麻豆传媒入口

A group of middle school students in full beekeeping gear examines one of the hives their school keeps in the woods nearby. 鈥淥oh, there鈥檚 honey!鈥� says one excitedly. 鈥淚 see nectar!鈥� says another.

These eager fifth and sixth graders from Birmingham Covington, a public magnet school in suburban Michigan focused on science and technology, are empowered to become self-directed learners through hands-on experiences in and outside their classroom.

Birmingham Covington鈥檚 student-centered philosophy is embedded throughout the curriculum, from third- and fourth-grade classes focused on teaching individual resourcefulness to an almost wholly independent capstone class in seventh and eighth grade called Thinkering Studio. Teachers at the school often say they鈥檙e 鈥渢eaching kids to teach themselves鈥� and rarely answer questions directly; instead they ask students to consider other sources of information first. Even the classrooms, with their spacious communal tables and movable walls, emphasize fluid group and peer-to-peer dynamics over teacher-led instruction.

The 650-student school offers grades 3 through 8 only and pairs grades together, following research that shows that mixing age groups accelerates learning. For more than a decade, Birmingham Covington鈥檚 students have ranked at or above the 95th percentile in overall performance for all Michigan elementary and middle schools.

By relentlessly focusing the classwork on student interest and independence, the educators at Birmingham Covington hope to transform students into active learners who will be successful throughout their lifetimes.

鈥淲hen you get kids collaborating together, they become more resourceful and they see themselves as experts,鈥� said Mark Morawski, who鈥檚 been the principal since 2013. "All of a sudden you鈥檝e opened the ceiling to what kids are able to do, and they surprise you sometimes." 

Solving Real-World Problems: The Bee Project

Birmingham Covington鈥檚 unique bee project, like much of the coursework prioritized at the school, was driven by student interest. After reading an article about the extinction of honeybees in their science literacy class, fifth- and sixth-grade students said they wanted to do something to help.

In the class, which combines inquiry-based science and English language arts (ELA), students build their research, literacy, and collaboration skills through small group projects aimed at effecting lasting change around real-world problems. Working on a range of activities鈥攆rom building a website to managing a real beehive鈥攕tudents become more active and engaged learners, teachers say.

鈥淪cience literacy is teaching our kids to be curious about the world around them, with the problems they identify,鈥� said ELA teacher Pauline Roberts, who co-teaches the class. 鈥淓ven as students, they are learning how to become effective agents of change. It鈥檚 bigger than the science content鈥攊t鈥檚 about helping to develop the citizens that we hope our children become.鈥�

Teaching Resourcefulness

Throughout Birmingham Covington, both coursework and instruction push students to learn lifelong skills like independence and resourcefulness, which teachers encourage early on in the primary grades.

Third- and fourth-grade teacher Jessie Heckman says she empowers her students to become more resourceful by solving common problems with the support of their classmates. Instead of raising their hands when they have a question or encounter a hurdle, for example, Heckman鈥檚 students clip clothespins to their computers and fellow students circulate around to troubleshoot鈥攁 system she calls the help desk.

鈥淜ids need to learn teamwork-based skills because every other class in any other subject that they have鈥攖hird through eighth grade鈥攔equires them to work in different sized groups accomplishing different tasks,鈥� Heckman explains.

Modeling Collaboration: Teacher Labs

Students aren鈥檛 the only ones at Birmingham Covington improving their collaboration skills鈥攖eachers also identify as a 鈥渃ommunity of learners鈥� who use planned, peer-to-peer feedback to help each other raise student outcomes throughout the school.

The school鈥檚 voluntary Teacher Labs鈥攆acilitated by an instructional coach and organized around a clear, written protocol鈥攅nable teachers to reflect on their craft with support from their peers. Through the labs, small groups of teachers observe each other鈥檚 classes and then offer constructive feedback around a stated objective.

鈥淲e鈥檙e really asking teachers to step outside of their comfort zones,鈥� said Roberts, who serves as the lead facilitator in the labs. 鈥淲e are creatures who live behind closed doors. To experience being in someone else鈥檚 classroom is really powerful.鈥�

Increasing Independence for Older Learners

As they near the end of their time at the school, Birmingham Covington seventh- and eighth-grade students are accustomed to self-reliance and problem-solving. They put these skills to use in Thinkering Studio, an elective class where they design their own independent learning projects, and Engage, a class focused on design thinking鈥攁 system of solving problems that follows the steps of inquiry, ideation, prototyping, and testing.

In Engage, teachers Roy McCloud and Mathew Brown guide students to work on various self-directed, team-oriented projects like designing a new sport for third graders or building a roller coaster. Their support and feedback direct students toward the right resources while encouraging them to dig deeper: Did students ask the right questions? Did they get the right information? Did they go to other groups for feedback?

In these culminating classes, as in the curriculum more generally, teachers act as guides rather than instructors, directing students toward helpful resources but ultimately insisting they solve their own problems.

This innovative, student-centered approach to learning鈥攖he bedrock of the school鈥檚 vision鈥攖akes the long view, helping students develop skills and interests they can continue to draw on after they leave the school. The school believes that this model better prepares students for real-world challenges, since modern workplaces are increasingly collaborative and involve complex, interdisciplinary problem solving.

鈥淭he ultimate questions we鈥檙e going to be asked by future employers is 鈥楥an this person work well in a team? Does this person have the ability to problem solve and critically think?鈥欌�� said Morawski. "Because our students are more resourceful, they have more intrinsic motivation in the learning process and ultimately, are learning to be learners.鈥�