Welles: As I entered my classroom to begin 8th grade English, 23 pairs of eyes, many of them first generation children of Somali refugees, followed me. That day, it felt like the first time I really saw these students for who they were. More than a collection of names and personalities, my students had myriad talents, abilities, curiosities, and passions. I was seeing my students with new eyes because I'd begun to try something different as a teacher, and it was working.
Several weeks earlier, I was planning for the beginning of my third year of teaching. I was still learning how to create solid lesson plans, manage diverse classrooms, and handle the day-to-day situations that affect middle schoolers: troubled home lives, giddy romances, failed friendships, bullying, and first dances. I struggled with the idea that, for the most part, I was teaching the same way I had been taught nearly 20 years earlier: I immersed myself in content standards, broke them apart, blended curriculum to make lesson plans, gave assignments, engaged students in writing conferences, and assessed their work. The majority of students did what was asked of them. They were compliant, and for all intents and purposes, they were learning.
Still, I wondered: Is this all teaching is? Just teach the way we were taught as students? How can I make my teaching more student-centered? My school was a big proponent of adopting high-impact strategies validated by John Hattie's research on student achievement—such as using direct instruction, emphasizing note taking, teaching metacognitive skills, providing feedback, and teaching problem-solving skills. I was also curious about student-centered teaching practices that were gaining popularity—such as project-based learning, genius hour, passion projects, and makerspaces. How could I incorporate interest-based learning components like these into my weekly schedule and make sure I used research-supported, high-impact strategies?
The Inquiry Begins
Welles: Over the next month, I read all the data-driven, reliable research I could find on the effect of student choice in the classroom. The evidence was compelling that students who had significant choice in their educational experience demonstrated more ownership over their learning, persisted longer on their tasks, and showed higher levels of motivation than students engaged in similar but more traditionally structured classroom activities. That fall, after consulting with administrators, I teamed up with my mentor teacher, Angela, and began an action research project on my implementation of genius hour.
One day a week, or 20 percent of class time, my students worked on a standards-based project of their choice that would result in a product with real-world connections. While not all of the students were able to present their work to an authentic audience, we did our best to create opportunities that provided purpose and urgency for students' work. Some wrote persuasive letters to incoming politicians during the state elections outlining their views on sustainable energy, while others presented their work to student clubs and organizations. We also brought in community partners, organizations, and experts for showcasing events and used digital platforms to create resources and online publications.
Could I implement this new approach and still get 92 percent (or more) of my students to meet their target growth goals as I had done the previous year? I was more than a little nervous.
A Team Effort
Welles and Angela: To frame our investigation, we used the steps of action research:
Step 1: The Question
Can we make teaching more student-centered and still demonstrate an increase in student achievement?
Step 2 and 3: Data Collection and Analysis
We kept track of students' interests, helped them focus them into a real-world question, supported each student/group as they developed an action plan, helped them locate resources, and monitored their progress with weekly journal prompts. In their responses to journal prompts, students provided data that showcased their progress with problem solving, ability to accurately reflect on successes and challenges, and how well they identified next steps in their learning and the project. Student conferences provided an additional layer of data on their progress, as well as an opportunity to engage students in ongoing feedback.
The deep thinking that students exhibited in their genius hour projects was stunning. Lyrics became poems to analyze and investigate; natural curiosities became research topics to explore and report on; books became graphic novels and thematic paintings to showcase; films became studies in narrative structure and character development to share. Many students immediately immersed themselves in their work because, according to the students, they were never given a chance to delve into these kinds of topics and the open-ended nature of the project gave them freedom to explore a wider variety of information. The students also said they seemed to remember information better than when it was presented by a teacher.
Admittedly, some students had trouble getting started because they didn't know what they wanted to explore or thought it was "too much work" to create a formal product that addressed specific, grade-appropriate reading, writing, or research standards. Regardless of their individual stumbling blocks, differentiated scaffolding helped each student or group of students develop a project they were invested in.
Step 4: Reflecting on the Data
What were the results? By the end of the year, we came to some powerful conclusions:
- For the most part, every student completed a project; some completed more than one, and others wanted to continue the research into the next year.
- Although some students had to be reined in as they raced ahead, differentiation was necessary for students who struggled to self-initiate.
- Student choice is a vastly more powerful instructional tool than we imagined. Choice motivated students to learn, students took ownership of learning and persisted longer and tried harder than they had in the past.
- More thorough, long-term analysis is required to determine whether there is a correlation between student achievement and their genius hour successes.
- The learning process in Welles' class was qualitatively more enjoyable and engaging for students.
Step 5: Share the Findings
We share our initial results in hopes that our findings will inspire more teachers to become "mapmakers," charting new courses for teaching and learning through the reflective processes of action research. The action research project taught us that although student achievement is important, it is not the only variable we should have in our sights. Motivation and engagement are equally crucial. We've also learned that we can leverage our own research to make instruction more engaging and student-centered.
By going through this process, we also have something valuable to share with colleagues and the wider community of educators. If our research takes us beyond the ordinary—as it did for this approach to teaching and students' approach to learning—then we have the chance to become something truly extraordinary.