The Key to Making Every Child’s Dreams Come True – Found at SAR Academy

~Guest post by Sharon Marson

Schoolwide Enrichment Program Coordinator, SAR Academy, Riverdale, New York

A teary-eyed parent says, "Now my child feels really successful. Thank you for what you are doing.” Another shared that Tuesday (the day our new program is scheduled) is “a day my child refuses to be absent. I'm not allowed to pull him out of school for a doctor's appointment and he has even tried pretending he is well when clearly he has fever, in order to not miss an E-slot." The children themselves ask, "How many days until next Tuesday?" and stop me in school regularly to thank me for "making" this program.  

 

What has brought such joy and excitement to parents and children? The Schoolwide Enrichment program. This has enabled me to bring to fruition the dream of providing every early elementary child with the opportunity to participate in an Enrichment slot (E-slot) during the course of their week. It has been an incredibly fulfilling journey. No longer are only a select few of those who are high performing in reading or math given the opportunity to participate in Enrichment. Now, more than 450 children are able to choose among seventy offerings that are aligned with their passions, strengths, and/or interests. The offerings, primarily facilitated by a talented faculty and parent-body, correspond with multiple-intelligence theory, engage children in project-based learning, and are built on the pedagogy of Dr. Joseph Renzulli, seminal thinker, innovator, and researcher in the field of Gifted Education.  

The program is based on the idea that we should apply the pedagogy of gifted education to enrichment opportunities for all students. The broadened conception of giftedness, allows children to explore an area of interest, talent, or passion in depth, while in a small multi-age group with other students and a facilitator who also shares this interest. Enrichment Clusters are a delivery vehicle for disseminating enrichment pedagogy to every student and is founded on the belief that everyone has the potential to demonstrate gifted behavior. They are organized around interdisciplinary themes and are built on inquiry and advanced content and methodology, which allow students to secure and then apply new skills to real-world issues that are personally meaningful. The challenging learning pursued is grounded in the production of a product, performance, or service for an authentic audience. Our ultimate goal with this broad enrichment initiative is to help children discover and take pride in the diverse gifts and talents with which he or she is endowed, develop their interests and strengths, and understand how they can share their gifts with the world.

What is success? 

Just ask the kids and you’ll find there isn't a child who can't tell you when he or she feels successful or which activity engenders a sense of accomplishment. That is what our program is doing for children. We are giving students the equal-opportunity to succeed. They are happy. They are defining themselves as gifted in multitudinous ways. They feel accomplished. That is why they can't miss a moment of it.

 

See what this looks like in action at the video below. You can help the school raise money to grow their endeavor to create life-long, impassioned learners with a vote for the video at this link.

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Want to connect with others who are discussing the Schoolwide Enrichment Model?  Join us on Facebook here.

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What can we learn from Caine's Arcade?

Editor’s note: In yesterday’s post about Caine’s Arcade I shared several questions to ponder when watching the video.  Here is one reader’s insightful responses.

By Jo-Anne Tracy

Great post, (to both Lisa Cooley & Lisa Nielsen). It is very inspiring to come back from a week long internet hiatus and see this post. I will take a stab at answering some of the questions.

What subjects did Caine learn?
When looking at the 3Rs...

• Caine has mastered measurement, and spatial reasoning (math). I am certain he learned some basic physics in designing his games. (science).

I not only look at traditional 3R subjects but also look at the Seven Cs of 21st century learning as defined by Bernie Trilling of the Oracle Foundation.

• Critical thinking - Caine has shown abilities in critical thinking as he worked out problems to create a claw machine and to make the soccer game more challenging creativity and innovation. Caine has mastered this one!!!
• Collaboration - Perhaps, there was some collaboration shown, when Caine discussed his project with his dad and Nirvan.
• Cross-cultural understanding - not demonstrated
• Communication - Caine learned the power of this when Nirvan mustered a flash mob
• Computing technology - Caine learned the power of this when Nirvan mustered a flash mob. He also worked out an algorithm to verify authentic passes.
• Career learning - Spending time with his dad at work and developing his own brand show that Caine is well on his way to mastering this one.

What is the role of adults?

• His father was there as a facilitator, answering questions and allowing him space to work and develop his project
• Nirvan helped Caine assess his games. Nirvan’s enthusiasm encouraged Caine to explain his reasoning, showing his mastery and understanding of his critical process.

How much funding is necessary for such an endeavor?
As with other natural, passion led learning projects, there was little or no cost involved. Caine did rely on his father’s business for space. However, the cost of putting Caine into another summer program would definitely offset that cost.

What is the role of technology?
For Caine, he was able to learn the basics of algorithms when designing his pass verification system. Even though the system used very basic technology resources, the process to develop would not have changed substantially if he had used more sophisticated technology.

How can teachers bring the stories of the Caines in their classroom to the world?
The Vimeo video would be a great place to start. Then allow interested students to develop a website looking for other stories of success, such as Adora Svitak, Eva Ridenhour, Line Daile, Taylor Wilson (nuclear fusion generator)

What would have happened if there were texts? teachers? tests?
Caine would likely have lost interest, had testing been inserted into the process. He would never have achieved the level of creativity, if required to find textbook sources.

How should parents and teachers be empowering young people to use the power of social media to help them pursue their dreams?
The power of social media in this situation was great. It did help him achieve his dream, as he had refined his arcade. However, if pushed to use social media prior to the refinement, Caine may have been discouraged from negative reaction to his incomplete designs. The timing of the use of the media, must take into account the readiness of the child for the authentic assessment that comes from using these media.

How can we fight against school policies that try to limit the ability for young people and their teachers to harness the power of social media?
We can use Caine’s story, and that of other successful children to show the power of social media to administrators and legislators. This may encourage them to look at the benefits of authentic assessment. (However, I think, their reasoning against it is firmly entrenched. That is a different matter altogether.)

I think that this is a great example of the power of natural passion led learning. Caine likely learned more useful skills in completing this project that he would in an entire year at school.

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Jo-Anne Tracey was a classroom mother who became a passion-led learning advocate, when the school system decided her 9 year old son did not have the ability to learn to read and write.  So, the Tracey family left traditional schooling behind and became homeschoolers.   After 9 years of a passion-led, unschool education, her son is now studying geoscience at university.   

Jo-Anne, now advocates for passion-led learning.  Recently, she created an online learning community, Discovery Portal Active Learning Community, www.discoveryportalalc.com offering homeschoolers the active learning challenge program that she designed with her son and other virtual learning opportunities.    

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Nine Tenets of Passion-Based Learning

The Schoolwide Enrichment Model is Alive at The Island School

MindShift, a site that explores the future of learning, recently provided an overview of the passion-driven learning talk I gave with other esteemed panelists (Angela Maiers, Amy Sandvold, and George Couros) on the Future of Education. Steve Hargadon moderated the conversation during which we discussed “passion-based” learning. 

Mindshift pulled together nine key points we discussed during the talk along with some additional thoughts from John Seely Brown, co-author of A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change, and educator Jackie Gerstein.

Here are the nine tenants of passion-based learning

1. REACH OUT TO THE DISENFRANCHISED.
2. SHOW RELEVANCE TO LIFE OUTSIDE SCHOOL.
3. INDOCTRINATE PASSION INTO THE SYSTEM.
4. TRY USING THE SCHOOLWIDE ENRICHMENT MODEL.
5. DIGITAL MEDIA IS KEY.
6. TAP INTO THE WISDOM OF YOUR TRUSTED PEERS.
7. BECOME A DIGITAL CITIZEN.
8. PASSION IS INFECTIOUS.
9. CONNECT WITH PARENTS.

Now if these were the guidelines we used to drive public education, many innovative educators would feel a whole lot better about their work.  


To read about each idea and the rest of the article visit this link. 

You have read this article #passionbased / #passiondriven / passion based learning / passion driven learning with the title #passionbased. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2011/07/nine-tenets-of-passion-based-learning.html. Thanks!

Connecting School Life to Real Life

I will be speaking to educators at The 140 Character Conference on August 2nd about connecting school life to real life.  In the talk I ask the question, "If school should be preparing young people for the world, why does the world behind school doors look so different from the world outside those doors?" I explain that if we want students to be successful in the real world, schools need to get better at connecting school life to real life and give students the freedom to learn.

Here is the presentation I will use as I speak.  It was created so others can download, copy/edit and share.  I invite others to take and share these ideas. 

Click on the picture and the presentation will open in a new window.

I'm thrilled to be joined by some of the most influential members of my PLN on this day including Chris Lehmann, Tom Whitby, Steve Anderson, Christian Long, Adam Bellow, Shelley Krause, Dale J. Stephens and others!!!!

If you are a 21st educator, this is one event you should attend.  There is a special rate of only $1.40 for educators.  Shhh...don't tell.  Regular folk have to pay like $140 bucks.  You can find the educator application here.  I hope you'll be able to attend.  If you have any presentation feedback, please share.  

You have read this article #passionbased / #passiondriven / passion based learning / passion driven learning with the title #passionbased. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2011/07/connecting-school-life-to-real-life.html. Thanks!

Join The Innovative Educator in a Passion Driven Summer Book Club

I bought The Passion-Driven Classroom last month and regrettably I didn't finish reading it. Here's why.  For me, with the internet, reading has become a conversation.  I love to read, discuss, and write. Lately, I have found I'm less likely to finish books when I can't discuss it with others like I can online.  It's just not as much fun as the conversation that can happen when reading on the web.

Well, I'm soooo excited to share that Heidi Hayes Jacobs and her leadership team at The Curriculum 21 Ning have selected the The Passion-Driven Classroom for their summer book club study.  How awesome is that???!!!  I'll be able to read the book and have conversations with amazing educators like Heidi as well as the authors of the book.  I'm so excited.

It is free to participate in the book club.  It begins on June 14th, with a discussion about the Preface and Chapter One. I hope readers of this blog will join me in what promises to be a powerful conversation about the role passion plays in teaching, learning, and student achievement.


You can click here to join the group (and join the Curriculum 21 Ning) to take advantage of the reading and discussion opportunity! If you haven’t purchased the book, Eye on Education is giving book club members an exclusive 10% discount. Enter this code and it will enable you to purchase the print book, eBook, or the bundle pack. If you’re interested in multiple copies of the print or eBook, please contact Jon Rothman at rothman@eyeoneducation.com for multiple copy discount information.

If you want to know more about the book, check out this review from The Blue Skunk Blog.

Note: Membership in the Curriculum 21 Ning is moderated. To become a member, you must register with a clearly identifiable education or education-related e-mail domain.

You have read this article #passionbased / #passiondriven / pass / passion based learning with the title #passionbased. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2011/06/join-innovative-educator-in-passion.html. Thanks!

What we need is not evolution, but a revolution in education

Sir Ken Robinson followed up his 2006 TED talk with another genius speech that captures so much of my thinking and writing here on The Innovative Educator blog.  Not much has changed for the better in schools since Sir Ken Robinson convinced us that schools do indeed kill creativity.  In this speech he makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning. This does not mean everyone achieves the same personal mastery for the same standard tests and outcomes. Instead it means creating conditions where kids' natural talents can flourish.

Robinson explains that education dislocates many people from their natural talents. He goes on to say, what many of us working in schools already know. Reform is of no use anymore, because that’s simply improving a broken model. What we need is not evolution, but a revolution in education. It has to be transformed into something else.

He recognizes that innovation is hard because it means doing something that people don’t find very easy for the most part. It means challenging what we take for granted, things that we think are obvious. This is difficult to do when school systems dictate that all their employees implement the one vision handed down to them by the suspect Common Core Standards. Suspect because these standards, being adopted across the nation, stand to make the testing and publishing companies that created them billions of dollars.  They also promote college for all which ultimately lines the pockets of many, leaving behind as carnage the graduates known today as generation debt.

Robinson points out that many of our ideas have been formed, not to meet the circumstances of this century, but to cope with the circumstances of previous centuries. He says that our minds are still hypnotized by them and we have to disenthrall ourselves of some of them.

He gives these examples.

Linearity

He says one such example is the idea of linearity, meaning that it starts here, and you go through a track, and if you do everything right, you will end up set for the rest of your life. He shares that the pinnacle for education today is getting into college. Recognizing that we are obsessed with getting people to college he responds with this.

I don’t mean you shouldn’t go to college, but not everybody needs to go, and not everybody needs to go now. Maybe they go later, not right away.

Conformity

Sir Ken says that we have sold ourselves into a fast food model of education. And it’s impoverishing our spirit and our energies as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies. He suggests we recognize a couple of things.

One is that human talent is tremendously diverse and people have very different aptitudes. Forcing someone to take a subject like Algebra isn’t going to make them good at it.  Instead it will enable you to see who has an aptitude for it.  He shares a great example stating that he was given a guitar as a kid at about the same time Eric Clapton got his first guitar. As we all know, it worked out for Eric. For Sir Ken, not so much.  I had the same experience with a piano.  Despite years of lessons I can’t read music and can’t play the piano. 

Another is a favorite topic of mine: PASSION, or that which excites our spirit and energy. He shares a point he makes in his book, “The Element” that often, people are good at things they don’t really care for. For instance, I may be very good at cleaning and doing the laundry, but I just don’t care for it.  However, when I’m doing something that I love like reading, writing, talking to friends, or playing volleyball, an hour feels like five minutes.  On the other hand if I’m emptying the dishwasher, five minutes feels like an hour. 

Opting out of school

He goes onto explain the reason so many people are opting out of education. I was so excited to hear him use that phrase.  When I created the “Teenagers Guide to Opting Out of School,” I wasn’t aware Sir Ken was using this language.  It’s encouraging to learn that Sir Ken and I are on the same page here! He says kids are voting with their feet and leaving education because it doesn’t feed their spirit, it doesn’t feed their energy or their passion.  These are exactly the reasons the guide was written.  To provide teens with alternatives that do just that if traditional school is not fulfilling that need.

The change we need

Sir Ken explains that we have to move

from

An industrial model of education, a manufacturing model, which is based on linearity and conformity and batching people.

to

A model that is based more on principles of agriculture. We have to recognize that human flourishing is not a mechanical process, it’s an organic process. And you cannot predict the outcome of human development; all you can do, like a farmer, is create the conditions under which humans will begin to flourish. It’s about customizing to your circumstances, and personalizing education to the people you’re actually teaching.

Doing that he says is the answer to the future because it’s not about scaling a new solution; it’s about creating a movement in education in which people develop their own solutions, but with external support based on a personalized curriculum or what I like to call a “Personal Success Plan.”

Check out the video below to hear Sir Ken Robinson share these ideas in his latest TED Talk.

You have read this article #passionbased / #passiondriven / college myth / Sir Kenneth Robinson with the title #passionbased. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-we-need-is-not-evolution-but.html. Thanks!

Why I will no longer work to differentiate instruction!

I used to be a big fan of differentiated instruction.  It all came together for me when I learned about the Schoolwide Enrichment Model at ConFratute and then helped schools use Renzulli Learning which is a terrific differentiation machine.  A couple years later Marc Prensky’s book Teaching Digital Natives---Partnering for Real Learning was released and he even acknowledged me in it!!  This also became part of the differentiation game to me.  I began speaking and writing about differentiated instruction more and more and explaining to teachers that this really wasn’t that hard.  Especially if we focused on student centered learning like the teachers I wrote about in my post, Student Driven Learning = Passion-Based Classrooms.


I realized that when teachers gave up control an empowered students to use the tools they want and meet learning goals in the way they choose, then true differentiation could begin and it wasn’t all on the shoulders of the teacher to figure out how to do this.  So you might be wondering why, if I’m such a big fan of differentiated instruction, I have decided it’s not something I am willing to do any longer. 

It was Tom Welch who reached out and asked me to join him in abandoning the term differentiating "instruction". He explained, it this way:

What we really need to help occur in classroom is differentiated "learning". This accomplishes the student ownership of the learning, allows for a passion-driven approach, shifts the responsibility for the learning to the learner (where it belongs) and changes the teachers role to what you consistently advocate. There also also many other reasons -- like the elimination of the typical classroom culture of dependency, and the way this allows learning to go viral by removing artificial timelines that ignore individual learner needs, passions and differences.

He goes on to recognize that many teachers groan when anyone talks about differentiated instruction because it just makes them feel inadequate. He shares however, that when he speaks about differentiated learning, and shares the way this shifts responsibility, etc, they begin to look at many elements of the learning process in a different way. 


Tom is right!  The conversation must evolve from “Differentiating Instruction” to “Differentiating Learning.” Our students will thank us!

You have read this article #passionbased / #passiondriven / differentiated instruction / differentiated learning / passion based learning with the title #passionbased. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-i-will-no-longer-work-to.html. Thanks!

Hear The Innovative Educator on Passion Driven Learning Panel with Angela Maiers, Amy Sandvold, and George Couros

I'm excited to join some of the most passionate educators in the world for a second time in a panel moderated by Steve Hargadon as part of the Future of Education Series tonight (Tuesday) to discuss next steps for those who believe passion should drive learning. Passion driven learning is a topic I write about often and it's the topic of co-panelists Angela Maiers and Amy Sandvold's fantastic book, "The Passion-Driven Classroom." Rounding out the panel is the creator of Connected Principals, The Principal of Change (as his blog is called) George Couros.

No one disagrees with the premise or that passion is a factor in both individual and organizational success. We just have a lot of questions about it and this panel has the answers!

Questions like:
* What is passion…really?
* How do you define passion?
* How could/does passion change the game?
* How does passion present itself in your work? life? organization?
* What does it mean for you? our students? your community? clients? the world?
* Can passion be “taught”?
* How is passion different than engagement?
* What conditions are necessary for passion to exist?
* Is passion a necessary or a “nice to have” quality?
* What are the repercussions of being a “passion-less” person or organization?
* Can we quantify passion? If so, how?
* What is misunderstood about passion?
* What can we do to change this? move the conversation forward?
*What are the NEXT ACTION STEPS we as educators can do tomorrow?

These are questions that need to be approached and explored from many angles and this panel of genius minds will come together to provide insights.  

We hope you can join us.  

Details
Registration is Free – PJ’s are Optional
To join, visit: http://tr.im/futureofed
Date: Tue 10 Ma
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern
Moderated by:  Steve Hargadon
Panelists

• Lisa Nielsen
• Angela Maiers
• Amy Sandvold
• George Couros

Hope you can join us and share with your personal learning network too by Tweeting this post (http://bit.ly/jwSiqC) with the hashtag #passiondriven and mentions to @innovativeedu @AngelaMaiers @GeorgeCouros @sandvoldamym @stevehargadon    

You have read this article #passionbased / #passiondriven / passion based learning with the title #passionbased. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2011/05/hear-innovative-educator-on-passion.html. Thanks!

Listen to The Innovative Educator Share Ideas for Fixing Schools Not Children

This is my interview on Parents as Partners where I discuss ideas about fixing the school rather than the child.  I spend quite some time discussing ideas for opting out of standardized tests.

• Come take a listen here at Parents as Partners. 
• Check out links at LiveBinder Link
• Check out the Chat log
• Read We Would Prefer Not To Take Your Standardized Tests

You have read this article #passionbased / #passiondriven / passion based learning with the title #passionbased. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2011/05/listen-to-innovative-educator-share.html. Thanks!

Find out why passion should drive learning at The Virtual Tech Conference this Saturday!

I'm excited to join some of the most passionate educators in the world in a panel moderated by Steve Hargadon as part of the Virtual Technology Conference Closing Panel this Saturday to discuss next steps for those who believe passion should drive learning. Passion driven learning is a topic I write about often and it's the topic of co-panelists Angela Maiers and Amy Sandvold's fantastic book, "The Passion-Driven Classroom." Rounding out the panel is the creator of Connected Principals, The Principal of Change (as his blog is called) George Couros.

No one disagrees with the premise or that passion is a factor in both individual and organizational success. We just have a lot of questions about it and this panel has the answers! 

Questions like:
* What is passion…really?
* How do you define passion?
* How could/does passion change the game?
* How does passion present itself in your work? life? organization?
* What does it mean for you? our students? your community? clients? the world?
* Can passion be “taught”?
* How is passion different than engagement?
* What conditions are necessary for passion to exist?
* Is passion a necessary or a “nice to have” quality?
* What are the repercussions of being a “passion-less” person or organization?
* Can we quantify passion? If so, how?
* What is misunderstood about passion?
* What can we do to change this? move the conversation forward?
*What are the NEXT ACTION STEPS we as educators can do tomorrow?

These are questions that need to be approached and explored from many angles and this panel of genius minds will come together to provide insights.  

We hope you can join us.  

Details.

Registration is Free – PJ’s are Optional:

• Date:  Saturday, April 30th
• Time: Passion Panel - 5:40 EST Time Zone Conversion Chart
• How to Register (Two Steps Required!) Step One - Step Two
• How to Participate in the Panel:  http://tinyurl.com/WOWpassionpanel
• Conference Resources:  http://www.aztea.org/moodle
• Moderated by
• Steve Hargadon
• Panelists
• Lisa Nielsen
• Angela Maiers
• Amy Sandvold
• George Couros

You have read this article #passionbased / #passiondriven / passion based learning / passion driven learning with the title #passionbased. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2011/04/find-out-why-passion-should-drive.html. Thanks!

Aligning school to the way we were born to learn

Born to Learn is a cool site I recently came across that was created because our current systems of education aren’t doing enough to unlock our true potential. On the site they feature several video animations (and they’re working hard on more) to sum up over 20 years’ of rigorous and complex research in a way that’s accessible and easy to understand.


Here is the sites intro video which is just a terrific conversation starter for educators, parents, and students.

Born to Learn from Born to Learn on Vimeo.


The majority of the material collected on the site is taken from the book Overschooled but Undereducated which synthesizes an array of research and shows how these insights can contribute to a better understanding of human learning, especially as this relates to adolescence. As explained on the site, by mis-understanding teenagers’ instinctive need to do things for themselves, society is in danger of creating a system of schooling that so goes against the natural grain of the adolescent brain that formal education ends up unintentionally trivializing the very young people it claims to be supporting. By failing to keep up with appropriate research in the biological and social sciences, current educational systems continue to treat adolescence as a problem rather than an opportunity.

This book is about the need for transformational change in education. It synthesizes an array of research from both the physical and social sciences and shows how these insights can contribute to a better understanding of human learning, especially as this relates to adolescence.

The intention of the book and the site is to shake education out of its two-century’s-old inertia because they say, if a generation fails, the fault lies squarely with the previous generation for not equipping them well enough for the changes ahead.

You have read this article #passionbased / #passiondriven / real life learning with the title #passionbased. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2011/04/aligning-school-to-way-we-were-born-to.html. Thanks!

See what happens when students are allowed to embrace free range learning

If we allowed digital devices in school,
it would be chaos!

New Cannan High School is unique in that it provides a free range learning environment, meaning, what is contraband in places like New York City is embraced at this school. Students are free to bring their own personal learning devices (i.e. cell phones, iPads, laptops, etc.) and they are not blocked from gaining access to any website. In fact sites like Facebook and YouTube are embraced as powerful learning tools. 

Unfortunately, it seems teachers where the devices have been treated as the enemy, have bought into this idea, but where students are given the freedom to learn and create using the tools they want about subjects in which they're passionate, the school environment can move from celebrating success over scores on a bubble sheet, to celebrating success on the creation of a YouTube video viewed and commented on from folks around the world.

That was the case this week, when Michelle Luhtala's students created this video as part of American Library Association teen video contest, Why I NEED My Library! Contest winners can receive thousands of dollars for their library.  Not only do these students create a great video, but they also make a great case for school libraries everywhere.  The video was the result of what happens when teachers support (rather than control) their students passion-driven learning and allow them to use the tools they embrace in the real world inside schools.

Here's the video. Please watch and if you enjoy it, please "like" the video.



To read more about this project visit their librarians blog post, "What kids can do when they love what they do."

You have read this article #passionbased / #passiondriven / free range learning / passion based learning / student centered learning with the title #passionbased. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2011/04/see-what-happens-when-students-are.html. Thanks!

Allowing Today’s Students To Focus So They Become Tomorrow’s Experts at The iSchool

The iSchool which I featured as the Immunization to an Uninteresting Curriculum has become even more interesting. The school is helping students become experts through their area of focus program which allows students to select a two-year focus for their studies enabling them to really concentrate on their area of passion.  In its first year, the program is already increasing motivation and attracting college interest.

The first thing that impresses me about the program is that it addresses a personal frustration of mine. Like many traditionally schooled students, I was learning-dependent, believing my passion was to do what I was told, get good grades, and finish school so I could reap the promised rewards.  I did all that and at 19 stood with a college diploma in my hand, scratching my head with no idea what I was going to do next.  iSchool students won’t have the problem of wondering what they want to do with their lives.  They are given the opportunity to think about what they want to do with their lives today.  

I had the opportunity to learn more about this program at the recent EduCon conference conversation where Alisa Berger and Mary Moss, the school’s co-principals shared their ideas and elicited feedback from attendees.  While the program is still being formalized, some of the ideas school leaders and session participants discussed that might support students in focusing on their area of expertise include.  

• Exploring Passions and Interests with Area of Focus Profile
• Teaching Assistanceships or Field Experience
• Focus Fairs
• Developing a Plan That Connects School to Area of Focus
• Helping Students Build Personal Learning Networks
• Quarter or Semester Check Points
• Honoring the changing of passions

Here is more about each component.   

Exploring Passions and Interests with Area of Focus Profile
Students at the iSchool are not only encouraged to think about what their interested FIX WORD are, they are also asked to document this in their personal Area of Focus profile.  There they answer questions like:

• What are your interests/hobbies outside of school?
• When have you experienced “flow,”  which means a time when you have been SO engaged that you lost track of time?
• Which classes/subjects have you enjoyed the most?  
• What about them did you enjoy?
• How do you like creating best i.e. writing, video, photos, audio, sculpting, painting, music

Students can receive this as a focusing document as they enter the iSchool.  This enables them to always think about their passions, interests, and what it is they want to focus on. Students may also have opportunities to be exposed to areas beyond current experience (perhaps career inventories, in which they might discover unexpected long term goals, aligned with strengths and interests, from which to back map).  There are also websites and blogs like My Child’s Path that expose students to a variety of possibilities they may not have thought of.  

The Area of Focus profile is similar to talent profiles (see samples here) used by schools like The Island School which follow the Schoolwide Enrichment Model.  These profiles can be digitized in a data base as is the case with The Renzulli Learning Differentiation EngineTM.  Once the profiles are digitized you can align engaging, individualized resources to students passions, talents, interests, and learning styles.  It also provides a convenient tool for connecting students.  Additionally, it really helps educators differentiate instruction and build student-teacher relationships by giving every staff member a deeper insight into all their students.  

This simple tool helps strengthen the student / teacher connection because it drives home the importance of teaching students, not subjects.  

Teaching Assistanceships or Field Experience
Students will choose between Teaching Assistanceships or Field Experience Apprenticeships.  Both provide a valuable mentor-type experience for students. Field Experience Apprenticeships will enable students to serve in the community for a business or organization of interest.  Teaching Assistanceships will give students the opportunity to work side-by-side with a teacher in a subject they love. What's interesting with Teaching Assistanceships is the circular mentor relationship that occurs with the teacher serving as a mentor to Teaching Assistant and the Teaching Assistant in turn serving as a mentor to younger students.  This might resemble the work that occurs at Chris Lehmann’s Science Leadership Academy.  For more information visit this link.

Focus Fairs
To help students determine their area of focus, in addition to the Area of Focus profile that helps students think about what they may want to develop expertise in, The iSchool hopes to hold “Focus Fairs.” At these fairs community experts with businesses and organizations who have field experience opportunities for students can come to let them know about what it is they do and how [this student] STUDENTS might get involved.  They can explain more about their business, future career opportunities, and what further education might help them best prepare them for work in this field. Students and their families are encouraged to recruit participants for this event.  
There will also be booths set up by subject where teachers who teach different subjects can discuss with students what a teaching assistanceship might look like.  They’ll discover what kind of opportunities for deeper study in the area may help prepare them for, and what it is they will be doing in an assistanceship with that particular teacher.  In future years there might also be other students who selected particular areas of focus at each booth and the school is considering having students who select a particular area make videos at the end of each year to advise fellow students what they learned to help them determine if this is the right path for them.

Developing a Plan That Connects School to Area of Focus
Once students select their area of focus they develop an area of focus plan that helps to align student’s school work to their area of focus.  Making this explicit connection is powerful always keeping at the forefront of the student and teacher’s mind the answer to the age old question of, “Why do we have to learn this?”  

Helping Students Build Personal Learning Networks
A part of the area of focus plan might be supporting students in developing their personal learning networks connecting to others who share their passions in authentic forums much in the same way high school student Armond McFadden has.  Armond has a love of buses.  He participates in transportation discussion boards, has a blog about buses, contributes photos (another passion) of buses to relevant online communities and he has created a bus video series with a substantial following.  He also has real life connections with MTA workers. As a high school student, he has already established himself as an expert in the community.  

Quarter or Semester Check Points
Students will have quarter or semester check points where they reflect on their learning so far. This might include how well they feel they’re addressing their area of focus, if they feel this is the right choice for them, and what has made them feel this way.  This These reflections can become a part of a students ePortfolio and might be captured in a way that best meets the students’ learning and creation style.  For instance, one student might have a photo montage with captions, another a video, another a voice thread, and another a blog.  

Honoring the changing of passions
In many cases, traditionally schooled students have not spent much time thinking about what their passions are.  At the iSchool the staff and peers certainly do their part in helping students discover their passions, but upon pursuing a particular path, sometimes students change their minds and that’s okay.  It’s just as important to have time to discover there is something you thought you liked, but once immersed you learn it’s not really the right direction.  Part of the journey indeed is not finding your passion / area of focus but discovering what it means to explore possible passions.  

What education should be about
The iSchool’s Area of Focus program provides a vision for the future that should be a part of every child’s education.  Unlike many other schools who are misleading their students to believe the key to success in life is doing what you’re told and getting good grades in high school and college, the iSchool keeps it real. They know the key to success for their students is helping them discover what they love and supporting them in the discovery and development of their passions.  In a school setting the staff and students can make direct connections to what they’re learning and how it relates to the area of expertise they are pursuing.  Not only does this give students a focused vision for success, it keeps their school experience, real, relevant and engaging, and after all, isn’t that what school should really be about?  

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Hats off to Shelley Krause and Kate Fridkis for their feedback and ideas in the development of this post and of course to Alisa Berger, Mary Moss, and their staff for providing this wonderful learning opportunity for their students.

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