What is it exactly that we are celebrating at our Fall Deep Learning EXPO? Do you remember your childhood Science Fair? While many students certainly did their own work, conducted their own experiments, and should be proud of their efforts, far too often these events celebrated the wrong thing. They were driven by the perfection of the final product. On the day of exhibition, many students stood next to some unbelievable project with which they had little or nothing to do. Mom and dad were often the architects of these products because they knew it would be a big part of their child's grade that semester and they wanted them to look good in front of the rest of the school. Most students had a canned speech and rattled off a list of things they had prepared the night before. You remember?
Well...our EXPO IS NOT THAT.
It is instead a celebration of the process of inquiry and learning. It is an authentic opportunity for our students to discuss their struggles as well as their successes. It's a chance to highlight their curiosity and wonder and communicate to all of you the thinking and learning that came to light along the way. They are not receiving grades for these projects. Rather, they have received and will continue to receive formative feedback. In addition, they are developing the ability to provide constructive feedback to others. Will there be some imperfect results, some unfinished projects? Boy, I certainly hope so. Failure and discomfort are the most optimum places for growth...so long as students haven't learned to be terrified of them. We're all going to make mistakes and experience challenges along the path to design and collaboration. Let's teach kids to learn, improve, and grow from these experiences.
This is only our second attempt at this as a staff as well. Are there places where we can learn and grow and improve? For sure...and we will do exactly that in the months to come. But keep in mind that if we expect our students to take risks, try things, rise to challenges, and express creativity, then this process must become a foundation of our school culture for the adults as well. We must all participate and commit to the process of ideation, design, and reflection.
At Webster, we're going to take big swings, give kids real things to think about, real problems to solve, and challenge our staff to do the same. We're going to try things and reflect on the outcomes and be committed to growth mindsets. This is what the world is screaming for from our staff and students. So...when you come for our EXPO on December 15, @ 9:00am, you are coming to witness the continuance of something different...a more authentic exploration of learning. We are beyond excited to have you join us.
