This video talks about something called Tinkering School. It's a place where kids can go for six days and work on whatever they choose. They're given real tools and build bridges, forts, and one group even made a Rollercoaster. All of these projects are designed and built by the young children who go there with minimal help from the Faculty.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gever_tulley_s_tinkering_school_in_action.html

    I wish I could have gone to the school in this video. I've always enjoyed learning in a hands-on environment. Learning by doing is a very effective way to not just to learn but also to remember. The kids who went to the tinkering school didn't just learn how to build something with hammers, drills, and nails. They also learned how to plan out a large project. Any serious undertaking requires that you be ready to improvise.

       Sometimes when you set out to construct something, nothing you planned on doing works out. You can't be afraid to mess up or make mistakes, and you have to be able to come up with something new using what is available to you. Most importantly, you need to maintain a calm positive attitude no matter how daunting the task can become, because it takes motivation to accomplish something in order to make a creation that is truly great.

    I went to a lot of Tech classes in high school but none of them really instilled the values of improvising, self-planning and problem solving. Every project, assignment and test was laid out with precise directions and any wandering from those directs was going to affect your grade negatively. I found I learned the most when the teacher made the mistake of giving to few directions and not explaining how to use something like a computer program or sometimes tools. While some just waited until another student asked the teacher to explain to the class I enjoyed experimenting with what I didn’t know.

   

     It is my personal belief that the best teacher is you. By experimenting you can not only learn what is at hand but it is better for your mind to observe what’s around you and decide on that, rather than just doing what you are told. There is obviously a downside to this. Things often go wrong, don’t work out, and hell you’ll probably break something. But mistakes are great teacher’s as well.