We speak with middle school teachers, Debbie Holecko and Claudia Bestor, and their former student, Rafel Alshakergi, about a student-led research project that led to ethical civic engagement. Rafel explains how the experience emboldened her to ask questions and “speak [her] mind.” The project, which got national attention, cut against Ohio’s high-stakes test orientation; many teachers are afraid to do project-based learning because Ohio doesn’t have tenure and bases 40% of teacher evaluation on student test scores. The teachers discuss how to meet standards through project-based learning. This interview is just a joy to listen to!
Overview
00:00-00:42 Intro
00:42-02:23 Assignment
02:23-07:01 Projects
07:01-08:08 Student reactions to doing original research
08:08-13:47 “Colored graves” cemetery project
13:47-17:44 Project’s impact on students
17:44-19:50 Effect on understanding North Olmstead and its history
19:50-21:18 Students’ realization of their ability to make change
21:18-23:01 George Floyd’s death and BLM demonstrations
23:01-25:14 Relationships among teachers/students
25:14-27:47 Teachers and students learning together
27:47-29:35 Integrating language arts and social studies in practice
29:35-32:06 Meeting the ELA standards
32:06-36:04 Smooth and effective collaborative teaching
36:04-42:12 Inquiry learning and Ohio’s test-driven system
42:12-43:45 Students’ identifying as readers
43:45-50:27 Dewey on schools’ role in preparing students for democratic citizenship
50:27-55:31 Professional networking: Facing History and Ourselves; Landmark workshops/seminars
55:31-55:49 Rafel as immigrant student
55:49-56:47 Outro
Transcription
Click here to see the full transcription of this episode.
References
We continue our conversation with Dr. Carlos Alberto Torres, Distinguished Professor at UCLA and Founding Director of the Paulo Freire Institute. Dr. Torres speaks...
We speak with Betty Collins, eighth grade teacher in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Ms. Collins speaks about conservatives’ hostility to Critical Race Theory, which looks...
We speak with the New Jersey School of Conservation’s Kerry Kirk Pflugh and Tanya Sulikowski, and Garwood, NJ middle school teacher, K.C. Bree about...