“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”– Mark Twain
Sparks of Learning:
How do our students learn? What really happens when a student is on fire with learning?
What makes for inspired outcomes with student-center projects begins with student choice. When students co-create their learning experiences by investing in a self-selected topic, a chosen pathway for their project steps, and a unique design in their presentation format, they immediately activate higher levels of empowerment, motivation, ownership and commitment to their work. Choice in learning experiences results in:
A sense of control: A sense of ownership in the work means more motivation, more craftsmanship practices, more engagement and more autonomous action (which triggers more curiosity, more persistence and more relevance in the work).
A sense of purpose: When students have opportunity to choose topics to explore or research that are relevant to their lives, their family history, their travel or experiences, meaning deepens. Connections to pre-existing knowledge and memory help form stronger relationships for the students as they learn. This sense of purpose can inspire them to exceed expectations.
A sense of competence: When students are involved in asking and answering their own questions, seeking out their own curiosities, they achieve higher levels of challenge. This results in a strong sense of competence for what they have achieved, because they measure their achievement against their internal registers, instead of others’ judgements and evaluations.
How do our students learn? What really happens when a student is on fire with learning?
What makes for inspired outcomes with student-center projects begins with student choice. When students co-create their learning experiences by investing in a self-selected topic, a chosen pathway for their project steps, and a unique design in their presentation format, they immediately activate higher levels of empowerment, motivation, ownership and commitment to their work. Choice in learning experiences results in:
A sense of control: A sense of ownership in the work means more motivation, more craftsmanship practices, more engagement and more autonomous action (which triggers more curiosity, more persistence and more relevance in the work).
A sense of purpose: When students have opportunity to choose topics to explore or research that are relevant to their lives, their family history, their travel or experiences, meaning deepens. Connections to pre-existing knowledge and memory help form stronger relationships for the students as they learn. This sense of purpose can inspire them to exceed expectations.
A sense of competence: When students are involved in asking and answering their own questions, seeking out their own curiosities, they achieve higher levels of challenge. This results in a strong sense of competence for what they have achieved, because they measure their achievement against their internal registers, instead of others’ judgements and evaluations.