This summer I taught a class of 14 middle-schoolers Journalism for five weeks; I decided that what drives the course should not be my syllabus but student interest. It’s important to note that this was at a boarding school and the administration’s motto was all about trying new things. Thanks to this direction, I went full bore into my first jaunt into passion-based learning--and it was awesome!
On day one, I announced the objective of the course: to deliver whatever information the students wanted, in whatever medium they wanted, as long as it enriched the campus community. Then, I gave them a username and password to a campus Tumblr and Twitter (they later created their own Facebook group).
Naturally, middle-schoolers are an inquisitive, creative bunch, but it’s hard to get them to follow up on any of their whimsical interests. Even though we only met for forty minutes a day, this format worked. Students pitched ideas and wrote articles about local restaurants, current events, pop-culture, politics, history, cooking, technology, fashion, movies--you name it. They produced digital shorts, took polls, interviewed campus personalities, wrote opinions and even recorded campus events--including a talent show and an Instagram photo contest.
Interestingly, most students found a niche, usually a subject or format, and rolled with it. But, as the summer progressed, they took more risks. We started with news articles, followed by feature stories, opinion pieces, and then in week 3/5, I opened the blog to multimedia. I suggested video, music, podcasts, info-graphics and QR codes. Once again, students pitched ideas and then took the initiative to complete and post the finished product.
After an advertising campaign that included announcement, chalking, flyers and QR codes, campus faculty and students started to check the blog. Even colleagues who didn’t work in the program became interested in what I was doing. This only made my students work harder and double their efforts to locate, analyze and produce content.
In the end, the students in my class developed crucial skills in planning, pitching, writing, creating, innovating, and collaboration. But, they learned new platforms like Tumblr, Twitter, QR readers, Instagram and iMovie. This course also forced students to keep up with the news.
I’d heard a lot about passion-based learning before this summer, and was a believer, but never tried it with this type of conviction. And, if I were to do it again, I’d turn even more power over to the students--it works.
Unfortunately, I’m back in the structured curriculum of a high-school History Department. But I can assure you, I’ll be exploring passion-based learning again next summer.
