Another strong quote from Stager and Martinez, articulated so simply, and so true:
"We seek to liberate learners from their dependency on being taught."
So often teachers (and when I say teachers I include myself) feel frustrated by students' lack of initiative, their desire to be told exactly what to do, their need for each step to take. By middle school, students often have deeply ingrained habits that are byproducts of the educational system that we live in. Attempting to adopt a project-based learning approach can bring frustrations and challenges not only for teachers but for students as well. It is possible that throughout students' educational careers they may have had little opportunity to choose their own path, to explore a new topic or tool, to make choices. To make choices -- it sounds like such a small thing, but all too often school is about being told what to do and doing it. Not about making choices. When confronted with the opportunity to make choices about their own learning, students may feel lost and ill equipped to proceed.
What can we do as teachers to "liberate learners from their dependency on being taught"? In truth, we teachers often find ourselves in the same rut, wanting to know exactly what is expected. And I suppose that's human. Maybe asking repeatedly about details of what's expected is simply our way, and students' ways, of testing the waters. Of making sure that we are really free to choose.
Teachers know the goal -- we want students to be able to think for themselves, to develop a plan, not simply follow a plan. To identify what's important in writing an essay or blog post, in creating a website, in creating a video. Not simply to check items off on a rubric. So where do we begin?
How do we provide that freedom for student voice and choice while at the same time making sure students learn what they will be tested on at year end? What prior experiences will students have with voice and choice in their learning? Knowing that we "have standards to teach," how much do we plan for them versus letting them plan? How much voice and choice is "good" at the start of the year? Too much could be overwhelming to all involved, too little could have long lasting effects.
In some ways, math and English are very versatile. Math as a tool for understanding the world around us can be applied widely. Writing and communication skills can be applied to anything as well. Maybe the task of the teacher is not so much in selecting a topic for study, but in crafting the broader question that engages students in applying particular skills to better understand the topic and share their learning.
