My experience is that most learning would be better with less control by instructors, but more skills on the part of the learner. Our educational institutions don't prepare self-directed learners, for the most part.

There are places where control is necessary, but these are not the majority, IMO. When I was responsible for clear-cut procedural training, like flying & fixing helicopters, the need for controlled content and evaluation was quite obvious. However, when it comes to crew resource management or tactics, it's less cut & dried and requires individual knowledge-making skills, not just doing it by the book.