their experience, or when their learning is
“self-directed.”
While the benefits of self-directed learning are widely
acknowledged, the reasons why a sense of control leads to better acquisition of
material are poorly understood.