Autonomy and Loving to Learn

We talk a lot about autonomy at Summers-Knoll, as one of the great motivators of action, progress and success. Dan Pink, in his book Drive, famously talks about autonomy, mastery and purpose as being the three elements of motivation. You can watch an explanation here.

Giving children choices and opportunities to partner with the teacher in crafting their learning experiences fosters their natural curiosity and keeps their love of learning alive. It motivates them from within, rather than relying on stickers and grades that offer external incentives (and can easily backfire and become demotivating or punitive). It's also a much more powerful motivator than a gold star or grade because it gives them a healthy, productive, well supported kind of power over their experience and it feels good to learn that way. This sets them up strongly for the future, because students who love to learn will carry that love to the next level and throughout their lives, applying their still-vibrant curiosity to new challenges in new situations. 

The opportunity for autonomy can be seen through the consistent partnerships developed between the teachers and their students, but probably most clearly in the independent projects in which children engage. These projects not only harness their own enthusiasms, they also teach them valuable skills in organization and time-management, as they learn how to frame and develop their interests in order to share them. Spencer's class of 3rd and 4th graders has been doing exactly this, with the explicit intention of practicing and polishing to achieve mastery in a particular area or skill. Read about it here. 

Coincidentally, Sam's blog this week talks about the 10 Things research that his students are working on, which follows the same principle of independent study. In this case, the explicit goal was to develop the skill of memorization in an interesting, motivating way. As he explains, the students ran with it and transformed it into (in his words) "some combination of Google's Genius Time, independent and self-motivated research, and a (brief) weekly progress update given to the whole class."  Chris has also long used a dedicated part of the school week for Genius Hour with his 3rd and 4th grade groups.There's an explicit commitment to sharing in these examples, which is a great tool for reflection, self-assessment, and peer assessment - all vital tools as the children develop and refine their skills.

Our children love this kind of approach and engage in their work with fervor. The training that they receive in situations like this as well as many, many others stands them in good stead when they reach 7th and 8th grade. They have practiced skills in developing, organizing, researching, creating and presenting, both individually and collaboratively. (For more on that, take a look at what Josh has to say about individual learning in a group environment.) They are prepared for larger independent projects with Karl, including the more intense sharing experiences we call Exhibitions - project presentations where students not only explain their work but teach it in explicitly planned hands-on lessons to their audiences of peers, faculty, and family. The level of autonomy they experience - always with the support and guidance of their teacher - keeps their interest and motivation high. It's a huge contribution to the confidence and capable self-advocacy they demonstrate as they move onward to high school. 

On a tangential note, please make sure you read Rachel's library blog this week. We're all pretty excited about the experience she describes, and looking forward to possibilities in the future. 

Learning Beyond the Classroom

"The primary value of place-based education lies in the way that it serves to strengthen children's connections to others and to the regions in which they live. It enhances achievement, but more important, it helps overcome the alienation and isolation of individuals that have become hallmarks of modernity. By reconnecting rather than separating children from the world, place-based education serves both individuals and communities, helping individuals to experience the value they hold for others and allowing communities to benefit from the commitment and contributions of their members."

- Greg Smith, from Place-Based Education: Learning To Be Where We Are

Place-based education - taking the students' work out beyond the classroom and learning while doing in authentic situations - is a crucial part of how we keep learning real. As much as possible this is done through actual, physical transportation to the place and community that is the subject of the work. Sometimes it has to be done through simulations or virtual connections, like the Global Village experience for our 5th and 6th graders (read about where that is leading now here), or the Out of Eden Walk that Chris's class is following through these online resources. Place-based education connects our students with their environment and their community in increasing circles from their immediate surroundings to the far side of the planet. 

When students are able to immerse themselves in the spirit of a place and participate firsthand in initiatives that strive to change the world for the better, they start to build a platform for environmental and cultural literacy. They learn to work with different kinds of people, developing their self confidence and increasing their understanding of cultural and personal differences. They experience the flavor of different places and develop an appreciation for the unique identity of each. They see the relevance of the work they are doing to the larger work of the community, and these connections lead to deeper understanding, greater motivation, and a stronger sense of self-worth. 

This doesn't have to mean long excursions; our 7th and 8th graders participate in work crews around our own building - here's a note from the Library - and you can read about Val's EB children working in the natural environment right outside our door. Our 1st and 2nd graders recently ventured all the way across Platt Road to our very own County Farm Park to work with a naturalist; here's what Elaine has to say about it.  Chris's group of 3rd and 4th graders is working with pioneers in the community to develop and maintain the Buhr Park Food Forest, a community gardening initiative that is part of the Wet Meadow Project. They're learning practical skills, building spatial reasoning, engaging in physical work, and developing thought processes around ecology and social justice. Scroll down in the blog entry to find the food forest section - and take a look at what Chris has to say about the Out of Eden project, too. The 7th and 8th graders recently spent some time working with Earthworks Farm in Detroit (amongst other things), garnering a photo in the Financial Times as they did so, and later spent two days in the Upper Peninsula, in a gorgeous setting where they were able to simply let go and immerse themselves in active, joyful connection with the natural world. 

Risk and Resilience

Middle school students head out onto Lake Michigan in kayaks.

On Monday Dr. Beth Pearson and Dr. Michael Bambery from the Arbor Psychology Group came to Summers-Knoll to share thoughts and expertise on the subject of developing resilience in children. This is a subject dear to all our hearts, as resilience is a vital characteristic of an independent learner and an engaged liver of life.

As Beth and Michael discussed, there are different aspects of resilience, one of which is the willingness to take risks. Students who have the confidence or courage to go out on a limb, whether it's to expose themselves in a spotlight (performing, presenting, sharing work) or take on a new challenge with the possibility of failure, are opening themselves to learning. They don't sit on the sidelines and let others get on with it; they put themselves in an active role and participate in the successes and failures, joys, disappointments, shocks and surprises of a full learning experience. In order to be willing to do this, they need to feel that it's safe to fail - that they are supported by their teachers and friends.

It's part of our work to develop that sense of a safe community for our kids, and to provide opportunities to take risks in that context. My last post  talked a bit about how we work with our students to build a safe and strong community. We strive to provide the kind of foundation and the kind of experience that supports the development of brave kids - kids who are willing to speak up for an unconventional point of view, or choose a new instrument to play, or sing, despite their fears, in front of a crowd at an art and music cafe, or go higher on that climbing wall than ever before, or find in high school that they've enrolled in a class that doesn't suit them, and have the courage to advocate for themselves and effect a change.  Our kids do these things, and it's testament to the kind of environment our teachers, families, children, and other invested adults both within and without the walls of the school have built together.

Academic risk is pursued as a goal at Summers-Knoll. Children are encouraged to present their work to others from the very youngest class to the time they graduate. Exhibitions at 7th and 8th grade level seem a long way off to our kindergarteners, but this week the kindergarteners will present at morning meeting for the first time, in the first step towards exhibitions and their graduation performances. (They are understandably nervous, but they've seen other classes present and they know that everyone will be kind, and Val will be there to help.) In Sam's group, students are sharing work with each other and giving each other unusual feedback.  Being willing to let others see and comment on your work is not an easy thing to do, but peer-to-peer feedback leads to an enriched ability to self-evaluate and learn from mistakes. Taking on a leadership role can be inspiring, and builds that sense of empowerment; from stepping up to find the answer to a problem, as Danny and Ishan did in Chris's group (read about it here) to teaching the whole class, as the children regularly do in Spencer's class (here's Lilith).  Physical challenges like archery and dance require focus and determination, and motivate the children to keep trying and trying until a skill is mastered. These situations all carry an inherent risk of failure as well as the potential for mastery. Sometimes the children feel victorious, sometimes they feel disappointed; either way it's a time to learn. They start to develop the understanding that they can overcome their fears, they can be brave, and that being successful isn't something that just happens; practice, hard work, and learning when things go wrong all help to grow that sense of pride and achievement.

A Community of Learners

Progressive schools think a lot about community, and Summers-Knoll is no exception. How do we connect our children with each other, the school as a whole, the local population and social structure, and the world at large? Teachers think and talk about these things constantly, discussing with each other and the children, and modeling collaborative thinking as they do so. 

We intentionally introduce students to concepts and engage them in developing skills that build collaboration, inclusion, and service to others. A safe, strong, supportive community is an essential platform for learning, and the students are an integral part of building it. This creates a dynamic where they learn more, as learning to value the differences others bring teaches them to look at things from different perspectives, question assumptions, collaborate better, and be more confident about the things that make them unique. 

How do we do it? We design many of our activities as exercises in team-building, so that the children are consistently practicing collaborative skills. Reading and discussing, cooking together, building mini-golf courses, trying to make interesting cubby doors that match up, attacking a group math problem - all these things demonstrate to the children how to take on roles in group work to further the progress of the whole, how to compromise, how to support each other. In Chris's blog last week, for example, he talked about explicit roles for readers. The teachers watch for opportunities to bring conflict resolution, inclusion, and discussions about individual differences, respect, and friendship into the foreground. Some teachers spend dedicated time on this as a part of the curriculum, and all of them engage their classes in this kind of work on a daily basis, through group discussions and activities. Support for social and emotional development is a core part of every day in every classroom. 

The classrooms themselves are set up as collaborative and inclusive spaces. There are areas for relaxed, comfortable, community building activities. There are areas for group work. There are circles and soft shapes. It would be a rare moment to see desks set up in rows, and only for a specific activity or purpose at a particular time. 

Students participate in authentic jobs to benefit the classroom and the entire school. We foster a sense of responsibility and community through opportunities such as lunch clean-up - each of the 3rd-8th homeroom classes takes a turn each week at cleaning up the lunch room as a service to all. 1st and 2nd graders take on different "Environmental Superhero" tasks such as making environmentally friendly cleaning solutions and making the school sparkle. 7th and 8th graders participate in work crews, rotating through different supportive activities throughout the year, from assisting in younger classrooms to weeding to library duty. This leads naturally into all the classrooms taking part in service to others beyond the school. Susan's group is about to embark on "Read to Feed," just such a service opportunity to benefit the work of Heifer International. Karl's recent trip into Detroit with his students to work at Earthworks Farm gives another example. These service learning projects are integrated into the academic goals of the class, and also provide students with a way to make a difference, to know that they have the power to work towards good change. 

Events that bring groups of students together, such as performances (music and art cafés, plays) and middle school game nights, or annual events such as the EcoFair/Halloween Parade, or project-sharing days like theme celebrations (last year we had the Magic Show, this year we have several such celebratory days in mind) and middle school exhibitions provide opportunities for students (and their families) to enjoy, grow, and celebrate together. Cross-classroom projects and partnerships also lead to the building of relationships and community throughout the school. Morning meetings offer a time for students to share moments of learning and joy with everyone in the school. 

Summers-Knoll is an intentionally diverse community. We work hard at it, and do our level best to support the growth of a student body that hails from multiple walks of life. We support a third of our families with varying levels of financial aid, to ensure that it is not only the well-to-do that can afford to benefit from the kind of education we provide. This is a crucial service to all the children - everyone is richer and better for a community where value is not determined by wealth, and differences of all kinds are accepted and expected.