TULSA -- A North Tulsa private school is the first in Oklahoma to practice a more independent form of learning environment for students.
"Here’s this big question for you, and we’re not gong to help you," Holly Bowman, a Language Arts teacher at Drexel Academy.
It's a different type of system where teachers take a step back and let the third and fourth graders at Drexel Academy take the lead in their lesson.
"The first time they did it they panicked and what do we do and as a teachers it was really hard to step back and say no this is you," said Bowman.
The students receive a thought-provoking question every Friday.
"Our question is, if books should have the same ratings as movies," said Ronald Randle, a Drexel Academy student.
Teams or students have thirty minutes to research on a computer and put together a response based on their findings.
"I like that we have different teams so we get to know everybody better," said Summer Davis, a Drexel Academy student.
After about a half hour of research time, the students have to present their answer to the question based on their findings.
"I’m doing this myself and I’m figuring out a question that I’ve never learned before," said Randle.
It's called SOLE, or self organized learning environments. It's an approach designed to give students the freedom to work without strict guidance. Drexel Academy is the first school in Oklahoma to implement the program, with other schools planning to follow.
"I’m excited about it, I think it’s great, the kids love it and they learn a lot," said Bowman.
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