Since its inauguration, “Autodidactic 3.0 Lab” has constantly earned external recognitions for its innovative thinking and actions. The lab has welcomed visits by Professor Tang Chih-min from National Cheng Chi University and doctoral program students, teachers and students of math and science gifted class of Chung Hsing Junior High School, teachers of Xiayun Elementary School, and Dongtai Experimental Middle School in Jiangsu. Since 2018, the lab has also been invited to share at numerous events, and even participated in the International Research and Talent Development Excellence (IRATDE) Exhibition, earning Taoyuan City Government more opportunities to share with all sectors its philosophy and actions of the promotion and implementation of experimental education. 

International Exchange

On April 15, 2020, the lab participated in the International Research Association for Talent Development and Excellence (IRATDE) Biennial Conference. The theme was “Nurturing Potentiality into Full Bloom and into Excellence,” which coincidentally corresponded to the lab’s purpose of “expanding own horizons and breaking free from existing framework of learning.” Led by project head Professor Wu Shu-min, the delegation participated in the “IRATDE Gifted Education Exhibition,” and shared with participants the lab’s operational structure and highlights over the previous two years. Regardless of “Electives at another School,” or differentiated education in mixed-age learning of exploratory courses, the lab impressed all domestic and foreign scholars with its efforts and achievements. 

Through this exhibition, more domestic and foreign education professionals learned the philosophy and actions of Taoyuan City Government’s implementation and promotion of experimental education, and hopefully, through our successful experience, the participants of the conference would be inspired for more ideas of diversified education!

Domestic Exchange

Radio Exclusive Interview

The host of the “Not So Good Academy” program on National Education Radio (NER), Mr. Cheng Tung-liao, is also the principal investigator of Taiwan Experimental Education Center. He invited Professor Wu Shu-min, project head of Autodidactic 3.0 Lab, to share the experience and philosophy of the establishment of Taoyuan City Autodidactic 3.0 Lab. Through Q&A, the interview helped listeners to unveil the myths of “can experiments be conducted on education?” Please scan the link to listen to the full interview. 

University Keynote Speech and Sharing

On April 26, 2019, Principal Chen Pao-hui of Taoyuan Junior High School, the project convener of Autodidactic 3.0 Lab, was invited to the “2019 Education Forum: Quality Assurance in Teacher Education and Development” at the 2019 International Symposia on Striving for Excellence in Higher Education organized by Ming Chuan University, where she shared on the topic of “Learning without Framework – Taoyuan City Autodidactic 3.0 Lab,” hoping to introduce these soon-to-be-teacher students to more open and innovative views on education. 

Paper Submitted to Chinese Association of Gifted Education Academic Seminar

Wu, Shu-Min (2020). “Expanding Own Horizons, Breaking Free from Existing Framework of Learning – The Encounter between Self-Education and Gifted Education”. In 2020 Gifted Education Academic Seminar Manual edited by Kuo, Ching-Chi, Yu, Hsiao-Ping. Taipei City: Chinese Association of Gifted Education, pp. 111-123.

Abstract

“Autodidactic 3.0 Lab” is a project launched in 2017 by Department of Education, Taoyuan City Government, in aim to realize the spirit of educational experiment and course innovation of the Three Type Acts of Experimental Education. The program has renovated old spaces of the science center at Taoyuan Junior High School and incorporated IT technology to construct a site of diverse expertise and autonomous learning. The lab held official plaque unveiling and inauguration ceremony and began recruitment in October 2017. 

The core target of Betts’ autonomous learner model (ALM) is to help students become independent and responsible learners by developing their responsibility in the area of self-learning. As the project head, the author of this paper hopes to fuse this gifted education model into practices of non-school-based experimental education; upholding the philosophy of “expanding own horizons and breaking free from existing framework of learning,” the lab formulates three major categories of classes: “Classic Keynote Speeches,” “Autodidactic Explorative Courses,” and “Electives at another School,” and provides services to students from grades 5 and 6 to senior high school and vocational school, who apply for experimental education. With the government investing diverse resources of education, the program offers a more flexible alternative to families that opt for autonomous learning. 

This paper aims to introduce the key strategic actions in the implementation of the Autodidactic 3.0 Lab program, and offers suggestions as practical references through analysis of the implementation experience. 

Co-organization of the Popular Science Train Activities

To build more interesting environment of science education, and inspire students’ interest in science, Ministry of Science and Technology and Taiwan Railways Administration cooperate to launch the Popular Science Train program, which has entered the fifth year. Departing from Taipei, the train embarks on a 4-day tour around the island, making stops at stations like Banqiao, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu. 

Professor Tai Ming-fong of Department of Physics, National Tsing Hua University, who has long cooperated with Taoyuan City Autodidactic 3.0 Lab, was the key person coordinating the activities at Taoyuan and Hsinchu stations. Through Professor Tai’s coordination, Taoyuan City Autodidactic 3.0 Lab, Taoyuan Junior High School, and Wu-Ling Senior High School all participated in the activities outside of Taoyuan Station, and set up booths for scientific experiments. 

The robust and busy train station was full of people discussing science related topics, and this beautiful scene was what the Popular Science Train intended to achieve in the first place. Through games, rather than on-paper tests, the activities triggered children’s curiosity to actively explore questions in daily life and find answers through the spirit of science. MOST hopes to promote popular science education through diverse and innovative methods, raising people’s awareness of science. From this activity, we could see many little seeds of science budding and thriving. 

Organization of Non-School-Based Experimental Education Consensus Camp

The 2020 “Non-School-Based Experimental Education Consensus Camp” was held in Taoyuan. This event gathered people in charge of non-school-based experimental education, as well as review committee members, educational institutes, groups, and autonomous learning families, from across Taiwan. They engaged in exchange of practical experiences and discussion on the suitability of related laws, jointly paving way for a better future of “non-school-based education.”

The camp invited Ko Yu-shan, who was a freshman admitted to National Tsing Hua University through the Extraordinary Students Program this year. She shared her pursuit of her dreams and experience of self-learning. “Looking back now, these programs seemed to have simple frameworks, but the journey has been nothing but smooth!” Professor Wu Shu-min of University of Taiwan shared in details the implementation of “Taoyuan City Autodidactic 3.0 Lab,” as well as the program’s exploratory courses that focused on diverse development and electives at universities that broke learning framework. 

However, as experimental education matured, the number of “non-school-based education” students had been growing over the years; on one hand, this showed the increased awareness of “right of educational choice,” but, on the other hand, brought more issues to the practice of experimental education. The attendants engaged in robust discussion at the consensus camp, as the core of this event was to facilitate brainstorming by related professionals. 

At the end of the event, Department of Education, Taoyuan City Government, showed great hospitality as the host, and prepared for all guests coming from afar local delicacies as souvenirs. The fresh Hakka vegetable buns punctuated for the camp a heartwarming end. Division Chief Wu Hsiao-hsia specially thanked the organizing team of Taoyuan City Autodidactic 3.0 Lab, Taoyuan Junior High School and Hsing Fu Junior High School, and joked that the collaboration between the two schools symbolized “Happy (Hsing Fu) Taoyuan!”

Cross-Strait Exchange

On February 21, 2019, a delegation of elementary and middle school principals from Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province, led by Deputy Researcher Zhu Sanfeng of Bureau of Education, Taizhou City, visited Taoyuan City Autodidactic 3.0 Lab for exchange of experience. After watching videos that introduced the lab and documented the Electives at another School service, the members of the delegation were intrigued by the arrangement that allowed the lab’s autonomous-learning students, who were elementary, junior high, and senior high school students, to go beyond their levels and attend elective credit courses at universities; they were also impressed by the diverse and flexible exploratory courses.