Lee-Anne Gray 03

Interview with Tommy Science educator in SF

Students drive their work, he designs projects for the middle schoolers to work on.

classroom with high student autonomy

DT - students were tasked to create a board game about earthquakes and volcanoes

pitch the board game, sell it, cost it out....

this project was a cross collaborative effort - game instructions were done in English Class, pricing & costs discussed in math class

His role is to coach them through out this process - teaching the how to learn

mastery based model of education

kids work through pre-crafted activities that teach them topics.

no homework

Empathy Circle

Question 1: what was the EC like for you?

Tommy: interesting... having just watched the video, I kinda knew what to expect. nice to go thru it. made me pay special attention to when others were talking. excited because i don't usually get to connect with people working on something bigger...and you're a part of it.

Question 2: The EC feels robotic, boring, disengaging to teens. What would you change about the prototype to increase student engagement?

Tommy: From my perspective, it's hard to have a systemic way of speaking and having students repeat back. They tend to converse without turn taking. One student may dominate a topic. Different person might dominate the group on another topic. I think about how to make sharing with more engagement, but it's not fluid and engaging for the group.

Question: What would you change about this systematic way of speaking

Tommy: I don't have any ideas off the top of my head. Students do listen to each other but isn't fluid as when they talk to their friends. Maybe it could be content based.

Question: Can you think of any possible activities where students are required to be engaged listeners? A game?

Tommy: Improv games. Actors on stage speak to other actors on stage. Not really listening and repeating, but other skills are cultivated.

Apples to Apples

Cards Against Humanity

Taboo

Question: How important is fun as a component in middle schoolers sharing in an EC?

Tommy: I don't think a lot of activities in school have to be fun for students to buy in. They need a reason why the activity is going on. When students understand how it relates to their lives, the bigger picture beyond the activity increases buy in. Fun changes from Student to Student and therefore may be hard to pin point.

Question: What is it like when students share things with you? What prompts them to reach out to you?

Tommy: Group?

Wendy: No, group or individually.

Tommy: Students will be more likely to share about school or personal lives if you express interest early on , and then cultivate it as you go along. I am very interested in my students lives, and ask them about it. Also, important to ask open ended questions without inserting bias. Students are more likely to elaborate when specific questions are asked like: Tell me about the Football game this weekend? Elicit a story from students.

Question: Do you think EC would be more successful if a peer facilitated it?

Tommy: It all depends on the different variables involved. How many students are involved? What's the context? Is it an EC for students with a commonality, or clumped in a Student Advisory class. Too many variables to offer a direct answer.

Question: What would make the EC more impactful for kids?

Tommy: Focus topic may elicit preparation and increased listening. Discussion about problems that arose in an EC and ... Give purpose to an activity, explain why students are doing it than