"You Say You Want a Revolution..."

I spent most of class on Friday and Monday amazed as I watched student presentations that were created to answer the question, "What is Project Based Learning." It was an assignment that was a spur of the moment idea thanks to some honest feedback from a student (an iPad held up for me to read a screenshot that said 'Boring').  There were few guidelines other than to use any resource in the room to create some kind of product to explain Project Based Learning. It was the first opportunity to really let them explore and experiment on their own.

My first reaction was amazement that they could come up with such great presentations using technology that was brand new to them to communicate a teaching method that is also brand new to them. There were special effects in Keynote. There were great movies made with iMovie. There were films using stop motion animation, fantastic character voices, and legos. There was a high level of "razzle dazzle."

And then I really listened.

I will be honest that what I heard made me a bit uncomfortable. I did not ask them to make any judgments or comparisons or to take a particular side, yet student after student spoke with something in between passion and certainty that PBL is a better way for them to learn. They talked about past experiences that did not necessarily meet their needs. They spoke about "better" and "more exciting."

I started to squirm.

I did not squirm because I don't believe or agree with them, but because I do believe them and agree with them with every fiber of my being. I may or may not have joked (your Honor) with several people over the summer about staging an academic revolution. Where students are shown another way to learn and they rise up and demand it. All I kept thinking as I sat through the presentations was, "Holy smokes they're actually doing that!" "Revolution Leader" is not on my resume, but I'm willing to learn.

As I sat and listened and watched, there was excitement in their eyes as they explained that they could work at their own pace, that the learning would be relevant, that the projects themselves would be both how they learned and how they demonstrated their learning. There was smile after smile on students' faces as they talked about what this year is going to involve. Their own pace. No tests. Hands-on projects. Flexible instruction. Authentic assessments. Relevant content Engaging application. What I heard and saw, in a word, was hope.

Then it hit me. They have totally bought into this new endeavor. What kept going through my mind was, "I better deliver." They were all-in and actually excited to be here and to learn in a new way.

The revolution is beginning and there is no turning back. 

My hope is that we can stage a revolution that does more building than tearing down. If we need to clear some space and tear down some barriers or old structures, so be it, but only if we can build something better. One of the most beautiful things about this revolution is that I have only a shadow of an idea of what the "something better" looks like.

The only thing I am certain of is that we can and must build it together.