We want to uncover what propels sustained energy in all students regardless of peers, parents, poverty, or tenure. What occurs systemically that, done differently, could quickly galvanize students? The resource available tomorrow morning is six hours of student effort. What will you ask of it? First, get an outcome picture clear. It’s not of students...
studies have found that when children are simply taught, they don’t explore and test multiple hypotheses … [In one study of preschoolers,] an experimenter held a toy that had four tubes. Each tube did something different — for instance, one lit up and one made a squeaking sound. In one case, the experimenter accidentally made...
What if we removed the passive course-to-course drudgery of the school day? What if there was no schedule? What if students were left with a list of coyly worded benchmarks targeted at creating quality humans, and we just waited to see what they could do? What if teachers were seen as mentors for projects designed...
I have strong feelings about what kids should learn, which is why I’d put them in charge of their own educations. Experience assures me they’ll get where they need to go, and do so more efficiently than will otherwise be possible. Experience also tells me that won’t happen as long as they’re fenced in by...
[Instead of just challenge-based learning, how about challenge-based leadership?] Sir Ken Robinson said in Creative Schools: Human achievement in every field is driven by the desire to explore, to test and prod, to see what happens, to question how things work, and to wonder why and ask, what if? Young children have a ready appetite...