Design-Based Learning Online Learning in a Never-Before-Seen World
Design-Based Learning ACTIVITY #1 Sneaking Up on Homework
Observing and Writing a Description about an Experience ©Doreen Nelson
Never-Before-Seen Homework was a way for me to trick my students into writing. In the late 1960’s when I was teaching the fifth grade in Venice, California, I could not get my students to do homework and I could not get them to write original stories. I told them to invent their Homework, but gave them a few conditions: they do an activity of their choice for 30 minutes, write one page with the details about what they did, and draw a picture to go with their writing. Jack, who was a Winnebago Native American, thought I was nuts and said he would “show” me. He wrote about sitting in front of a tree and looking at it for 30 minutes. Not only did he describe in detail what he saw, but he wrote a poem about it. He was right, I was “nuts,” but I got exactly what I wanted.
Purpose: To teach how to observe and document a description about a self-selected, sustained experience.
The Sneaking Up on Homework Activity: Have your students choose an activity to do at home. Have them do the activity for 30 minutes then write about it. (Note: The more time they spend selecting the activity, the more invested they are and the more learning takes place. Younger students can spend less than 30 minutes on the activity.)
Essential Question: How can students participate in their own education?
Problem: How do you involve students in an activity and have them to write about what they learn?
Design Challenge for Students: Design Never-Before-Seen Homework of Your Own Making.
Criteria List
This Criteria List is given as a guide for Never-Before-Seen Homework. Have your students read or listen to the list and check to see if they do everything.
