The bubblefication of the United States is much written about and much talked about. We tend to live around, interact with, watch media outlets populated, and are entertained by…people who think like we do and probably look like we do. That’s too bad, because while bubbles can feel safe, they are also limiting. 

The scary part of our bubbles is that they are reflected in our schools. Many American students learn in monochromatic settings. Their peers largely look like they do and probably think like they do as well. Youth should be a time of healthy exploration. What can be done? 

Today I’m going to talk to David McCullough. He has an interesting idea on how to get students at your school out of their bubbles. His creation, the American Exchange Project offers a 10-14 day summer experience for graduating seniors. It’s like a mini gap year. Students will live and experience, for a brief time, a community that’s different than their own. This experience is:

• Free
• Open to All

https://americanexchangeproject.org/

I was drawn to his program because I understand the power of experiences. When I think back on formative elements in my life, I usually focus on powerful experiences. Some of these events were brief. Some were long. Some were free, while others came at a price. Regardless of whether these experiences were positive or negative, I grew as a result. 

David is a positive experience creating catalyst for contemporary American youth. Think of students at your school that could benefit from such a program. I’ll bet you can compile a long list. 

Episode Template

The Problem:

American students learn in bubbles.

The Solution:

Create opportunities for students to experience life in a different community.

What you can do Tomorrow:

• Visit the American Exchange Project Website
• Share this idea with your administration

Become a positive experience creating catalyst for contemporary American youth like David McCullough.

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This seems like a totally incongruent title. How in the world can you use assessment to forge strong relationships with students? And yet in this episode. My guest and I will attempt to answer this question. The key is student revision based on teacher feedback. Two tech tools that are instrumental in this process are the Google extension Mote and an app called Voxer. Both will be featured in this episode.

Educators need to stop conducting assessment as an event and transform it into more of a process. Students learn so much when they go back and fix and improve. Successful revisions typically take a healthy collaboration between students and teachers. That, dear friends, is fertile ground for relationships to evolve. 

To help in this interesting exploration, I conscripted one of my students. Layne Neuhart is a wonderful person. She has a bottomless intellectual curiosity and is a blast to interact with. She’s going to be a champion at forging positive relationships with the lucky students that will one day be in her language art class. 

 Layne Neuhart lneuhart1@muskingum.edu

Before we get to the episode, I want to give a shout out to the text we utilize in my assessment class. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning by numerous authors is a wonderful resource. It’s in this text that I found a template that I apply to all of my lessons. This template is called The Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning. Below are the seven. I would strongly urge listeners to start applying this template to all of their lesson creations:

1. Make certain that students understand the learning target.
2. Provide examples of strong and weak work.
3. Provide regular descriptive feedback.
4. Teach and then encourage self-assessment.
5. Focus on just 1 learning target per prompt.
6. Teach and encourage students to revise their work.
7. Encourage students to collaborate.

Episode Template

The Problem:

Teachers need to form stronger bonds with students. 

The Solution:

Teachers need to leverage assessment to bond with kids.

What you can do Tomorrow: 

• Apply the The Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning to tomorrow’s lesson plan.
• Explore possibilities with Voxer. 
• Explore possibilities with Mote.
• Insert revision and collaboration opportunities into your next assessment. 

Stop thinking about assessment as an event and think of it as more a process. The resulting collaborations you have with students could be magical. 

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