I'm going to focus on one part of the Week 4 topic for The Innovator's Mindset book study. I really connected with the discussion around the importance of student voice and student choice. This is an area where I have been doing quite a bit of work in the last few years for myself. This bit really caught my attention:
For years, this is what I was doing as a teacher. Here is the assignment and here is how you have to do it. Asking that students follow --- no, demanding that students follow -- the directions and all would be well. But what did the students produce? Did they really understand the material, or worse, did they really even care about it? I'm not honestly sure what made me start to change this, but I'm glad I have.
I've come to realize that when students have choice, they produce not only higher quality work, but they also produce work that is richer in meaning, deeper in content and more critical in reflection. They take far greater ownership and pride in their work since they are more likely revealing a deeper part of THEM in the work. Rather than have students create the specific presentation that I wanted, I have started to give students the reins. Here is the topic we need to examine, but for some topics I can open up the perspectives...what angles can we look at this from? What is the most effective way for you, the learner, to explore this and showcase your understanding?
When it comes to student voice, I find the hardest part is breaking the cycle of 'what is expected of me'. The students who simply want to tell you what they think you want to hear. Just regurgitate the answer and get the marks and carry on. It's frightening for them to lose those safety nets. They want to be able to simply answer the questions on the worksheet. Sure, it was an easy way to get them to read the textbook, but did they really understand the material? In many cases, no. So, I push them a bit more. Get them to try to look at things from different perspectives and try different ways to respond to the issues.
A recent activity with my grade 12s had them examining the basic rules of capitalism and Adam Smith. They needed to find an article that dealt with principles of capitalism and then decide if it showed capitalism as a hero or villain. Students were given a variety of options for ways to demonstrate their ideas...blogs, podcasts, video rants, written paragraph, art or anything else. Students came up with some incredible responses once the shackles of the old "write a paragraph explaining your position" were removed. They were able to better incorporate personal reflection and grapple with some of the deeper content. Students who are super quiet in class get all fired up when they can create a Rick Mercer style video rant on their cell phones and get their points across that way. Voice came through loud and clear thanks to choice.
Now, I won't lie and say that I do this every time for every activity. But I AM doing more and more of it. Each success encourages me to go after more success! I'm excited about the possibilities of opening that door a little wider.
I've come to realize that when students have choice, they produce not only higher quality work, but they also produce work that is richer in meaning, deeper in content and more critical in reflection. They take far greater ownership and pride in their work since they are more likely revealing a deeper part of THEM in the work. Rather than have students create the specific presentation that I wanted, I have started to give students the reins. Here is the topic we need to examine, but for some topics I can open up the perspectives...what angles can we look at this from? What is the most effective way for you, the learner, to explore this and showcase your understanding?
When it comes to student voice, I find the hardest part is breaking the cycle of 'what is expected of me'. The students who simply want to tell you what they think you want to hear. Just regurgitate the answer and get the marks and carry on. It's frightening for them to lose those safety nets. They want to be able to simply answer the questions on the worksheet. Sure, it was an easy way to get them to read the textbook, but did they really understand the material? In many cases, no. So, I push them a bit more. Get them to try to look at things from different perspectives and try different ways to respond to the issues.
A recent activity with my grade 12s had them examining the basic rules of capitalism and Adam Smith. They needed to find an article that dealt with principles of capitalism and then decide if it showed capitalism as a hero or villain. Students were given a variety of options for ways to demonstrate their ideas...blogs, podcasts, video rants, written paragraph, art or anything else. Students came up with some incredible responses once the shackles of the old "write a paragraph explaining your position" were removed. They were able to better incorporate personal reflection and grapple with some of the deeper content. Students who are super quiet in class get all fired up when they can create a Rick Mercer style video rant on their cell phones and get their points across that way. Voice came through loud and clear thanks to choice.
Now, I won't lie and say that I do this every time for every activity. But I AM doing more and more of it. Each success encourages me to go after more success! I'm excited about the possibilities of opening that door a little wider.