Start with Why: The power of student-driven learning

Start with Why: The power of student-driven learning

Why do we have so many students who are frustrated and bored, just waiting to be challenged? We’ve made education about manipulation and hoops instead of inspiring our students to pursue learning that matters to them — learning that can help them make a difference in our communities and the world. By beginning with the Why questions, says teacher Shelley Wright, we can create powerful student-driven learning environments.

Problem-Based Learning: Our Brains Abhor Cliffhangers

Our brains don’t like unresolved issues, writes El Paso Schools IT director Tim Holt. “Hollywood figured out long ago that cliffhangers are sticky — that our brains remember unresolved issues longer than plotlines that just plod along.” In his latest post about the advantages of problem-based learning, Holt says PBL lessons should also keep students busy resolving the unresolved.

PBL Experts Are All Around Us!

Our arts education teachers quietly go about their work, often marginalized to the ‘extras’ or the ‘fluff’ of the school program, writes Canadian teacher educator Brenda Sherry. “And yet, I would argue that they are the PBL experts that we seek!” Sherry describes several attributes of student-centered pedagogy that are common among teachers of drama, music, painting, dance and artistic crafts.