The power of student-driven learning: Shelley Wright at TEDxWestVancouverED

Shelley Wright is a teacher/education blogger living in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Currently, she serves as the high school learning consultant for Prairie South Schools. Her passion in education is social justice, global education and helping students make the world a better place. Shelley is currently working on a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction, with a focus on mobile technology & literacy in the developing world. She blogs at Wright's Room.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

[alyssalopez]

" We are not the future we are right now."
Gave me chill bumps.

[shelleylwright]

As the one who taught this class. I am a science teacher. What some seemed to miss is that I didn't only teach science. I also taught English and Grade 10 Christian Ethics. This was done in our Grade 10 Christian Ethics class. It had nothing to do with Science.

[newmillenniumschool]

Brought us to tears ! Wow ! that is the power of student driven teaching !

[geraldpolmateer]

In all of the classes I took in college were never taught by leading teachers in America except one. He started out his career as a janitor. The second person who encouraged me had been a high school dropout. The third person had founded one of the top schools in the world. It was because of those people that I developed what became the top program in CA in what I taught.

[razanalzoubi]

I believe that teachers should not stop learning and searching for a change. when the teacher changed her point view about teaching, she gives the students a chance to learn better and make a differance.

[davidmizak]

The remarkable information you provide to your viewers needs to be applauded. I sincerely appreciate your effort to expand your viewers knowledge. A sincere thank you!

[amanishlool]

I think the prime step to achieve success and progress of our students, is to trust on their abilities and exceed our expectations of their well and determination, they will always do it .

[PedroSilvaFMAPortugal]

Thank you for being true to your self Mrs Wright. Awesome lecture and story. An example on how education should be. It`s very inspirational!

[soli]

Awesome! What a great group of students! I hope they are all prospering and continuing to help others wherever they go.

[AbuShadab]

Mrs Wright thank you for such an inspirational lecture i was delighted and had goose bumbs throught your lecture....

[juliantreidiii]

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, DL, FRS, RA was tutored by a teacher who decided to use student-driven learning and he ended up Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955.

[leinawang]

Amazing story! Feeling very emotional after watching this video. I think I have learnt from you to trust students and make them as visible as the teacher. Thank you so much for sharing!

[katybutton]

Fantastic, well done! Very inspiring and heart-warming.

[doaahussam]

When I atteneded QRTA sessoins, I started to draw in my mind the frame of my future classroom where my students can share to learn. Teacher guides the students to the creation and gives them the space to creat.

[malcolmjones]

This is excellent video about a learner-centered classroom that went onto to do great things. Changing the world.

[gRaCiLa]

Amazing - I love it. Makes me very emotional; this is how I feel about my students.

[hejojtamador]

Connection: we have the same experience when we were at school we have traditional way and the one who was always talking teacher . also, we read for exams.
Challenge :role of the teacher, students ability to do more and search.
Concepts :students can design their schools .
Change: students come with new thought .

[karenlilianne]

I’ve been complaining about my students a lot lately. This is just what I needed to see. Thank you

[ianeric]

Wow, what an amazing talk. I'm from Cape Town, South Africa. My school is in many respects curriculum based, this is because in my country there are many teachers that aren't very qualified. But I've found that the teachers make the biggest difference.

[hananteacher]

I liked the story. It is similar to my own experience of my diploma (TEPD) in QRTA in Jordan. It is really a changing point in my view on teaching. Teaching is now no longer a method of spoon feeding and direct teaching. It is the way how students construct their knowledge and allowed to share most of the parts of their learning .However, to be more realistic, it could be hard to ignore the dominant educational system in my country which considers exams the only way of assessing students and jump through grades after which the students sit for a General Certificate of Secondary Education Exam—Tawjihi.
It is worth contemplating a phrase from the video describing the students “we are not the future, we are now”, and I agree with the idea that students are often able to exceed our expectations of them if we only give them a chance. The role of a teacher should be to trigger the lesson and facilitate the students’ active learning by allowing them to discuss and explore knowledge by themselves.
The inspiring part is how children can design a school inside their school. I can apply this suggestion to engage my students in designing my lessons. I can ask them to create their own design of the lesson and suggest the supporting materials.