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Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Student Voice in a Box: Week 4

Student Voice in a Box: Week 4:



Student Voice in a Box: Week 4



 This is the fourth of six weekly installments of Student Voice in a Box. This week, we are featuring the story of a special student voice group from Iowa.  Below our feature, you will find a student podcast and project ideas to empower student voices in your classroom.

We hope you enjoy! 

- The Student Voice in a Box team


Aaron Maurer and the Iowa High Five

Aaron Maurer tells us about how the collaboration process between teachers and students used at his school to help teachers create projects that students consider relevant to their education.
The Iowa High Five is a project where teachers present their project ideas to a group of students to solicit feedback and modify their projects before they are assigned to students.
Aaron has been very kind to share with us some of the resources from his student voice group:
  1. The Iowa High Five started off as the #BettProject. Aaron has documented the journey of the group on his website: http://coffeeforthebrain.com/category/bettpassion/
  2. An online session from Classroom 2.0 where Aaron brought a couple of students on together with him: http://coffeeforthebrain.com/classroom-2-0-live-featured-teacher-presentation-and-reflection-on-student-voice-stem-teacher-tinker-time-and-pushing-boundaries/
  3. Best for last: All posts with the hashtag #edplay, which relate to Aaron’s educator and student connection group where members share ideas on education: http://coffeeforthebrain.com/?s=edplay&submit=Search
  4. A direct link to the group itself: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/105759077923754924695

Podcast: Our Vision, Our Voice

Our Vision Our Voice host Steve Figurelli combines the best of his first three podcasts, compiling what students want from their teachers in the upcoming school year.

Listen to Our Vision, Our Voice, Episode 4 podcast on SoundCloud. (12 minutes)

Longform of the Week: Classroom Swap

One of the best ways to encourage students to develop their voices is to give them the opportunity to speak to others about something they know.  The Classroom Swap model allows students to speak to large groups and to exchange feedback and mentorship.

Class Project: Conferences

Depending on the scale and scope of the event, organizing a conference is arguably one the most challenging student voice project that we will be presenting in this series. It also has huge potential to help the students learn project management and communication skills, and to be conduit through which many voices can be expressed.

Class Project: Consultations

Students are generally not introduced to the concept of consulting, let alone be immersed in it. However we challenge you to do both with your students, as it can be excellent way for them to express their voices.

Join the Student Voice Educator Conversation

The Student Voice community on Blueslips.org is where teachers can discuss Student Voice best practices, exchange lesson plans, and see how other educators plan to use Student Voice in a Box in their classrooms.

Questions, Comments, & Feedback

We’d love to hear what you think of Student Voice in a Box. Click here to send us your feedback.

If you are a student or teacher interested in sharing your student voice experiences or classroom tips and tricks, please contact Adil Majid at adil@stuvoice.org.

Here are the members of the Student Voice in a Box Team and their contact information, listed in the order their work is presented above. Feel free to reach out to any of us with questions, comments, or kudos:
  • Cody Morgan (Teacher Interviews) - Email - Twitter
  • Steve Figurelli (Student Interviews – Our Vision, Our Voice): Email - Twitter
  • Amaranth Weiss (Long-form Projects - Student-Led Classroom): Email - Twitter
  • Tara Subramaniam (Long-form Projects - future installments): Email - Twitter
  • Nathan Wong (Short-form Projects): Email - Twitter
  • Dr. Robert Perry (Team Advisor): Email - Twitter
  • Adil Majid (Team Lead): Email - Twitter
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Author - Adil Majid

Adil Majid is a senior at Carnegie Mellon University. He co-founded Student Voice in the summer of 2012 as a way to combat the exclusion of students from the education reform conversation. He enjoys discussing politics, playing chess, and is an avid reader. You can follow his thoughts on Twitter at @adilmajid.
THIS ENTRY WAS POSTED IN STUDENT VOICE IN A BOX.