About a month ago my students were introduced to Innovation Day by Skyping with Karl Lindgren-Streicher. Without having Karl as a resource and guide, I doubt this day would have been possible for my students. After that Skype my students were eager to begin planning their Innovation Day projects. My students then spent the next few days Brainstorming ideas. They spoke to friends, to family members, former teachers, coaches, and music instructors. The students were excited about the opportunity to formulate their own project about a topic they were passionate about. They were required to make at least four different project proposals in the document below and then meet with a teacher to discuss which would be the best fit for them. The students and teachers discussed materials, time-frames, strengths of the student, and why the topic was considered a passion for them. We discussed what they expected the final outcome to look like and how they thought they would get there. This template, again produced by Karl, was helpful for our students to stay organized and on task.
Once the students had chosen their topic we used the chart below to keep students informed about what they should be doing during the days and weeks before Innovation Day. Because we are at the end of the school year it provided students with a structure that is sometimes lacking at the end of the year.
The students then completed the final proposal document and it was sent home for parents to sign. We needed to make sure parents were aware of what we were doing for several reasons. First, we wanted them to further the discussion about what the students are learning. The students were excited and we wanted the excitement to continue at home. We also wanted to inform parents about what some students wanted to bring in from home. We tried to keep an open line of communication and we think it worked to our advantage.
The day before our actual Innovation Day the students put together a schedule for how they would spend the entire day. If you look at the document below, we tried to chunk it into 50 minute periods where the students checked in and determined if they were ahead of schedule or behind schedule. This document also needed to be approved by the teacher.
Now that the students have prepared a plan, they are ready to start Innovation Day...let's see what happens.
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