I just read Wes Fryer’s “Passion, Learning and Innovation”. I loved his question: "Is your curriculum wide enough that it can provide room for students to connect with, deepen their knowledge of and share topics about which they are passionate?" Much of what we read in education today deals with passion-based learning, allowing students to explore topics that they are passionate about. In my own classroom experience, I have learned that passion-based learning increases student engagement.
A topic of interest with one of my guided reading groups this year has been animals/wildlife. I capitalized on this topic in this group by finding reading material about wild life. My students wanted to delve further into the animal life that they were introduced to by completing more research. They wanted to share the information with their classmates. We worked together on creating Power Point presentations. The experience allowed the students to develop many skills: main idea/details, organization, story boarding, relating pictures with details, public speaking, power point etiquette and collaboration. A couple of students created their power point presentations at home. Their enthusiasm spread throughout the class. Soon all of my reading groups wanted to do similar work. This week one of my groups has completed research and a power point on endangered animals. Each student selected an endangered animal to become “the expert” on. They incorporated a way to help protect the endangered animal.
This experience has been very exciting and educational for me! This upcoming year I will spend more time with passion based learning by learning what my students are passionate about and incorporating that into my planning!
How are you using passion based learning in your class? I love to hear ideas (especially in the primary grades)!
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