Interest-Based Learning

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.

Encouraging students to bring their creativity and imagination to challenging content makes it more accessible—and helps them learn it more deeply.

How to adapt principles from the famed approach to foster interest-based learning for the youngest students.

English teachers are wrestling with how to navigate the increasingly contentious terrain between student choice and assigning the classics.

Play-based learning helps engage elementary students in their education and has cognitive, physical, social, and emotional benefits.

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.

A teacher shares what she did and what she learned when she implemented Genius Hour in her fifth-grade class.

By connecting learning to the real world, students begin to see themselves as a catalyst for change within it.

When students care about an assignment, they're willing to take greater risks and are more likely to excel in their product.

Teachers can build rapport with students by starting the year with activities that encourage sharing of interests, and by connecting those interests to curriculum.

Reminding high school students why they’re in school—so they can become the people they aspire to be—can be a powerful motivator.

Watch students take charge of their project-based learning, by creating their own learning goals and identifying resources beyond their teacher.

Taking students’ interests into account when designing project-based learning helps ensure that they stay engaged throughout the unit.

Educators take on the role of guides and motivate students to direct their own learning.