This article on student ownership got me thinking:
What if I involved students in planning my lessons?
What if I sat down with one student a week and worked with them to plan one of the lessons in the following week? Imagine the empowerment that might come from that. Imagine the learning for that student. I could envisage that student’s passion and interest for the subject going through the roof if they’ve had a say in planning it. And what’s more, imagine the learning for me! To sit down with a student and talk through what they think a lesson should look like would open my mind to their thoughts and ideas and help me see what activities they enjoy. I’m excited just thinking about it.
Now, how might I turn this idea into reality? Hmmmm.....
Hi Louie, I love this post, and think that the idea of encouraging our students to become self-directed learners as much as possible is really exciting. This article about the benefits is really interesting and talks about what kind of school environment can make this really effective. http://www.gettingsmart.com/2016/12/developing-self-directed-learners/
It says 'Students need to feel like they have voice and choice in their learning and environment. This means time for interest based learning, opportunities to shape assignments and deliverables and choice in how they showcase what they have learned. When students and teachers co-construct projects, they can be interest-based and packed with important learning targets.' The benefits for our students are indisputable.
Trying to implement this in the PSE programme has not been without obstacles and this is an area where we have complete ownership of the topics and content., and I wonder how we can marry this flexible approach that encourages ownership and plays to the interests of our students with the packed IB syllabuses?
Hi Louie,
A really important point you make here--luckily I think there are so many models out there that we can beg and borrow from. The AMPed program coming out of SIS is remarkable, and they've done a great job of documenting it (and are renowned for their sharing) http://www.sis-shekou.org/page.cfm?p=668
A number of schools I've worked at have run Genius Hour, and I have to say I miss it this year--it can be a really powerful experience for students (and teachers).
Genius Hour has its very own tag on Twitter--and I love watching how different schools implement and adapt accordingly https://twitter.com/search?q=%23geniushour
Thanks for sharing!