Students are at their highest level of engagement when their task is purposeful and authentic. Actually, this statement should read....people are at their highest level of engagement when their task is purposeful and authentic. For example, if I told one person to walk around the block, and then gave another person $10 to walk to the store to buy a snack, which person would be more motivated to go for a walk? Motivation is key to learning, and students are motivated when they have a meaningful reason. So how do we give students meaningful reasons to learn? By empowering them with choices of what (and how) to learn!
Kiran Bir Sethi, founder of Riverside School in India, teaches kids life's most valuable lesson: "I can." Watch her students take local issues into their own hands, lead other young people, even educate their parents.
Kiran Bir Sethi asserts that students should be made aware (so they feel), which enables them (to imagine), and then empowers them to do something. Since watching Sethi's video, I have quoted her many times to fellow teachers - (inquiry is) "a shift from 'the teacher told me' to 'I am doing it." I Can! When students are empowered, they learn. I have also thought about Sethi's suggestion to "take one idea, anything that bothers you, choose one week, and change a billion lives."
As librarians, we should be encouraging the inquiry process so that students are empowered to do just this - change a billion lives. This will not happen if we continue to assign a specific topic, with specific facts to find, from specific resources, etc. We must open the doors for our students, guiding and supporting them along the way.
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