I was reminded the other day of the brilliance that can come through the combination of time, choice and change. Traditionally, our grade 9 students complete a “Suspect Chart” project after reading In the Heat of the Night. Being new to the position, I thought I’d ask how many of them, if they had the choice, would choose that particular project. Zero hands went up. So I scrapped it. Instead, students talked, thought about how they best enjoy sharing their learning, they brainstormed, made decisions and together we hashed out the criteria. After two weeks of class time to work on their projects, it was time to present. We witnessed everything from talk-shows, to formal police reports, to professional-looking movie trailers. Because the students owned their learning and their projects, there was close to zero off-task behaviour. Because they created their criteria, there were zero questions about their marks. Most importantly, they were excited and engaged throughout the whole process.

 Choice, time and criteria-setting is not new, but it was with regards to this traditional project. I think as teachers we often feel that when we offer choices to our students, that’s good teaching. Choice is always good, especially with older students, however even our choices are not always enough. For example, I never would have thought of including a stop-motion animation project as a choice, but 2 different groups came up with the idea, and they were incredible!

 Through this simple situation of mine, I had a big aha moment. Innovation doesn’t always have to be new, it can be old ways evolving over time. I now believe that sometimes, innovation is birthed through breaking tradition. It’s not easy, but true learning never is.