I had the privilege of working at a school site recently that fostered a culture of learning in students, that extended past the walls of the campus. I am not sure if this is done purposefully by educators at the site, or if it is a natural consequence of their commitment to build relationships with their students, to support them in their interests and passions both in and outside school.

Encourage Students to Share Learning Done at Home

In the first classroom I had the privilege to visit, I asked a student about a contraption I saw on his desk. “That looks awesome! Did you make this here at school?” I asked. The student beamed and remarked, “I made it at home but I wanted to bring it here to show my teacher and friends!” He proceeded to show me how it worked and told me how it was difficult but he kept experimenting until he succeeded in creating a robot that moved in multiple directions. I comment this student’s teacher for supporting him in learning that occurs outside of the classroom. He not only allowed, but encouraged the student to showcase his work by keeping it on his desk. The student’s pride shone through. He felt valued as a learner whose perseverance was applauded. And his work inspired peers to blur the lines between school and home learning as well.

Promote Application of School Learning to Student Lives

In another class I visited on the same day, I facilitated a lesson in which students used Google maps to identify locations and demonstrate learning. A student asked if this tool was available with a personal Google account as well. “Yes it is,” I answered, “Why do you ask?” The student enthusiastically replied, “I can use this for 4H!” He proceeded to tell me his plan for creating a map to notate the history of the locations of the animals he was raising and tending for. He proceeded to ask me specific questions regarding sharing settings and how best to display the information to others. When we ask students to make connections between their learning in the classroom and their life beyond campus, we empower them to extend skills in ways we may have not imagined ourselves. And when learning aligns to students’ passions, it is more likely to be both sustained and strengthened.

Design Open-Ended Tasks that Foster Creativity

The last period of the day, I visited a classroom in which I had encouraged the teacher to implement daily quick writes for students, inspired by gifs or memes to spark creativity. The teacher had been using this strategy on a daily basis. A student approached his teacher to show her a comic book he was creating based on the writing he had been completing each day via the quick writes. The student’s sketches were thoughtful and detailed, the character development complex, and the dialogue real and authentic. The open-ended writing prompts served as a catalyst to a student’s creativity that ignited a passion that extended beyond the instructional minutes of the school day.

Our students are individuals with strengths, passions, and interests outside of school. As educators, let us show students that we value their learning beyond the classroom. And as we begin to learn more about our students, may we find new ways to connect the content in our classrooms to their experiences in the world.