Empower

What Happens When Students Own Their Learning

John Spencer, A.J. Juliani

• Publisher: Impress
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN:
  9781946444424
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Theory & Practice

Kids begin their learning journey as curious problem solvers who ask questions and create solutions. As they go through school, something happens to many of our students, and they begin to play the game of school, eager to be compliant and follow a path instead of making their own. As teachers, leaders, and parents, we have the opportunity to be the guide in our kids' education and unleash the creative potential of each and every student. In a world that is ever changing, our job is not to prepare students for something; instead, our role is to help students prepare themselves for anything. In Empower, A.J. Juliani and John Spencer provide teachers, coaches, and administrators with a roadmap that will inspire innovation, authentic learning experiences, and practical ways to empower students to pursue their passions while in school. Compliance is expecting students to pay attention. Engagement is getting students excited about our topics, interests, and curriculum. But when we empower students, they crave learning that is both meaningful and relevant to their life, now and in the future.

Table of contents

• Copyright
• Foreword by George Couros
• Finding your voice
• 1. A snapshot of student ownership and a teacher who changed the world
• 2. Chapter 2: Our job as teachers, parents, and leaders is not to prepare kids for “something;” our job is to help kids prepare themselves for “anything.”
• 3. Chapter 3: Empowering students means giving kids the knowledge and skills to pursue THEIR passions, interests, and future.
• 4. Chapter 4: Student choice is the heartbeat of ownership and empowerment.
• 5. Chapter 5: It’s not about giving them a roadmap for learning. It’s about helping them create their own maps.
• 6. Chapter 6: Student ownership is a mindset.
• 7. Chapter 7: Every student is a maker.
• 8. Chapter 8: Assessment should be fun. No, really, we’re serious.
• 9. Chapter 9: Our learning stories must include failing, not failure, and there is a big difference between the two.
• 10. Chapter 10: The system should fit the student instead of the student fitting the system.
• 11. Chapter 11: Stories are empowering if we own them.
• 12. Chapter 12: The starting point for empowering your students
• 13. Notes
• About the Authors