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Authentic, Student-Led, Passion-Driven Learning
Authentic, Student-Led, Passion-Driven Learning
by Stephanie Stephens, Executive Director of Learning Innovation and Technology, HTS
Janet Sun, one of our Grade 11 students, was struggling with a question to which I did not have the answer. To be specific, I did not have the expertise to show her how to use nitinol, a superelastic metal that could be used to make her “interactive blossom” project come to life. Shortly after checking in with her, I met with Claire Hua, a Grade 11 student, who wanted to use fibre optics as part of the anatomical heart installation she was designing. I did not have all the answers for Claire either.
These students’ work is part of their yearlong projects in our Technological Design course (TDJ3M). The premise of the course is quite simple learn how to use fabrication tools in the context of a design process. In HTS’s version of the course, we build on this idea and ask students to build an impactful solution and connect it to something that matters deeply to them. Now, halfway through the course, all of the students were immersed in a learning pathway that they had constructed for themselves, moving well beyond the expectations of the Ministry of Education, and motivated by their own incredible driving questions and interests.
For example, Luca Di Felice, a Grade 10 student, has been working with a team to design an Augmented Reality (AR) admissions app for HTS. As part of the process, he found himself learning about branding and marketing, graphic design, laser cutting and movie editing, not to mention navigating the complexities of coding with Unity and using the Vuforia AR development app. He has been learning the challenges of leading a team of students to develop this work and wondering how he might best leverage their strengths and collaborate effectively.
Incredibly multidisciplinary, layered and complex, student-led, passion-driven learning is magical. There was a time in my teaching career when I would have felt that I was letting my students down if I didn’t have all the answers right away. Now I know that quite the opposite is true. My role has changed, along with the now ubiquitous access to knowledge and global connectivity that our students benefit from in unprecedented ways. Now I see my job as enabling my students to find the resources and connect with the experts that will help them solve problems. I see it as my job to inspire my students so that they can face new challenges with confidence. I want them to have the capacity to work together with peers and experts to make the most of one another’s experiences and strengths and to create something remarkable. I am no longer at the centre of their learning experience. They are.
At HTS, this model of authentic student learning is becoming commonplace. Our teachers are walking alongside and supporting students to develop their own learning pathways. The incredible young people in our midst are leveraging these opportunities to make our world a better place and solving problems that make a difference. No one has better ideas, energy, enthusiasm and potential to help us more than HTS students.
For example, in this year’s Hack Against Hate challenge, sponsored by the DMZ (Digital Media Zone) at Toronto Metropolitan University, Grade 11 students Kelley Liang, Edison Han, Nichole Hill and Sydney Choe designed “Journyl,” a smartphone application that prompts students to reflect on their frustrations and enable safe, confidential sharing with those struggling with similar issues. Their app paves the way for students to understand that, in a world filled with anger and hate, they can take comfort in knowing that there are other students who care as deeply as they do and want to make things better.
Sometimes the foundation for a project comes from a co-curricular or club, or builds on students’ interests. The work then evolves into an incredible learning experience in a variety of disciplines, connecting required coursework and even co-curriculars. For example, Grade 9 students Vanessa Wang, Chloe Su, Madison Choe and Ella Yeh were excited to build costumes for this year’s drama production through their participation in Fashion Forward and the HIVE Internship credit program.
"At HTS, we foster our students’ love of learning, encourage them to try new and exciting things, and give them a solid foundation on which to build. This ethos allows me to help my students build transferable life skills, like independence, confidence and resilience, to support each child in achieving their potential and to make a smooth transition to post-secondary education and society itself." - Sejal Shukla, Business Faculty
As more and more students dig into similar projects, our evolving micro-credential and certification wallet system will enable us to better acknowledge the ways in our students are going above and beyond. Some of the credentials and certifications are offered through industry experts (e.g. Adobe, Google) and some are built by our own experts at HTS. Donita Duplisea, head our Global Studies department, recently developed a Global Cultural Competence micro-credential. She says, “It is the beginning of their understanding of their own positionality, and how this viewpoint influences the lens with which they see the world and their approach to social-action projects.” Through our partnership with Convergence Tech, students receive their certification transcript, which can then be shared with post-secondary institutions and potential employers to see and learn more about what they have accomplished both through their time at HTS and through their connections with external organizations.
If we are opening the door to students choosing their learning pathways, educators and students need a significant support system of experts, research and databases to help them. Thanks to the easy use of video-communication platforms and the incredible reach of social media, learning from members of our global community is now almost as simple as walking up to the teacher’s desk. Gone are the days when we would need to ask an expert to take the day off work and join us at the school, much less make a long journey. Our incredible HTS community is a robust network, ready and willing to support our students with “just in time” responses sometimes in the middle of the workday, sometimes in the evening. Other tools streamline the process as well. With Janet and Claire, I encouraged them to reach out to an incredible partner at the University of Waterloo: Dr. Rob Gorbet, associate professor, who leads the Knowledge Integration program and has a wealth of experience in engineering, particularly as it relates to microcontrollers, robotics, control systems, and technology art. He frequently collaborates with a number of our students via Slack, a platform that allows him to review their questions and respond with links and timely feedback.
Last year, Team Soulscape, a group of Grade 11 students, worked to design and market a virtual-reality application to help young people meditate and focus, with the goal of improving wellness. You can learn more about their project at bit.ly/TeamSoulscape. One key aspect of the work was to access ongoing support from another incredible HTS partner, Imran Mouna, owner of the innovative company InStage.
InStage creates interactive and immersive VR simulations designed to help people practice and develop communication skills. It is particularly focussed on helping people enter the workforce. He was an invaluable guide to the team, not only sharing his expertise as a software developer but also helping students to better understand the challenges of project design, meeting customer needs and pitching their ideas effectively. Team Soulscape also connected us with Lisa Manser, the global operations director of COMO Shambala. Even with a five-hour time difference, Lisa supported their design by reviewing their scripts to guide meditation and helping the students to develop a unique meditation experience.
Student-led, passion-driven project work is an authentic context for what some would describe as the “hidden curriculum ” the unwritten, unofficial, and often unintended lessons, values, and perspectives that students learn in school. Students are challenged to manage projects, negotiate team dynamics, track progress and ensure accountability from each team member. They provide and receive constructive and meaningful feedback from external experts and user groups, and meet professional expectations and responsibilities in order to achieve their goals.
To further prepare students for these opportunities, HTS is well on its way to building a full continuum of programming, starting with our very youngest learners. For example, in the Middle School, we have launched “interdisciplinary afternoons,” during which we introduce students to different challenges for them to solve together in groups. We coach them to use different frameworks, like Integrative Thinking (Rotman School of Management), Design Thinking (IDEO) and Project Based Learning (Buck Institute for Education). In the Lower School, students are encouraged to better understand who they are as learners and how they best acquire and measure that learning in the context of the “six C’s” (collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity, citizenship and character). In the Senior School, students are encouraged to launch initiatives and programs that are meaningful to them, and the HTS community has benefitted from this process through the introduction of new programs and initiatives, like Feminism for Change and the Passion Project Club.
I believe, without reservation, that we, as adults, owe our students every opportunity in this regard. Not only will it prepare them for the future, but it will provide us all with hope for a brighter tomorrow.
