Are you wondering what's inside an Acton Academy Studio?
You know you are visiting an Acton Academy Learner-Driven Community when:
You see and hear:
1. Evidence of the Hero’s Journey
- Frequent references to the Hero’s Journey and callings
- Use of Growth Mindset language
- Acknowledgment of the necessity to fail early, cheaply and often to learn
- Parent Meetings at least 3x per year, focusing on parents’ own Hero’s Journeys
2. Self-governance and self-management
- Studio Contracts visible on the walls
- Eagles set daily SMART goals
- Eagles hold each other accountable to Contract promises (Eagle Bucks, Growth Mindset language) and take their community issues to Town Hall
- Visible schedule with large blocks of time
3. Accountability and celebration of progress and hard work
- Public Exhibitions at the end of every session
- Badges approved according to “Standards of Excellence”
- Weekly points and SMART goals
- Customer satisfaction surveys at least twice per month shared with Eagles and parents
4. Eagles “Learning to Do”
- Hands-on Quests to discover gifts
- Socratic discussions in launches and Civilization
- Khan, Dreambox and other game-based tools to allow Eagles to learn at their own pace
- Eagles choosing to “drop everything and read” (DEAR)
- Writers’ Workshop and peer-reviewed writing
- Apprenticeships in upper studios
5. Eagles “Learning to Learn”
- Overarching Question posted on the wall
- Journey maps posted on walls (Quests, Writer’s Workshop, Civilization)
- Eagles learning clear processes for getting things done, often posted on walls (writing processes, critique processes, conflict resolution processes, etc.)
- Public posting of work and comparison of world-class examples
- Feedback systems and deliberate practice
- Nest Cams to capture visual patterns over time
6. Eagles “Learning to Be”
- Character Callouts
- Servant Leader Badges or another way to intentionally develop heroic habits
- Squad Leaders or Running Partners/Teams
- Collaboration Cards or another system for purposeful collaboration
- 360 Peer Reviews or another system for feedback on Eagle’s warm-hearted and tough-minded character development
7. Socratic Guiding
- Guides only respond to questions with another question or a choice
- The flow of the studio doesn’t revolve around the Guide; Eagles don’t look to Guides as their primary help
- Guide can disappear for extended periods of time, and nothing changes
- Studio isn’t organized around a teacher desk
- No examples of: Teaching or lecturing by Guides, Grades or grading by adults, Shaming behavior or language or a condescending tone, Fixed mindset language, Guides making announcements in front of the studio
8. Language that affirms the method
- Young people referred to as “Eagles” (mascot), “Heroes,” or “Learners,” and not as “students,” “kids,” “boys and girls,” or any other form of the diminutive
- Adults referred to as “Guides” and not “teachers”
- No reference to grade levels (“fifth grade”)
- “Learn to Learn, Learn to Do, Learn to Be” instead of edu-speak like “developmentally appropriate,” “classroom,” “instruction,” “gifted & talented”
- “Learning” instead of “teaching”
A Note: “Excellent” work meets one of these standards: (1) Is this your best work?; (2) Is it better than last time?; (3) How does it compare to a world-class example?; or (4) Has it won an outside competition? Badges largely approved by peers or upper-school Mentors instead of Guides.
Ready to read more? Check out: FREEDOM AND STRUCTURE: A SYNCHRONOUS PAIR
https://www.actonacademyparents.com/freedom-and-structure-a-synchronous-pair-at-acton/