Passion Based Learning

As we move into the new school year one challenge remains the same; How do we motivate students to learn?  The answer to this question can be complex yet simple if we think about our students and their lives.  In our quest to move from a culture based on content to teaching students how to learn we must remember to give students a voice in their learning because through their opportunity to have a voice we can build upon their passions.  Having recently attended the ISTE conference, read the book Inevitable, Mass Customized Learning, and hearing Yancy Unger speak at the eQuip conference a common theme came through.  The theme was that as educators we need to find students passions and build upon their passions to increase relevance in their learning.  How do we do this?  As Mr. Unger stated "if we give them inspiration they will learn to learn."  No longer can we continue force-feed learning.  Curriculum must be relevant to our students if we want to motivate them to learn.  Students today have and expect to have choices in everything they do.  Our students come to us having everything at their fingertips.  Everything they do is interactive, interesting, and challenging and they customize it to their liking.  Whether it is their social media sites, their interactive video games, or their learning outside of school it is built around their passions.   Our challenge will be to give students a voice and find their passions.  To do this we cannot decide and control their learning all of the time.  If there is content that we have determined is essential for them to learn we must inspire them to learn it in ways that are relavant to them.  Give them a voice of how they will learn it and how they will show evidence that they have learned it.  We need to emphasize the skills needed to learn and give them autonomy in their learning.  I like to think of this type of learning as Passion Based Learning.  In what ways have you planned to give students a voice in their learning so that their passions come through? How will you inspire your students to learn how to learn?  Here is a link to an interesting article about lecturing today.

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