2018 VSTE Annual Conference

Teenagers are developmentally self-centered; they can’t help it; it’s genetically programmed into them. However, they’re also increasingly aware of the fact that there is an entire world spinning and struggling around them, thanks largely to the pervasiveness of technology today. In this session, the audience will see what it’s like when students suit up to dive into a blended study of human rights by examining seminal documents, graphic journalism, and spoken word, all culminating in a student-driven research assignment in which they create a work designed to address a current human rights issue.

Through this approach, students not only practice digital annotation and workshop skills with apps such as Google Docs and Kami, they also take charge in selecting their own mentor texts and media through individual research as well as teacher-selected playlists to meet student needs. Students make their thinking visible with mind maps and word sorts, setting individual research and writing goals along the way. They conference in workshop groups to share resources and ideas and, over time, begin to see the world as a multi-faceted one riddled not only with a wide range of needs and dilemmas, but also with a diverse body of forward-thinking problem-solvers that just so happen to be occupying the seats around them in their very classrooms.

Centered around one driving question, students are tasked with exploring multiple sides of controversial topics-- a mission both uncomfortable and rewarding for them, as it compels them to seek out common perspectives and realistic solutions as they navigate the turbulent waters of our society today.