Empower: What Happens When Students OWN Their Learning
by John Spencer & A.J. Juliani @ajjuliani @spencerideas #empowerbook
This book is all about student empowerment and shifting our mindset from compliance and engagement to empowerment. The authors weave in stories from real students, analogies that stick (ice cream and pilot seats), and practical ideas to get started on the move to students owning their learning.
Below are some quotes from Spencer and Juliani to help guide my thinking at the start of a new school year.
Questions to Ponder…
“What happens when students own their learning?”
“What decisions am I making for students that they could make for themselves?”
Reminder to Self..
“Every small act of student ownership is another step in the journey.”
“We have to embrace the notion that technology can open up a world of learning opportunities and then give our students the chance to own those opportunities.”
“Our job as teachers is not to prepare students for ‘something;’ our job is to help students prepare themselves for anything.”
“When you move toward being a guide, you are giving up power and control. Students are making more decisions.”
Ideas…
Any of these ideas can be googled to find more information - a couple of them are even represented in other books.
- 20% Time Projects
- Genius Hour Projects
- LAUNCH
- Genius Day
- Maker’s Day
- Global Day of Design
The authors point out a lot of barriers that teachers may feel that could halt the thinking around empowering students. They remind us that, “you are the one who can transform the learning space. You are the one to innovate. You are the one who spends hours with your students.”
It’s that point that makes me want to share the next two books - The Space: A Guide for Educators by Rebecca Louise Hare & Dr. Robert Dillon and Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros.
The Space: A Guide for Educators
by Rebecca Louise Hare & Dr. Robert Dillon @spacethebook
This book is an easy read that gives you step-by-step ideas for designing learning spaces that amplify learning. Teachers are sometimes worried about decorating their classroom. This books is not about decorating, but designing learning spaces.
This book starts by giving the reader a few questions to ponder about the learning space in their classroom to help guide the design.
Next, the authors ask, “how can we empower students and make the space more student centered and student driven?” This all begins with designing the space WITH students. They lay out simple steps to do WITH students:
- Brainstorming - get their ideas, both verbal and visual
- Feedback - what do they think of the plan?
- The “set-up” - invite them to build the first iteration
- The reconfigure - ask, “how can we make it better?”
The steps above are revisited frequently to ensure the best space for learning is created and changed as needed.
The authors also suggest different spaces...spaces to:
- Collaborate
- Create
- Showcase Learning
- Have Quiet
Throughout this short book there are pictures of examples of each space design. There are also ideas to get you started or, better yet, spark an idea to share with your students.
The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity
by George Couros @gcouros #innovatorsmindset
This is a book that affirmed my thoughts, pushed my thinking, and has been inspiring me to do new and better things. In this book, Couros defines innovation as “a way of thinking that creates something new and better.” This was not a summer read, but a book that I keep going back to and connects really well with the other two books I shared. He takes Carol Dweck’s work from Mindset: The New Psychology of Success a step further. (Mindset is another good read that discusses “fixed” and “growth” mindsets.)
Couros keeps relationships at the heart of everything reminding us that, “we have to make a connection to the heart before we can make a connection to the mind.”
He suggests 8 Things to Look for in Today’s Classrooms:
- Voice
- Choice
- Time for Reflection
- Opportunities for Innovation
- Critical Thinkers
- Problem Solvers/Finders
- Self-Assessment
- Connected Learning
He describes each of these and provides example of how this can be done with our students. Couros then connects these 8 Look fors with Professional Learning. He provides rationale and ideas that align to each thing related to Professional Learning.
To be honest, I went a little highlighter happy on this book. There are so many of his thoughts that are worth repeating, so I’ll try to pick just some of my favorite:
“We need to create the same opportunities for our students as those we would want for ourselves.”
“If we are going to empower our students, we must help them find what they love and create learning experiences that encourage them to develop their strengths.”
“Innovative environments should be built on trust.”
“It’s not about skill set; it is about mindset.”
This book is great to provoke dialogue...online, in a book study, on your own, through Twitter, or any other innovative way you decide :-). Each chapter ends with discussion questions or you can create your own!
Stay balanced. Be inspired. Grow.
