Accepting the Challenge

My experience creating a student-led learning environment began with an internal decision to prove someone wrong. It was mixed with arrogance and a bit of fear. While I was in the process of obtaining my Master of Arts degree, a professor challenged us to allow students to create their own assessments. Internally, I immediately dismissed the idea as ludicrous. However, I am always one to try something new and decided to take the plunge with my sixth grade class for our next interdisciplinary unit, which was based on Ancient Egyptian history and reading comprehension of informational text.

Mixed Fears of an Educator

I was a bit nervous about many of the fears I now see echoed by John Spencer & A.J. Juliani, authors of Empower: What Happens When Students Own Their Learning, illustrated in the #BookSnap seen below. However, I was secretly even more fearful of the possibility that this experiment in student-led learning might actually work. Imagine my bruised inner pride as I came to discover that this experiment in student-led learning ended up transforming the way I designed every learning experience thereafter. While my ego may have suffered, I assure you that I could not have been more thrilled with the result. You see, it it not about me, it is about the students. Always. Even when it goes against my initial beliefs. This is the first episode in a series of blogposts documenting my journey toward empowering students.

Setting the Stage

My beliefs were shaken and my perspective on education shifted on a cold, winter day in rural California. I stood in front of the white board, facing thirty-seven sixth grade students who had been accustomed to a tradition of teacher directed instruction for as long as they had been in school. I took a deep breath and said, “I’m going to give you a chance to try something different. I can create you a unit test as usual, with multiple choice questions, short answer prompts, and a text-based essay response. Or…you can show me your learning in a different way.”

Student are Fearful, Too

I stopped speaking. The room was silent. Had my students heard me? I wondered if I was speaking to a brick wall. This was typically a very engaged class. I saw faces of students staring back at me, unsure of how to respond. This was a completely foreign concept to them. The fact that a teacher would not be leading them in nearly each stage of the learning process. A hand went up. “You’re not going to make us a test?” a brave student asked. “I can, if you prefer,” I responded. “But I thought you may have a better way to show me you have learned the content and comprehended the text.” The students were dumbfounded. “Did you want to take a test?” I asked. “How else would we show you what we know?” another student asked. “That,” I responded, “is up to you.”

Comfort in the Familiar

Herein was the problem. The students had been actively engaged in learning since September, but had I truly empowered them? Their initial reactions remind me of my son’s dog, Bailey. She was a rescue, housed in kennels in shelters for so long that it had become the norm. Bailey loves to run, but seems to feel comfort in the familiar, in the kennel we have for her right next to the house. In the picture to the right, the door to Bailey’s kennel is open. She sees me looking at her from inside the house next to the sliding glass door, but opts to remain within the confines of the kennel. Our students who have been institutionalized in a traditional teacher directed system of school often display similar characteristics.

Tough on Content, Easy on Delivery

Just as Bailey clings to the familiar, students crave structure. While I wanted students to have ultimate freedom in their method of demonstrating understanding, the content they were required to master, according to standards, was non-negotiable. I turned to the white board to begin writing a make-shift rubric. “In order for you to prove to me that you understand Ancient Egypt based on the text…” I began. (at the time we had nearly no access to technology in the classroom and the students’ resource for learning was indeed a textbook. Therefore, understanding of Ancient Egypt also revealed reading comprehension standards of informational text. I had written a passionate plea for 1:1 iPads which we received a couple of months later. It transformed learning for these students and the surrounding community, but that is a story for yet another blogpost to come.) I glanced back at the students for a moment before continuing. There was a mix of utter confusion, a degree of shock, a healthy fear of the unknown, and a bit of nervous excitement on their faces. “You will receive 5 points for each fact you present on Ancient Egypt,” I continued, writing on the board as I spoke. “In order to receive full credit, you must have 5 facts in each of the following categories: Social Structure, Politics, Geography, Religion, and Art & Architecture.” I turned away from the white board and back to the class. “That’s it,” I said.

Letting it Sink In

The students looked at me as if I had two heads, unsure of what to do or say next. They did not even know what questions to ask. I waited for a few seconds, allowing them to attempt to process this new freedom to own their learning, both the process and product. It was almost time for break. I had timed this purposefully. I realized the students needed time away from me, to make sense of this new format together. “Think about it, talk about it with each other and come back after break with any questions you might have for me.” Read more of the Beyond Choice Boards story. Episode 2 addresses “Shifts in Ownership” and chronicles my students’ first steps toward owning their learning.