George Lucas Educational Foundation

Interest-Based Learning

Discover how students can drive their own learning through Genius Hour, 20% Time, personalized PBL, and other passion-based strategies facilitating student voice and choice.

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  • Helping Teens Tap Into the Power of the Future Self

    Reminding high school students why they’re in school—so they can become the people they aspire to be—can be a powerful motivator.
    345
  • Dedicating Space for Curiosity and Exploration

    By turning a plain old hallway into a destination that every class visits regularly to tinker and play, a school made limited resources go further and saw student enthusiasm soar.
    3.6k
  • 3 Ways to Plan for Diverse Learners: What Teachers Do

    Every teacher already has the tools to differentiate in powerful ways for all learners.
    John McCarthy
    26.8k
  • The Reading Wars: Choice vs. Canon

    English teachers are wrestling with how to navigate the increasingly contentious terrain between student choice and assigning the classics.
    9.2k
  • 7 Ideas From Reggio Emilia That Any Early Childhood Teacher Can Use

    How to adapt principles from the famed approach to foster interest-based learning for the youngest students.
    6.3k
  • Fostering Self-Directed Learning in Makerspaces

    When students have the freedom to tinker and explore, their curiosity leads to perseverance—and the mastery of technical tools and skills.
    236
  • How to Use Play for Learning

    Play-based learning helps engage elementary students in their education and has cognitive, physical, social, and emotional benefits.
    6.8k
  • Genius Hour in Elementary School

    A teacher shares what she did and what she learned when she implemented Genius Hour in her fifth-grade class.
    7.9k
  • Emphasizing the Importance of Play During Distance Learning

    For young children, play is the primary vehicle for learning, and these ideas will help ensure that they continue to have rich play experiences at home.
    4.5k
  • Learner Interest Matters: Strategies for Empowering Student Choice

    When students care about an assignment, they're willing to take greater risks and are more likely to excel in their product.
    10.8k
  • Students Excel When They Find Purpose—So How Do We Help Them?

    By connecting learning to the real world, students begin to see themselves as a catalyst for change within it.
    3.3k
  • 6 Ways to Get to Know Your Students and Build a Classroom Community

    Teachers can build rapport with students by starting the year with activities that encourage sharing of interests, and by connecting those interests to curriculum.
    1.7k
  • Thinkering Studio: Supporting Self-Directed Learning

    Watch students take charge of their project-based learning, by creating their own learning goals and identifying resources beyond their teacher.
    6.3k
  • Birmingham Covington: Building a Student-Centered School

    Educators take on the role of guides and motivate students to direct their own learning.
    6k
  • Explorations: Making Curiosity Part of the Curriculum

    Student-designed electives put kids' passions at the forefront of their learning.
    4.7k

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George Lucas Educational Foundation

Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.
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