In order to model constructivist, non-coercive educational practice, Gary Stager coined the term ‘learning adventures’ to replace ‘assignment’ in describing classroom activity. He argues that this simple rhetorical shift has a profound impact on teachers spirit and effectiveness in teaching.

The notion of a learning adventure is simple:
-start with a prompt or an essential question
-make the task real-world and ensure it is intrinsically motivating
-encourage risk-taking and collaboration
-support reflective practice. Have an online space for personal reflection.
-use a range of skills and technologies in rich ways
-do not create winners and losers
-ensure adequate time

A example of a very simple learning adventure is to find interesting images from Flickr.

Prompt: Who should I vote for?

Can you “Google” the poster?
What are some of the strategies you would use to figure out who you would like to vote for? Do you speak the language used in the poster? Whose campaign poster is this? What is the political party? What sort of election is this? What are the issues in the election?

Have a read of Gary Stager’s Learning Adventures: A new approach for transforming real and virtu… The idea of a learning adventure is the idea of project based or inquiry driven learning and it is one that needs to start finding its way into the psyche of more teachers from both primary and secondary schools.

What is your idea of a learning adventure?