The 5 Core Elements Series: Student as Expert - Center for Inspired Teaching

Inspired Teachers embrace the practice of engagement-based education. They recognize every child’s unique, inherent potential, challenging each student to solve complex problems, collaborate, and pursue continual learning and growth. In order for students to excel in the 4 I’s (Intellect, Inquiry, Imagination, and Integrity), we believe that teaching and learning in schools should be built around five core elements: student as expert; purpose, persistence, and action; wide-ranging evidence of student learning; joy; and mutual respect.

We’ve invited five guest bloggers to share their thoughts about the five elements. Writing on the subject of Student as Expert is Vicki Davis, veteran teacher and renowned education blogger. She’s also an author, speaker, global collaborative pioneer, ed tech advocate, and hosts the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast. Learn more about Vicki at her Cool Cat Teacher blog.

If you force a choice when students are working on projects, in a sense you’re taking away students’ unique voices. And what you may get in return is student apathy and disengagement. In this blog post, I hope to give you some examples that demonstrate this concept.

Recently, during a writing workshop at our school, we discussed a student mood survey about writing. One thing students said is that they want to “write about things they know.” While there’s a place for authentic research projects starting from limited knowledge, in my experience, I’ve learned that every student has natural interests and inclinations. (Just ask them!) I’ve found students to be more engaged in our classroom when I keep those interests and inclinations in mind.

Passion Instead of Apathy

Here are two examples of student engagement, one from ELA, the other from computer science.

At my previous school, which was in a rural area, we selected the book Shane because we wanted to engage more of our young boys in reading a story they’d find relevant. Yes, modern Georgia is a very different, far more peaceful place than the Wyoming Territory, and everyone grows up with a much clearer understanding of our roles and expectations, but this action-packed book tells a story of strength, justice, and community that still keeps young readers turning pages. Even though we chose the book, we chose it with an awareness of who would be reading it and what they’d bring to it.

When my computer science students are creating apps, I take them through a brainstorming process and help them create teams with common interests. Recently, I had two teams programming in augmented reality. One wanted to create a school tour, and the other wanted to create an app for teaching how to use VR glasses. Sure, I could have forced the choice, but as I mentioned earlier, forced choices can be a recipe for apathy and disengagement.

While I’ve heard some teachers complain about student apathy, I haven’t experienced it in my classroom for years. This is because I work hard to give my students choices to write, create, and program on topics that interest them. Thus, they bring their entire passion for that topic to what I’m trying to teach at the time.

Tapping the Power

Students are experts in themselves and their interests. Often, however, because they’re young people who are still growing, they may not have discovered what their talents and skills are. So getting them to learn new things can be very challenging. None of us like to feel “dumb” or uninformed about a topic, whatever age we are. But when we let students begin with a topic they already know or want to know something about, the unknowns that they’ll encounter won’t seem as daunting. My students might not understand how podcasting, website building, app making, and blogging work, but the less a child knows about what I’m about to teach them, the more I want them to be exploring a topic that is also a passion.

Whenever possible, I use topics of passionate interest as an attractive subject for teaching my content. As my students create and invent, they learn even more about a topic of interest while also learning about the content I’m teaching. As I see it, tapping into the power of student experts is a win for everyone.

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Outreach Coordinator

As the Outreach Coordinator, Brady helps maintain Inspired Teaching’s social media presence and supports the organization’s mission to connect with DC community leaders, educators, and parents. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.