I wonder . . .
Heather Ebnet, a District 742 teacher on special assignment for the Young Scholars program, has an entire wall of post-its filled with “I wonder” statements from her students. She calls it her “wonder wall.”
It is this wonder wall that helps to inspire kids to create projects. Students in the Young Scholars program are students who have demonstrated signs of higher learning, such as critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
Once a student is identified for the program, he/she continues with the program through fifth grade. From there, the goal is to move the students into the advanced courses or AVID (advancement via individual determination) in the middle and secondary levels.
Students in this project-based program are pulled from their regular classes one to two hours a week. One of those hours is “Genius Hour.” Students are able to choose between doing a project or a presentation on anything they are curious about.
Ebnet shares, “When you allow the kids to be curious, it is a gift to me and the kids. They get to expand on what they already know, and it is fun to watch.”
The Genius Hour is meant to guide students through the project process, start to finish, yet continue to build on their projects.
“Our work is never done,” says Ebnet, “We can always improve on it. No one is perfect. We make mistakes, but we can still move forward.”
The program is meant to push students to see themselves as learners. Fourth and fifth-graders present their growth mindset project to the Madison Elementary staff during their staff meeting. The students’ “I Wonder” statements turn into a presentation of “I believe.”
The theme is “Keep Moving Forward.” It is a video montage focusing on the power of “yet,” “resilience,” “overcoming failures” and “mind traps.”
The growth mindset philosophy is about praising the process to which a task is completed, not the talent or end result. It’s also about changing one’s own mindset from “I’m not good at math” to “I’m not good at math, yet.”
Students teach the staff. Madison staff, while in groups, discuss what the most difficult thing is for them to remember when practicing the growth mindset.
Students call on the teachers to share with the group.
Denise Huebsch, an academic coach, says, “For me, it’s foreign language, I’ve had the mindset that I can’t start learning a foreign language like Chinese. I’ve had to change my thinking, and I’m starting to learn some of it now.”
“I get trapped by my schedule–trying to fit everything in within a time frame, and it sometimes gets in my way [remembering to praise the process],” states Karen Kruse, a music teacher.
There are approximately 160 students in the Young Scholars program at Madison Elementary and Discovery Community School. The program has been such a success, the plan is to expand the program to Talahi Community School and Lincoln Elementary School.
Ebnet describes the program as life-changing for the students. They have another adult to support them in the higher learning that the program promotes.
The students are proud to be in Young Scholars.
“They are so proud to be a Young Scholar. They physically raise their shoulders and show it,” says Ebnet. “They are super, super kids. It’s fun to watch them grow. I’m such a better teacher because of this program. I’ve learned how to reach kids in a different way and I’ve been at this for 20 years.”
To hear what kids have to say about the Young Scholars program, click HERE.