In my US History class this past year I was looking for a way to infuse energy and new ideas into the beginning of our second semester. Throughout the first half of the year students had been in the role of historians, examining issues through sources, producing work that developed interpretations and reflected on what […]Read Post ›
For a recent project on theories of storytelling, my students began a process of inquiry by writing a story that is repeatedly told in their family. This low stakes assignment provided an entry point for students from a range of academic levels. In a sense, everyone was an expert in this opening lesson. For this first […]Read Post ›
[Cross-posted on Edutopia] Learning changes dramatically when students have opportunities to produce work that matters to them. We know this from our own lives but don’t always do a good job of honoring it in schools. It’s easy for me to recall times when I dragged my feet completing a task, or rushed through a […]Read Post ›
Once again my students and I are deep in the process of investigating and creating. During class they are either with me or in different parts of our school or city, interviewing, researching, and drafting. I wrote before about my personal challenge of letting go in order to let this type of learning happen. In January […]Read Post ›
The end of a school year is always somewhat tumultuous. While everyone is ready to be done, many seem unmoored and it can be difficult to facilitate closure. A high point last week was when my 12th graders submitted their Design Your Own Learning Projects. (Katrina Schwartz wrote a wonderful article about DYOL in the Fall […]Read Post ›
