[RE]LEARN 2020 - The Learning Innovation Festival

For four years, I ran a full-choice creativity classroom in an urban public high school. While the rest of their day was a more traditional-style of education, every day in my class students chose what to do with their own time. It could have been the same one project all year, or a different project every day - as long as they were creating something. From visual art, to carpentry, to digital fabrication, to building robots, and performing plays - this innovative model showcased what learners do when given autonomy over their own education. During this session we'll look at several student case studies that highlight the needs of different learners and demonstrate how to incorporate learning choice to serve students of varied skill and background. We'll highlight the advantages of working with students as collaborators and engineers in the shaping of curriculum, especially the advantages for students of color or those in an under-resourced schools. Participants will leave with examples of student trajectory in self-directed learning, and with concrete models at for incorporating lessons learned into an existing learning space.