10/25-10/31
What does learning look like? There is no simple answer to that question. Learning takes such a variety of forms. It looks different from studio to studio, from hero to hero, from day to day, and even from moment to moment. What did it look like this week at CHOICE?
In the Spark Studio… I think we can all agree the biggest highlight this week was our Halloween celebration. Along with the extra fun Halloween “works,” the heroes were tasked with working to earn “money” by completing their core skills for the day. If they completed all of their core skills they could “buy” a pumpkin from our skeleton, Mr. Skelly. Not every hero chose to do all of their Core Skills. Sometimes learning looks like sadness as we accept consequences from our choices. But most of the day, learning looked like joy as we enjoyed their Halloween works.
At the beginning of the year, heroes came to adults whenever they were stuck. That isn’t the case anymore. Learning looks like the heroes going to one another for help.
Learning looks like the heroes choosing to do works that are challenging. They continue to recognize what is too easy for them and more and more are choosing works in their challenge zone.
We are well into the school year now and our routines are becoming familiar. Learning looks like heroes leading tribe time with minimal assistant and helping one another during transitions.
In the Fire Studio… Learning often looks like games. Every other Thursday is Hands On Math. Heroes have many “Hands on” math activities and games, that they can choose from. Games are also often part of Civilization. Charlemagne was the focus of our civilization experience this week. After a virtual tour of some of the remaining structures in Aachan, Germany, that Charlemagne had built, the heroes explored 2 different stories about Charlemagne that long outlived him. Then the heroes wrote down moments or scenes from the stories that could be easily acted out for their game of reverse charades.
While silence is often not an indicator of learning, silence has it’s moments. More and more heroes are using their Core Skills time to truly dig in to their badges. There was even a 15 minute time span during D.E.A.R. where someone upstairs thought the Fire Studio had left the building! For the Fire Studio, the ability to have moments of engaged silence looks like learning!
The learning of this quest looks different every day – reading and researching, journaling, experimenting, writing, and collaborating. It’s awesome to witness the heroes complement one another in their interests and skills. We regularly see the stronger readers helping others along, or those with creative or organizational strengths sharing their skills to benefit others… heroes are learning that the difficulty of a group challenge is more often the group than the actual challenge. Collaboration is difficult but important work! Learning can even look like frustration, followed by communication with a group!
From chaos to quiet times, from individual work to group work, from discussions to reading to play; it is so FUN to watch how different learning looks!