Are teachers getting in the way of learning?

As I finished this post, I realized that I have talked about the Independent Project before... here is that previous post. The video is new though.

 

I have a feeling I'm going to upset someone with this post. And I am making peace with that.

This video is put together by a student at an a school affiliated with The Independent Project. The program started in Massachusetts as an alternative school. This Huffington Post article does a good job of explaining it (watch the video with it as well). The gist is that students decide on a Monday what they want to learn and then spend the week wrestling with it. On Fridays, students present their findings.

I know, it sounds like kids would just dink around all week but, the administrators of the program found that students held themselves and each other accountable, and the end of week outputs exceeded the state standards. There are requirements for the weekly exploration and there are teachers who help facilitate the learning, but students research what students are curious about.

Yes, the format raises some obvious questions and red flags, but before babies go out with bath water...

Think about facilitating students as they teach themselves.

Think about engaging with students who are curious and fearless and interested in more than regurgitating data on a test.

Think about seeing students as more than data points to be manipulated.

Hmmmmmm....

"A taste of what I learned" ... rancid or not

First, thanks to Brett Clark's blog Education Dreamer for posting this video. Watch this video and then come back...I'll wait.

 

Welcome back ...

The program is called the Independent Project and it works like this:

Sort term questions--
Monday-Students begin by asking themselves: What is a question are you are curious about.

• You spend the week exploring that question
• The difference between this approach and a lot of other classwork is: "You actually want to know the answer."

Friday-You make a formal presentation on your findings. The week they filmed, the subjects included:

• Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky
• John Muir
• HIV-AIDS
• Why a wing generated lift.

In addition to the weekly projects, there is Individual Endeavor-
Learn to do something you are interested in:

• play an instrument
• writing a book or collection of poems
• research topics like education and environment

The expectation is there will be a mastery of skills

The last portion of the curriculum is Collective Endeavor, a group project designed to produce social impact and make a difference which also teaches collaboration skills

Some of the take aways from the video:

• Allows them to become completely invested...not every human being through the same gate.
• whats the role of the teacher...who decides good work? ... according to the  administrator
• Their questions get me thinking ... said the science teacher.
• Accommodates different types of leanings--strong and learning different
• Freed to focus on their own curiosity--they work harder when its their own idea
• Learning becomes a group activity--every day

I like the story of the student who studied Crime and Punishment but didn't feel mastery during ther presentation. Instead of filing it away and moving on ... he took another swing at until HE felt like he had a handle onf Dostoesky. Impressive.

The program is in its second test drive and it many are intrigued by the idea of spontaneous learning. It does raise some questions:

• What can students teach themselves?
• What is the role of the teacher?

This quote is from one the teachers they interviewed and he sums up my thoughts exactly.

"The the power of a young mind is pretty impressive...one they are so resilient, two they are extremely creative, three they are fearless, they will try everything. So, the qualities I think many many teenagers have go really well with the program; which would make sense since it was created by a teenager."

Something serenditious happened while I was writing this blog. Somehow (an I have no idea how it happened) but I inadvertently started playing the following video I posted a few days ago by Sir. Ken Robinson. Hmmmm...maybe the gods are conspiring....

"...don't be surprised if they start to fidgit."

This is the part of summer where potential outweighs actual. My classroom is clean and quiet and I spend a few hours each day playing with what 'could be' for next year. This summer's Big Hairy Audacious Goal: Change how I've been doing things in a fundamental way. As the summer barrels forward, the potential because actual--either it makes its way into the curriculum or it doesn't. By
August, the reality of students in a couple weeks requires fine tuning, not major overhaul. But now is the time for dreaming big.

This summers big dream:

• Spend three quarters teaching American History, not two.
• Spend one quarter teaching Civics not as a US Government class but as a Civics Laboratory

What this means in reality:

• Fold my econ module into American History... tie it to historical events rather than as a stand alone entity.
• Completely changing the research portion of the class. This is a big deal in my world. Almost everything I do has a connection to research. By lengthening the American History module, all of the projects and assessments have to change as a result.
• Fully integrate oratory and art into the classroom experience. I have been playing with some ideas for speeches and speech-writing as well as figuring out how to make the classroom move visual and interactive.

In addition, I keep playing with an idea that has been rattling around in my head for some time. What would happen if students picked the type of assessment for a particular unit. Paper Test. Project. Presentation. Paper. I have a pretty varied assessment model but they all do the same thing at the same time. What if I let them choose and then graded them accordingly? I normally have eight big assessments each year. If I required them to do at least one paper, one paper test, one presentation and one project and then let them pick the method for the other four... I'm still figuring this one out but I want to let them focus on their strengths at the same time challenging them to explore areas where either they don't have a lot of experience or feel weak in.

Part of this impetus for change comes from remarks by Sir Ken Robinson in the video above. Some highlights:

• Students are naturally different and diverse--science and math are important but not sufficient, "a real education has to give equal weight to the arts, humanities, physical education..."
• Curiosity-if you can lighten the spark ... children are natural learners. Curiosity is the engine of achievement.
• School level control--education doesn't go on in the committee rooms or legislative halls but in the classroom...

At the end of the speech he says something that has me thinking about my role as an educator. He talks about leadership in the Command and Control form. The real role is in Climate Control. He is speaking administratively but I think it applies to classroom leadership as well. Instead being teacher-boos of all things; if I create a climate where there is different, curious and student-owned learning going on, then Death Valley gets rain and the ground gets carpeted with little flowers.

I'm excited to see where potential takes me this summer.