Lighthouse Learning Community Incorporated is facilitating and supporting a number of projects that focus on student learning.
Breaking the Silence: Authorizing the Voice of Students
Since the advent of formal education in the United States, both the educational system and that system's every reform have been premised on adults' notions of how education should be conceptualized and practiced. There is something fundamentally amiss about building and rebuilding an entire system without consulting at any point those it is ostensibly designed to serve (Cook-Sather, 2002, p. 3).
A project focused on students
Where are the students? Their voice is absent from the conversations, the planning and the documents that profoundly affect their lives. As educators, policy makers and community members, we make significant decisions in order to improve students’ desire and ability to learn without ever drawing upon the thoughts and insights of our targeted audience: the students themselves. The power of student voice is an untapped ally in an effort to make schools a place where learning is desirable and achievable by all students.
Intent of the Project
Through interviews, focus groups, drama, and music, this project will culminate in a manuscript and accompanying DVD designed to make known the student perspective--the stories, perceptions, and feelings-- that make up the soul of our schools. The intent is for these voices to become public in a way that will promote professional dialogue, deeper understanding and meaningful student involvement in promoting learning -- helping ALL of our students achieve success. The voice of students has tremendous potential to inspire our teaching practices in new and profound ways.
Opportunities to Participate
- Facilitate conversations with students: Nicole and her team facilitate focus groups with various groups of students; collect, organize and analyze the data; and provide a report that summarizes the findings and makes recommendations for next steps.
- Invite students to create: Lighthouse Learning Community, Inc. is formally inviting all K-12 students to write, produce, or create stuff that represents their thoughts on learning and school. Read more...
For more information or to participate in this project, contact Nicole at Lighthouse Learning Community, Inc.
Inspiring and Requiring Learning: Descriptive Feedback that Works
This project draws from the researched conclusions that effective, descriptive feedback practices have significant power in improving student learning (Hattie & Timperely, 2007). This project is reviewing the most effective feedback practices and inviting teachers to employ these practices and reflect upon their impact on student learning and teaching practice. In this project descriptive feedback involves not only the teacher offering feedback, but students exchanging feedback and using feedback to self-assess (taking ownership and responsibility for their learning).
The Intent of the Project
The culmination of this project will be a practical resource for teachers to utilize as they try to implement effective feedback practices in their classrooms. A book will be available with the reflections and activities of the teachers participating. In addition, there will be an accompanying online resource where educators can download resources to spark conversation and action on improving student learning through feedback.
Opportunity to Participate
Interested teachers would partner with Nicole over the 2009-2010 school year to review effective, research-based feedback practices and co-design feedback activities (together, we would look at your learning objectives, assessments and design ways to employ effective feedback practices). Then, you would try out these practices with your students and together we would examine their effectiveness.
There is no cost to participate, only the commitment to collaborate through email and online planning and reflection. Participation will be considered on a first come, first serve basis.
If you would like more information or would like to participate in either of these projects, please contact Nicole at Lighthouse Learning Community, Inc.
