So I want you to see a little snippet of video from a Facebook friend of ours, Copper Hills Elementary School in Utah. What you’ll notice is a video (the student’s head is cut off for privacy reasons, I’m assuming…or maybe someone needs serious camera skill support…ha!) of an interview with a student regarding their data notebook.
Now, I have to be honest, when I hear of “kids keeping their own data”, I kind of think of kids pulling out a data notebook in preparation for a walk-through or a parent meeting – – you know, dusting them off when they need to be shown off. I know I sound jaded, but I’ve seen that a lot. I’ve seen data notebooks just be a “thing we do” rather than a driving force for individual student work.
So, I was pretty interested when I got a response to a recent post (check in out here) from Janice Flanagan, principal of Copper Hills. Here was her email to me:
I’ve always said kids’ self-esteem comes from tackling something that is hard for them– and succeeding. Now, I also see that what is FUN for kids is succeeding, learning, mastering. Our kids track their own data and find joy in beating their scores, reaching their goals, and graphing their progress. One teacher (a great one) says her kids don’t even ask for parties—they are thoroughly convinced that fun is found in achievement.
Um, kids not asking for parties? I had to check into this. Click this link to check out the video on their school’s Facebook page!
