The following are some of the most frequent questions people ask me. Q: Where should I get started with design thinking? How do I fit it into my curriculum? A: If you’re interested in getting started on design thinking, I would recommend the Design Thinking…
Don’t Wait to Innovate! Teachers often begin the school year with team-building activities or a review of the rules and procedures. But what if we began with student-centered projects? The following is an exploration of six student-centered projects you can launch in your first month…
This post is loosely based on a chapter from my latest book Empower. Thank you to everyone who has helped make it a number one best-seller on Amazon! Thank you to anyone who has left a review on Amazon and spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,…
A few years ago, I co-wrote the book Empower with the driving question, “What happens when students own their learning?” As a middle school teacher, I had seen how the biggest challenges I faced with student engagement were actually challenges with student self-direction and self-management….
The debate about fidget spinners often misses the bigger issue of student ownership. When we focus on student distractions and student engagement, we miss out on student empowerment and student ownership. Listen to the Podcast Just click on the audio below to listen to this…
In a recent post, I wrote about why I want to see students become innovators: Subscribe to YouTube Channel Unfortunately, the system isn’t designed for innovation. For years, schools have been stuck in a one-size-fits-all factory model, where students passively consume content. Some people will point…
A few days ago, I noticed people sharing a few random articles from Atlas Obscura. I noticed a few of their tweets rising to the top of my Twitter feed as well. As I drove to work, I caught a part of an NPR story with one…
I still remember the moment I went to the computer lab to check out the World Wide Web. This was somewhere around 1993. The librarian called it a Field trip to the Information Superhighway and for awhile I thought she was like Ms. Frizzle….
About three years ago, a student approached me before class. “Mr. Spencer, I heard that you wrote a children’s book.” I nodded. “I co-wrote it with my wife and then we self-published it.” “Can you teach me how to publish my own novel?” I launched…
When I first transitioned from using writing prompts to doing thematic blogs, I attempted a middle ground. I offered a list of three writing ideas and a fourth described as “free choice.” To my surprise, only a few students chose the free choice option. Students seemed…
