I have spent a huge portion of these holidays thinking about how I am going to fit everything in this term. We have a full on timetable as part of the normal term - chuck in Marlborough Mako's taking Rugby sessions with students, Stage Challenge, our girls self defense program, Arts rotations and Technology sessions I am left without much time with my students.
Last term my students made baby steps towards planning their own timetable. With a little inspiration from Kerri Thompson and Learning my Way my students had a check list of tasks to complete as part of their literacy and inquiry project. They completed Must Do, Should Do and Can do tasks. Self management never looked so good! This was a great step in the right direction students were engaged and driven to achieve their goals but it still had me thinking about the level of student interest in what we were doing.
When I think of learning experiences I have had and had the most success with it was when I was learning about something I was interested in. Case in point - I made my first patchwork quilt these holidays - I learnt a lot along the way. It wasn't easy there were failures but I had something to hold in my hands when I was done. I felt proud of myself and a lot of others commented on my hard work. Ever the teacher, I wondered - How can I do this with my class?
My personal inquiry when I was at teachers college was about Authentic Learning experiences outside of the classroom - and if they were worth the effort of teachers. I proved to myself & the teachers of the classes I was following that visiting the museum, art gallery or local attraction really led to meaningful learning experiences for the students. They all learnt more when they were learning away from the 'normal' classroom experience.
I feel strongly about letting students learn about something they are passionate about. I didn't run a genius hour, passion project program last term because of my fear of the timetable. This term I am serious about focusing on personalized learning for my students. Face the Fear and do it anyway was my motto my first year teaching. I wonder what happened between then and now. Why am I risk adverse? What happened along the way that stopped me from trying new things? I have become a grownup teacher - moved on from the teenage rebellion I had when I was a PRT?
This term I need to remember this is what I am passionate about - authentic, hands on, learning experiences for my students. I want school to be a place they are happy to come to, and be a place where students feel safe enough to take risks with their own learning. I want to let students explore their ideas and passions so they can solve problems & make a difference to the world around them.
Thus Maker Space LabARTory was born. This is my version of Genius Hour, passion project. My students will have their own project they will research and present to the class. The name came from conversations with Kimberly Baars @MissesArtech and from a flyer my Mum gave me from an Art School in Melbourne. It got me thinking about what I could offer my students to inspire them to be creative, innovative and forward thinkers. The aim of our Maker Space LabARTory is that they will make something, or teach others something. It can be based in Science, the Arts or in Technology... what that something is is completely up to my students. They are limited only by their imaginations & our ability to locate or source materials. I intend to help find my students mentors using the Twitterverse. They will share their journey on Blogs which are also a new addition to our tool belt this term.
I am a little scared, but I am more excited. Heck - Face the Fear and do it anyway. I aim to be a google type teacher - chuck my ideas out there and if they don't work we will modify and edit along the way. Nothing worse than an Apple type teacher - saving everything until it is perfect before sending out my iLesson to be consumed.
