In San Diego, California, funding was cut for the care of local shores. Teams of high school students picked different beaches to advocate for community support to provide care. Students conducted scientific experiments of water quality along the beaches of their community. They determined the format of the final products, such as a calendar with important scientific information, websites, photo essays, and more. Here’s a video of their efforts.
In Texarkana, Texas, middle school teachers of 12- and 13-year-olds are planning for students to create marketing campaigns for local businesses. The students will research and evaluate the current online presence of a business of their choosing, and then develop a plan and model using social media tools such as Yelp, Urbanspoon, or Instagram to increase awareness of the businesses.
A game company sponsored a competition for players to design new character classes for their virtual world using Minecraft. The design had to include class specifications and a persuasive argument for why the proposal should be included in the game. Over 400 submissions were posted in the first 48 hours! My son researched his competitors’ ideas and did four revisions of his based on feedback from his friends before submitting his proposal. He put far more effort and time on this research and writing task than for any school assignment.
Young people want to be heard. They have ideas and perspective on their lives and the world around them, and when their voice is incorporated into learning, good things happen. In each of the three examples above, students took the lead in choosing and designing their products. Based on their data and audience, they crafted the message that seemed most appropriate to the purpose and that best enabled them to demonstrate academic skills.
There are many opportunities to foster these experiences throughout the curriculum. Project-based learning (PBL) provides one structure that supports this process, as it serves as a vehicle for fostering and developing student voice in ways that matter to them, as well as academically.