Start with Why?

When I was developing this project for my class, I was really torn between confining my students to topics related to the human body versus giving them real freedom of choice.  Ultimately I settled on the latter after I thought about this project from the perspective of the "Golden Circle."  If you haven't seen it before, Simon Sinek's 2009 TEDx talk Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action is a fantastically simple way of focusing on your purpose before focusing on your product.  His drawing in the talk is pretty basic, here's his diagram that I elaborated on.

In teacher vernacular we sometimes call this "backwards planning," which was thoroughly articulated by Wiggins and McTighe in their Understanding by Design.  In short, you look at the end result you seek, what you would need to see that would show the student has learned that information, and then you would create a plan of activities and the like to help them learn that material.  Most teachers instinctively do this. Typically our standards drive this to a large extent.

Drawing from both of these, my circle for 20 Time looks something like this:

While I was going into this having already figured out my How, when I thought about what my Why really was, it became clear that narrowing the focus strictly on the human body might throttle my students' ability to find a topic they were passionate about, which could make them less interested and less likely to develop those skills and outcomes I'm seeking.  Context is everything, and while many in class have expressed an authentic interest in science, specifically related to the body, there also many who have not.  Several students are taking the class purely to learn more about the body, and will be pursuing degrees and professions totally outside of this discipline.  With that being the case, I want to give them more than just anatomy and physiology (which they're still getting that in the other 80% of class), I want to prepare them for life and develop skills that will make them better at whatever they choose to do.

An Update
Last week my school had a themed week that they've done for a couple years called "Speak Up for Change."  The theme of the week was Ignite Your Spark.  They brought in a motivational speaker, had mini lessons on the topic, and it all culminated in a big carnival party (I'm not really sure what bounce houses and games have to do with igniting your spark, but it sure was fun).  Honestly I don't think I could have picked a better topic, nor timed it more perfect with what they were doing in class Tuesday.

Fast forward to today, my classes have had about 2 class periods to explore ideas they have for their 20 Time.  They are making progress.  I'd say about 2/3 of them have already started to narrow it down to one or two ideas and are diving deeper into the details of how and what.   I'm really impressed by those who've naturally focused on some real issues that they are passionate about and are brainstorming solutions to address the problem they've identified.  Wouldn't you know it? Those who expressed interest in sciences are exploring related topics.  Some have really taken the Golden Circle to heart, and others I think naturally figured it out.  It's exciting.

There are certainly those who are struggling though.  The Golden Circle  has definitely helped some, but still there are those who can't help but think about their how and what first.  I think they're so used to producing things like poster boards, reports, papers, PowerPoints, etc. that the idea of working backwards seems foreign and frustrating.  As the role of facilitator, I'm trying to strike a balance between probing questions and giving bits of advice with giving them space and time to flounder a bit.  I told one of my students last week who said he was feeling lost, that sometimes you have to get lost before you can find your way.

They have two more weeks.  February 12 is their "Shark Tank" where they'll be pitching their ideas to their peers and refining their ideas further.  I'm looking forward to it.