The Power of Community & Self Directed Learning in Microschools with Tyler Thigpen
Episode description
Enjoy this episode with Tyler Thigpen who is co-founder and CEO of The Forest School: An Acton Academy in Georgia, The Forest School Online, and the Institute for Self-Directed Learning. He also serves as Academic Director at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. A Georgia native, Tyler has worked across public, private, and charter schools, as well as national nonprofits like Transcend. He’s helped lead innovative school initiatives including nXu, The Academy Group, and EL Education, and co-founded MENTOR Georgia and Chattahoochee Hills Charter School. Tyler holds advanced degrees from Harvard and Regent College and has been published in The Washington Post, Education Week, and AJC. He lives in Trilith, GA, with his four children—all alumni of The Forest School.
David and Tyler discuss the overall benefits of microschools, especially as it relates to building relationships and creating intimate and close knit communities.
They finish the conversation by talking about their experience with implementing self directed learning models in various settings, and the benefits of microschools to create powerful learner driven environments.
You can find Tyler at one of the links below:
https://online.theforest.school/
https://www.selfdirect.school/
https://www.instagram.com/weareforestschool?igsh=cDJxNDl6bjd6cXVj&utm_source=qr