Sliced Bread

Student led professional development sessions for teachers should become the norm. Why? See list below.

Real student voice, not tokenistic, not patronising, not fly on the wall static attendance but authentic participative involvement by students as leaders of their own learning.

I’d like to attend PD like this. Teams of apprentice learners (students) demonstrating practical applications of keynoters/adult/master learners theories. 21st Century classrooms in action at PD events.

If the presented theories can’t be applied, haven’t been assessed or students don’t demonstrate, (digitally or F2F) then maybe that is PD I don’t want to attend anyway.

The recent AeA 21st Century learning Symposium involved master student keynoters. They inspired.

Certainly not unique to this symposium, many conferences use student keynoters, but as the supportive “36 year educator” in the audience says;

that success story is really important, our educators need to hear from you, your work, creativity, presentation is phenomenal work … I am very very proud of you, I tell you, you just made my whole year.

I trust what was demonstrated was applied in that speakers school from the next Monday. I am sure it was.

If you extract, go a little deeper and reflect on what these Year 8 students actually accomplished it should now be compulsory for all 21st Century conferences to invite student co-learners to present.

The learning demonstrated by these emerging, but already proficient, keynoters is a powerful example of;

• quality summative assessment of project based learning (eportflios)
• ownership, confidence and enthusiasm (doing not just saying)
• evidence of high levels of student engagement (21st C learning via walking the walk)
• H.O.T. skills as a starting base (raising the expectation bar)
• innovative application of digital learning tools (fluency not just digital literacy)
• articulate, real world communication skills (face to face quality public speaking)
• 21st century learning by the learners who really matter (students are our core focus)
• the future redundancy of uninspiring theory/data lecturers (FIGJAMers gone, yay.)

It seems these learners

1. choose a relevant PBL 21st century task
2. capture the formal and informal learning process with the intent to share
3. during and on completion, demonstrate/present to an authentic audience.
4. are formatively assessed by global networks
5. use quality, rigorous and repeatable assessment

Your process will be a future litmus for transformative learning. Open sourced, highly integrated tech focus, one to one projects, high academic standards an an overarching sense of learning fun and community involvement.

Yes Lincoln Magnet School, and the broader Springfield Public School District 186 you have every right to be proud. Your school is obviously a leader in the 21st century.

Top job, well done.

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