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Project Based Learning
What will student agency look like in your classroom one year from now?
Student Agency is one part of the honeycomb that I felt would be one of the hardest elements to fully accept and embrace. Curriculum can be incredibly overwhelming. From the moment I began teaching I felt immense pressure to deliver outcomes quickly and effectively. Students needed to know a set amount of information and be able to successfully complete a test or "project" that shows what they know when they were finished. I was in control, and students would complete what I had laid out for them. I remember those students who would never follow instructions and who always handed in assignments that looked totally different than others.This was something that nearly drove me crazy. I look back now and can't even explain why I needed those students to complete that work the exact same way. I was still meeting my outcomes but was unknowingly squashing their creativity and forcing them into a box I had purpose in building. As I dove into PBL, I became incredibly inspired by the idea of students having agency and control over their learning. There was still a box and a set of standards students needed to complete. I can still meet outcomes, but students can showcase their talents and abilities in a way that means something to them. My role was changing to a position where I guide and facilitate instead of directing and potentially confining. One year from now, student agency in my classroom will look like students choosing what they want to learn. Students will be using broad, driving questions and taking them directions that mean something to them. Student Agency will look like students making real life connections with curriculum that was once otherwise meaningless and boring. I will be delivering information that sets students up for inquiry based learning. I won't be asking them to memorize and regurgitate definitions and answers to questions. Instead they will be creating questions and answering them using the skills and knowledge I share with them as a baseline. When students inquire about a topic they find interesting, we will run with it and try something new, even if I have nothing planned. Students will be finding new ways to gather information and share it with the world. I want my students to have a say in everything, from what we learn, to how we learn it, to where they learn it and why they learn it. This unit has opened my eyes to the flexibility of curriculum and the opportunity to get students out of the classroom and seeing the real life connections. Students should have a say in our classroom, and will learn what they need to be successful and how to ask for it in an effective way. Students will have clear expectations that they contribute to and will hopefully feel more included in determining the direction of their learning. This will completely change the way I teach, but I am open and willing make this change and see where things take us!
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Genius Hour is something I have implemented before, but never felt like it was nearly as successful as I wanted it to be. I was hesitant to choose to for the research project because I felt like there wasn't much more to learn. Little did I know, the reason I didn't feel like I found success was because I didn't know enough about it. I am so happy I chose to dive in with this assignment and give it another chance. I can't wait to try again with my students in the new school year!
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