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Class 3 - Thursday, March 26th

I missed this class, but found that I was able to continue my learning while accompanying my daughter's 6th grade class to Washington, DC. What better place to consider the implications of planning and leadership than in our nation's capitol? My daughter's class was given the opportunity to help guide their own learning by selecting some of the locations that they would like to visit and learn more about while in Washington. This collaborative approach was instrumental in building a sense of anticipation about the trip because the students had ownership of and a stake in the outcome. They were also provided with certain parameters, or boundaries, within which they needed to operate, a condition often found in our own work as adults whether it is policy or budgetary. 

Additionally, each child was provided an opportunity to be a leader for their own museum of choice. There were 8 children broken down into pairs. Each pair was responsible for developing an informational brochure about their museum of choice, as well as an activity/assessment sheet for the museum once they were there. This reminded me of the value of sub-committee work, where each team is responsible for the communication, implementation and assessment of their own assigned areas. This approach is effective in ensuring that everyone has a role, thereby furthering personal investment and ownership in the process. It also ensures that the team members are keenly aware of their responsibilities in the areas of communication, implementation and assessment.

For me, I was able to see the challenge often posed in projects of depth versus coverage. The national museums are incredibly large and diverse, and it is impossible to truly get a feel for them in 90 minutes. So do we seek to expose learners to the depth of a few things, or to the breadth of possibility? In this case, the answer is rooted in your desired outcome. Expose our learners to the wealth of information out there, teach them how to find resources so that they can later choose to focus in on one particular aspect in greater depth, either on their own or as part of a directed learning effort.  

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