Passion Based Learning and Learning 2.0

I am constantly trying to discern what motivates students. Why do some students seem to naturally engage with school, while others seem completely disenfranchised?  If school is boring, what changes need to be made in order to help students see school as an exciting opportunity rather than an annoying obligation?

Passion-based Learning is a phrase that is thrown around in education. The leveraging of students interests in order to give them an avenue that connects them to learning. This seems obvious, but how often is it done and done well in schools? How much voice in the design of classes and choice in what they study do kids really have?

John Seely Brown does an nice job of articulating these thoughts through the lenses of gaming and surfing. If given a topic or activity of interest, a thought tribe to collaborate with, and a structured and relatively fast feedback framework, young people can show more engagement and growth. Again, it seems obvious right?

Again I return to reflecting on my own teaching and learning. Sometimes I find myself wondering how school can even compete with things like games and outdoor activities when it comes to capturing student attention. I think the answer is that we can't and we shouldn't. Instead of competing we should be figuring out how to bring these ideas into the classroom. I want my students to see themselves in the classroom and curriculum. I want to honor what it is they love to do as valuable and interesting. I remember when "The Legend of Zelda" first came out on the NES. I was so excited to play it everyday, I could hardly wait to leave school. I barely paid attention to anything in school, as my focus was on solving the puzzles embedded in that game. I learned more from and was more engaged with that virtual reality than real life. We should not forget that asking students what the love to do and putting their interests first will create a pipeline to the skills and ideas we want them to develop.

We should love what we do and do what we love. If school exists outside of this notion, no wonder we have so many issues with the attention and engagement of young people.

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