The year is 1986. I take my seat in Mr. Tipper’s grade six class and wait patiently. Mr. Tipper rises from his desk and begins to tell us that we’re about to begin an exciting new lesson. Did he say exciting? Yes!
He goes on to say, as part of our study of geography, we are each going to choose a country and write a report on the country and it’s major geographic features. He shows us a few excellent examples of reports that have been submitted by students over the past several years.
My excitement wanes. As I browse through the faded reports, I begin to think to myself, “But I’d like to create a travel brochure.” I can already see the front cover of my brochure and anticipate the trip to the public library to sign out a few books. I raise my hand and ask, “Mr. Tipper, can we do something other than a report?”
“No, we’re doing a report for this project,” was his quick response.
“Not even a travel brochure?” I asked, thinking surely, he would see the brilliance of my idea and allow my request.
“Nope, not this time. Maybe we’ll have time to do a fun project like that later on in the year,” he countered.
“But why?” I asked, knowing I was now crossing the line from keen to cheeky.
Mr. Tipper sighed, exasperated, and responded with, “It’s because this is how it’s always been done.”
Right. No wait. Wrong! I can’t do a brochure because it’s not what we’ve always done? Even in my 11-year old head, that didn’t sit well. I completed my report a week later. I’m not sure what I learned, I can’t even remember what country I chose to write about. And perhaps the reason was because I wasn’t able to show my learning in a way that I wanted to; in a way that got me excited about the material I was learning; in a way that allowed me to work within my strengths.
The year is 2015. Grade 7 students enter into their math class to be presented with a math menu, where they are able to choose from a selection of activities to demonstrate their understanding of math review concepts (Click here to view)
Students enter their Humanities classes and get the opportunity to show their understanding of the platforms of Canada’s federal political parties in a way that allows them to use their strengths, be it visual, oral, technological, or written expression (Click here to view)
.
Students are able to have a say in everything from what leadership opportunities they want to be a part of throughout the year, to what outdoor education trips they’ll participate in at year-end.
I'm lucky enough to work for a school that aims to provide students with opportunities for Voice and Choice. Teachers and students all know that we learn in a variety of ways and likewise, express our understanding in different ways. As my school moves toward a more personalized learning approach to programming, we realize that empowering students to make choices based on interests and strengths motivates students to dig deeper. We want our students to love learning, to be inquisitive, to question, wonder, overcome challenges, and figure it out. These are the traits that will carry our students through high school, university and life.
1986 is long gone, and so should be, the methods of that era. We are in a new age. Students are no longer seen as vessels that sit in our classes awaiting content that is passed down from teachers. Students and teachers learn together. How we learn takes precedence over what we learn and it is my belief that students should have a voice and choice in how that looks.
No comments:
Post a Comment