Vertical Learning: An Easy Tool to Boost Student Engagement, via @Design39Campus and @Edutopia

How might we create classrooms that engage students and give them greater ownership of their learning?  So many of the teachers I interact with tell me, “I just need to see what ‘it’ looks like”.  The growing library of short videos you can find at Edutopia provides just that.  In just a few minutes, you can see how teachers are transforming their practice, their classrooms, and the student learning experience so that students sitting at desks all day, going through worn out drill-and-kill routines, can become an artifact of the past.

I was so excited and proud to see this video of my friends at Design 39 Campus, including D39C founder-teacher Kyle Asmus, highlighting “vertical learning” in a math class.  Middle school math classes become places where collaboration, responsibility, diverse viewpoints, and deep learning are all leveraged to enhance overall student engagement and performance.

Is this only for math? No! Here is a version of the video that focuses on an English class:

Take a look; these are simple practices that you can easily employ. You will work less, your students will be more engaged, and you all will have more fun!