Established Innovations
Our Humanities makerspace relies on flipped instruction, project-based learning, and standards-based grading. These innovations are not unique to us. Each is supported by years of research and evidence of their impact on student learning.
There are other innovations that are unique to a Humanities makerspace. They change the dynamics, the look and feel, of the learning environment. As a result, it is essential that all stakeholders approach the makerspace with an open-minded desire to learn.
Students get this information through the course orientation, through each course’s unique syllabus, and through opening-week activities. Further information is given in class and online, and we reevaluate the learning environment at every opportunity. Here is an example of what this looks like at the end of the first quarter.
It is the sincere hope of every teacher who uses the makerspace that all non-student stakeholders use this website and the vast resources it archives to become fluent in the language of the space. As this 2015 essay puts it, “[a] a student’s task is to avoid illiteracy about the way this course works.” The same must be true for all stakeholders.
A good place to start would be with definitions of flipped instruction, project-based learning, and standards-based grading.
Flipped Instruction
Google: What is a flipped classroom?
Major shifts:
- Instruction takes place online in the form of teacher essays, lecture notes, flipped discussion, and more.
- Class time is spent doing the work that is traditionally done at home.
- Large-group instruction is rare.
- Small-group and individual instruction is common.
Project-Based Learning
Google: What is project-based learning?
Major shifts:
- Formative work and process is emphasized as much as any final product.
- Projects are iterative, individualized, and ongoing.
- The project-based approach is adapted for essay-writing and reading assignments.
- Lessons do not have “do nows” and “exit tickets”; instead, there are workshop dates and checkpoints.
Standards-Based Grading
Google: What is standards-based grading?
Major shifts:
- Grades are not given on individual assignments.
- Feedback is tied to the development of universal skills and traits, ELA-specific skills and traits, and content knowledge.
- Grade are give at regular intervals (every three weeks in our space) and reflect standards-based achievement and growth.
- Grades are tied to universal profiles that reflect evidence of mastery according to knowable criteria.
ELA Requirements
These are the elements found in every ELA course. They are part of our makerspace, whether in a co-taught inclusion class or as part of a college-level curriculum.
Required Texts
The syllabus for a particular course lists the canonical fiction and nonfiction we study. Each course calendar reflects the time dedicated to reading, discussion, and responsive writing, including analysis. We also provide frequent updates on what, how, and why we’re reading.
In 2018-2019, the space adopted a unique reading process. This idea of choosing what to read, either to augment assured experiences or in place of them, is still being considered. (Note: When an innovation doesn’t work like we hoped, we recognize that, learn from it, and get back to basics.)
Required Writing
The syllabus for a particular course lists the required essays we write. This includes assured experiences, such as the persuasive writing in English 10, the college essay at the end of English 11, and the senior talk in English 12. Each course calendar reflects the time dedicated to writing and revising.
We use a unique writing process. On top of that process, we are able to incorporate any other rubric, from Regents Exam rubrics to department-wide rubrics. The process is universalized.
Exam Prep
English students must pass a Regents Exam to graduate. This exam is taken at the end of English 11. In those junior classes, we fold weekly test prep into our schedule a few months ahead of the exam. The calendar reflects this.
In addition, all analysis of literature involves an exam-styled prompt. See the directions and handouts in this shared folder: Simplified Analysis. This applies to all students except seniors, since seniors have already taken the exam that requires this sort of writing.
In AP- or Honors-level class, exam prep based on the expectations of the College Board is also assigned regularly. The calendar reflects this.
Sisyphean High
Now we come to the innovations that are unique to our makerspace. There are many resources that explain these unique elements, and they all answer the same question:
That post covers the basics thoroughly. This post, the one you are reading right now, delineates how flipped instruction, standards-based assessment, and project-based learning led to those other innovations. Each iteration improves on the original. Each is based on established educational research. And for each, there is evidence of the overwhelmingly positive impact on student learning.
Testimonials and evidence are always available online. Further testimonials crop up naturally from students, as in these examples from the top ten graduating seniors in 2019:
- AP Testimonials: Top Ten [based on the district’s SCP]
- AP Testimonials: Top Ten [student letters]
Flipped Instruction → Interstitial Instruction
There are many resources explaining what interstitial instruction does to iterate and improve on the idea of flipped instruction. Here are three:
- The Interstitial Classroom (March 8, 2016)
- Head Training (January 25, 2016)
- Objects in Space (November 27, 2018)
Interstitial instruction relies more heavily on hypertextual, teacher-written essays than other forms of flipped instruction. These instructional essays and posts can be revisited and explored repeatedly, offering multiple points of entry for students of differing ability levels.
Interstitial instruction also utilizes Google Classroom to set deadlines, give feedback, individualize assignments, and so on. Submitted work is organized and archived digitally.
At the same time, the kinesthetic and face-to-face aspects of learning are emphasized as essential “maker” activities. It’s not just flipping instruction and doing homework in class; it’s inviting students to adapt a framework to suit their individual learning style and needs. The goal is an anytime/anywhere learning environment.
Standards-Based Grading → Grade Abatement
There are many resources explaining what grade abatement does to iterate and improve on the idea of standards-based grading. Here is an entire site of testimonials to its efficacy. Below is the grade abatement process, which includes every updated material and resource:
In brief, grade abatement answers the case against grades through a system of profile-driven, evidence-based assessment. The profiles are precise but flexible, incorporating a nuanced set of universal skills and traits that can be individualized and adapted to any ELA curriculum. Final scores can be unpacked into rich, specific feedback, offering modular points of entry for all students — yet it all fits on a single handout.
Project-Based Learning → Daily Check-In
Instead of a “do now,” there is a required “check-in” form for students. It is explained in a post on the physical makerspace, which includes a direct link to a pre-filled form:
The required goal-setting is accompanied by optional mindfulness prompts and a space to share privately with the teacher. Think of it as the social/emotional framework for our academics.
Project-Based Learning → 20% Projects
Google: What is a 20% project?
Our version of a 20% project, which is sometimes called a 20-Time or Genius Hour project, is the Pareto Project. It has its own guide, an FAQ, and a unique final assessment.
In brief, students complete a project entirely of their own choosing, which they then present, publish, or otherwise share. Student projects and testimonials are available online.
Project-Based Learning → Bishop Composition
The complete writing process is sometimes called bishop composition, a reference to some of the origins and applications of the process itself. Writing is the central pillar of the makerspace, which leads to several related shifts:
- Units are based on essential questions, central skills and traits, or authentic problems.
- Student growth, choice, and metacognitive insight are emphasized over final writing products.
- Emulation is emphasized over analysis, as detailed in this instructional essay.
The writing process can be adapted for any purpose. Here is an example of adapting it for the college application essay.
Complete Transparency
Finally, it is important to note that transparency is essential to all flipped instruction, project-based learning, and standards-based grading, especially as conceived in a Humanities makerspace.
A good example is the stakeholder’s guide that is sent home to parents every year, which is often accompanied by course-specific letters, like this AP English letter from 2018. The message is clear: You can know as much about what we do as you’d like. Information is power, and all stakeholders, from students to administrators, have access to that power.
There is also a constant effort to provide redundancies and failsafes, as explained here in late 2019. This approach respects that procrastination and avoidance are part of human nature. Think of it as guided inquiry — agency and autonomy assisted by expert guidance and feedback.
More evidence of the invitation to investment can be found in the FAQ featured on the home page of this site: