Monthly Archives: September 2015

Inquiry and Innovation in the classroom- By A.J. Juliani

inquiry and innovation Providing students with autonomy and ownership over their learning enhances motivation, and encourages innovation through purposeful and passion-driven goal setting. A.J. Juliani (@ajjuliani) outlines the importance of preparing students to become independent, creative, open-minded, innovative, resourceful,resilient, and growth-minded risk-takers who take ownership over what they do. He believes this will best equip students for the heuristic, evolving and contracted nature of future available jobs.

Inquiry-driven practices integrated throughout the curriculum are necessary for helping students ask questions about their learning, instead of simply looking for the required answers. 20% Time (Genius Hour, Passion Projects, etc.) provides an opportunity for students to practice self-chosen inquiry and exploration while developing core skills and competencies. The book walks teachers through the steps of creating the appropriate classroom environment, approaching parents and administration, and implementing the structured unstructured class time for inquiry-based learning. A.J. Juliani provides useful handouts, a plethora of additional resources, sample rubrics and letters, and examples of final projects.

Innovators meet frustration not with complaints- but with a commitment to devise more effective solutions” –Charles Leadbetter

Mindset- Carol Dweck, Ph.D.

mindset Carol Dweck’s research on mindsets has huge implications for schooling and education. Dr. Dweck has identified and defined two contrasting mindsets. A ‘fixed mindset’ is one where people believe their innate abilities are fixed, and they are unable to improve significantly with effort. Therefore those with the fixed mindset feel they must prove their abilities to be considered special. In contrast, a ‘growth mindset’ is one that believes that effort and hard work can contribute to the growth and improvement of abilities, and therefore those with the growth mindset feel motivated and empowered to learn and grow.

A growth minded approach should be considered when designing curriculum and lessons, assessing student progress, and providing praise. Students need to be actively taught about the growth mindset, to help them perceive education as an opportunity for growth and self-development and not a judgement on their ability. It needs to be made clear to students that with effort, training, the use of appropriate strategies, and the understanding that skills and intelligence can be developed, they can and will reach higher levels of achievement. Furthermore, it must be taught and modeled to students that failure is an important and natural part of the learning process, and not an indication of one’s ability, but instead an opportunity to reflect and grow.

“What any person in the world can learn, almost all persons can learn, if they are provided with the appropriate prior and current conditions of learning.” -Benjamin Bloom

Student Portfolios and Student-led Conferences

In my initial practicum experience, the administration had asked teachers to conduct student-led conferences. I had never heard of this practice, and thought it was an interesting concept that was in line with my belief in the importance of empowering students with ownership over their own learning. The subject was brought up again at an end of year meeting during my second practicum, where several teachers were advocating for a change towards student-led conferences, and away from teacher-led conferences.

I began searching for resources on the value of student led conferences, and how to conduct them. According to Bailey and Guskey (2001), student-led conferences promote and enhance three important elements that improve student performance. Student-led conferences increase student responsibility, relevance of learning, and effectiveness of reporting. They argue that when students are aware that they must report to their parents on their progress, students see the importance of completing their assignments, focussing on learning outcomes, keeping track of work, completing tasks to a high standard, and monitoring their improvements and struggles through reflection. Furthermore, Hebert (1998) noted that the child-centered qualitative approach of student-selected work enhances student involvement, sense of connectedness with learning, and self-discovery.

I found a great article from edutopia that provides a detailed account of how to set students up for successful student-led conferences. A key take away being that both students and parents must be aware of the process well in advance. Active and deliberate instruction about the value of student portfolios and how to effectively participate in student led conferences is crucial (Hebert, 1998). In my future classroom, I would like to introduce the idea of student self-reporting during the initial few weeks when focusing on personalizing student learning. As we discuss the various ways in which students learn, we can begin to discuss how they can monitor their progress over time, and lead the discussion with their parents. Specifically, helping students identify where they came from, where they are now, and where they want to be with their learning. The preparation for student-led conferences will tie in nicely to instruction on goal setting and metacognition. During this time, I will also include parents on the dialogue about the benefits of this process for improved student learning, and what to expect from their child during these conferences.