Speaking of Purpose, Persistence & Action

March 25, 2024

By Jenna Fournel, Director of Teaching and Learning

Listen to today’s Hooray for Monday Podcast to hear Aleta share how Purpose, Persistence, and Action became one of Inspired Teaching’s 5 Core Elements

For nearly a decade, Inspired Teaching’s Speak Truth program has provided a powerful example of our teaching philosophy in practice. Over the next several weeks we’ll be looking at how giving students the reins when it comes to conversation in the classroom can boost engagement and lead to learning at a level you and your students never imagined.

“I can’t believe how fast the time went by,” is something we often hear at the end of a Speak Truth session.

This is as true for the discussions that last 45 minutes as it is for those that last three hours. Consistently, students rate their experiences in Speak Truth as more engaging than their experiences in school; when we ask them why, the answers often come back to Purpose, Persistence, and Action.

Note how that connects to some recent comments from our Speak Truth students:

“Our topic was very interesting and relatable so I felt comfortable to answer any questions concerning it. The discussion was very open and gave us a lot of room to speak freely about our opinions.”
“Halfway through the session we all began to speak out our thoughts and things we felt strongly about without holding back. We all shared personal experiences. It made us feel vulnerable but strong.”
“I heard a lot of stuff that opened my ears and eyes. We discussed things such as what kids can do to help those who are always getting in trouble. It was like, BOOM everyone had a solution and then we had more and more to add. It felt really good.”

In a Speak Truth session, students are 100% in the driver’s seat as they choose the topic they discuss, the questions they ask, the flow the conversation will take, and the way they will summarize the learning at the end. Over the past few months discussion topics have included:

Lowering the Voting Age to 16
Prison Reform
The Impact of Rehabilitation vs. Imprisonment for Drug Addiction
How Academic and Athletic Pressure Impacts Well-Being
What Schools Can Do to Improve Safety
Combatting Consumerism

A Speak Truth discussion requires no special web platforms or equipment. It doesn’t require engaging videos or games. And yet – students find it engaging because they must be wholly focused on and actively part of a discussion that matters.

Engagement matters. A 2016 Gallup poll found that only 32% of 11th graders felt engaged in school. A 2018 CASEL report found that nearly three-quarters of high school students are stressed and bored in school. And at a time when chronic absenteeism is a national problem, “disengagement” is one of the four leading reasons students aren’t going to school.

Our experience with Speak Truth offers a compelling reason to try adapting more of what we do in a school day to center around our students’ voices and lived experiences.

92% of students participating in Speak Truth this year report that the experience is more enjoyable and meaningful compared to their experience in school.
87% say the sessions expose them to new ideas and perspectives.
100% say the sessions make them feel respected and that they found the experience valuable.

We are forever asking ourselves what more our students can learn, one way to push beyond boredom is to ask ourselves what more they can DO.

For additional insights, resources, and information on Inspired Teaching teacher and youth programming, subscribe to the Hooray For Monday newsletter!

Hooray For Monday is an award-winning weekly publication by Center for Inspired Teaching, an independent nonprofit organization that invests in and supports teachers. Inspired Teaching provides transformative, improvisation-based professional learning for teachers that is 100% engaging – intellectually, emotionally, and physically. Our mission is to create radical change in the school experience – away from compliance and toward authentic engagement.

Listen to This Week’s Episode of Hooray For Monday

InspiredTeaching · March 25, 2024: Speaking of Purpose, Persistence, and Action

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.