Passion-Based Learning in the 21st Century World – We NEED it!

Photo Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/57561701459032208/

As we mark the end of another semester, I have learned so much about being a 21st Century Educator while exploring and navigating the world of teaching. In many ways, we can see the 21st Century world as becoming one that is increasingly connected, as the nature and purpose of knowledge is changing in incredibly profound ways. Our goals as educators has always been to improve the teaching and learning that goes on in our classrooms, but something that speaks volumes is changing the  the mindset of "I AM THE TEACHER" towards more of a 21^st century vision of teaching, where there is less teacher talk and more student talk and self-discovery. Being in the 21st Century, we need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, as we learn a lot about ourselves and our students by taking risks and constructing new conversations.

I know passion-based learning may seem like a crazy thing, as some people may hear it and immediately think about learning as "out of control" – where it’s all about what students want to do and not about what they NEED to do –  but the problem with this mindset is that we have essentially “trained” the passion out of our students. I think Kindergarteners, First graders and some Second graders still have it, but after that, forget it, it’s gone! Just as Maiers (2011) suggests, at young ages you still really look at the world with wonder and bring a sense of curiosity to certain things that we just want to learn everything about – but this tends to disappear through formalized education. However, that does not mean this sense of wonder and passion is gone forever, it can still be possible for older ages too! I strongly believe that this all can be possible by incorporating Passion-based learning in the classroom!!!

Photo Taken by Nicole Schwarz

Reflecting on my own personal story, I can remember doing something similar to a passion-based learning approach in Kindergarten, where we got to pick and choose something we were enthusiastic about and share it with the class near the end of the year. I can recall having a lot of time to decide what we want to learn about, and then over a long period of feedback and preparation, we would do a "show-and-tell" presentation to the class. I remember being absolutely fascinated with plants and its growing process, so my chosen project to share was planting a seed, taking care of it – with the help of my parents, I’m sure! – writing and drawing pictures about it in a journal, and then sharing my experience and my plant with the class. These 2 pictures are of myself in Kindergarten, as it really depicts my love for nature, as I was first inspired with the growth of plants during the process of participating in watering a new tree our school planted in the school yard at the beginning of the year. Without a doubt, I knew that was something I was interested in and this passion of mine was all because my Kindergarten teacher allowed me to choose to explore something I wanted to further my learning in. I can even remember being mesmerized by one classmate who shared their love for guinea pigs, and actually brought it to class on the day it was their turn to share their learnings! Even to this day, I can still remember feeling so inspired by many of my classmates chosen projects, as it truly took on the elements of passion-based learning by letting students drive their own learning and curiosity.

Photo Taken By Nicole Schwarz 

For future teachers today, even something like implementing the Genius Hour in the classroom will not only give students more freedom to learn something of interest to them, but it also allows them to explore their passions while fostering a love for learning! As discussed in my EDUC 4P27 class, there are two ways to get a child passionate about something:

–  We must instill curiosity, and find out what each child is innately passionate about.

–  Be an instructor that exudes passion for the topic, and pass on that excitement with your students.

The great thing about Genius Hour is that it allows students 60 minutes per session to work on new ideas or master skills, while educators can help facilitate and give feedback to students along the way. It is also important to understand that all students learn differently, so the challenge then is to get students to explore their own strengths and ultimately become lifelong learners. I truly believe passion is an under-emphasized aspect of a meaningful education, because just as Skillen (2013) suggests, passion-based learning gives light to the fact that students are “more likely to learn if they are captivated, motivated and engaged with the curriculum or projects in hand” (p. 1). This passion brings curriculum to life and allows for students to view what an exciting learning environment looks like. Even in my own experiences in kindergarten, I loved school, I loved learning, and looking back now, it really can apply to real-world contexts; whether growing plants or raising pets! Here is a short video of some of the Genius Hour projects students have been inspired to explore. It really does continue to amaze me what students have the potential to create, and their willingness to explore unchartered territory in order to teach others is truly transformational!!!

 Video Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZwwj4UZkyA 

Just as discussed in class, passion-based learning is connected with constructivism, where students construct their own understandings through meaning-making and through their active roles as learners. Our goal as teachers should be to find out what our students are passionate about, as many successful stories start out as passion projects! You are not just learning ONE subject, but rather all the things you need that go into what you are passionate about. It is as simple as this: students will work hard on something that they care about. Therefore, I hope that we, as future educators, can encourage our students to find their passions, be inspired, explore new things and take risks. I’m sure you will not only be surprised about what your students are capable of, but we as teachers, can also learn from our students too, because after all, they really are masterful intellects just waiting for the opportunity to share their passions with the world!

 

Photo Retrieved from http://incomingbytes.com/living/

Therefore, I believe it is so important to incorporate more student-driven learning opportunities into the classroom, as it truly can empower students to find, learn about, and share their passions all year long, not just in one unit! Through opportunities such as passion-based learning, our students might just be able to create the next Post-it, Game System, or Gmail, and in doing so, they have the potential to change the world for the better. Thank you for spending the time to read my thoughts on passion-based learning, and I hope this inspires many to take on similar approaches in their classrooms. I want to leave you off with one last quote,

"We need to stop stealing the dreams of students and instead adopt a passion based learning approach which will not only honour passion over obedience..but nurture genius over mastery" (Godin, 2012). 

References

Godin, S. (2012). Stop stealing dreams: What is school for. Retrieved from http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/docs/stopstealingdreamsscreen.pdf

Kukkee, R.A. (2013). Photo of contribution. Retrieved from http://incomingbytes.com/living/

Skillen, P. (2013). The science of passion based learning. Powerful learning practice: Professional learning for connected educators. Retrieved from http://plpnetwork.com/2013/04/09/memorize-mesmerize/