Why is about relevance. Learners need to understand the value of the subject, vocabulary, and skills before they are willing to invest effort. Show relevance from students’ perspective.
What is learned involves students choosing the focus of content. Let their interests drive the content that teaches skills and concepts. The best strategy is simply asking what students want to explore. Start with a brainstorm of what they like to do, and dialog together to match their interests with the skills and concepts.
How learning will be demonstrated depends on the different ways that students process understanding. Offer a variety of product options based on what you know about your students. A safe approach is to offer three options. The teacher designs two options based on what most students may like to do. The third choice is a blank check.
Teaching Artists aren’t giving all the responsibilities to students, but instead giving up the need to control all the choices and outcomes within a classroom. Opening the conversation to include student leadership, choices for content focus and outcomes, and a majority of student voice.
Teaching Artists take a role as a Guide or Facilitator rather than t...
Celebrate and discover what’s already known such as students’ prior knowledge and experience of the art form.
Ask: What do you know about this art form?
Check in with what students want or would like to learn from the art form.
Ask: What would you like to know or learn about _______?
Create Goals together with Students
Ask: What are the goals to make this learning possible? What are each student’s goals for this particular class / art form / time together?
Believing all students are able & capable. (checking your adultism bias)
Language has power – speaking about & to your students with positive language will shift your perspective on them, and their personal belief in their abilities
Reinforcing positive behaviors, leads to more positive behaviors.
Sit or stand in formations where everyone can be seen & heard, and power feels shared.
Teacher sets up protocols for students to offer peer feedback.
Teacher checks in with the students & reflects in-community on how the learning is going, where students need support, where they need growth, where they can go deeper. Make adjustments based on ...
Work to build meaningful relationships within your classroom community (both between peers & teachers to student).
Be authentically you with your students
Take time to acknowledge each student
Create shared space agreements
Utilize Rituals to build connections between peers and peer to teacher.
