As educators, we must strive to place students at the center of the learning experience, encourage them to learn through a lens of interest, and enjoy opportunities to pursue their passions. However, inviting students to choose their learning “path” in the classroom may feel daunting. How do we support students in identifying something they are passionate or curious about and provide the resources necessary to facilitate their learning?

Tract is an online community where students can share their knowledge, learn from one another, and connect with others interested in similar topics or activities. Tract offers students the tools and support needed to create dynamic learning experiences for one another. 

Students as Creators

As part of the Tract community, students can select a topic and create their learning path on that topic. They are encouraged to identify a topic of interest and create a dynamic learning experience around their content. There is even a learning path designed to help them develop their content. It walks them through a series of learning activities designed to help them become effective creators of content and includes the following challenges:

  • Identify your topic
  • Research your topic
  • Outline your learning path
  • Create your challenges to drive deeper thinking
  • Write your script
  • Record and edit
  • Present and publish

As any teacher can attest, creating a learning path demands critical thinking, careful planning, research, intentional sequencing, and the production or curation of resources to guide the experience. Designing learning experiences also reinforces and strengthens our understanding of topics. Tract provides students with a platform to create and share learning paths that combine short TikTok-like videos with fun challenges.  

Students Choose Their Learning Paths

Students can select a learning path on Tract that appeals to them. For example, students who want to hone their public speaking skills can choose the learning path titled “Give a Speech Like President Obama.” They watch a short video written and produced by a student and self-pace through the learning path. 

The learning path has a preview of the content, identifies the level of rigor (e.g., medium), and provides a category. Then the learner can preview the path to see if this is a learning experience they want to pursue. In the screencast below, you can see the learning sequence that walks students through the process of giving a speech. The path combines video instruction on writing and delivering a powerful speech and culminates in the students publishing their own speeches on a topic of their choice. 

Teachers looking to support students in pursuing passion projects or making the most of genius hour can leverage Tract to ensure that those student-centered learning experiences are rich and rewarding. Additionally, many of the skills required by content creators require that students apply skills many of us are required to teach, including reading, writing, research, speaking, and listening. Students are more likely to be interested in honing their research and writing skills to create content on a topic of their choice. Similarly, students learning will be more engaged if they have the agency to decide what they want to learn! 

11 Responses

  1. I would really like to try this with my learners. I think, since many learners are more interested in technology, they will have fun in creating educational project that can allow them to express themselves freely. it will be great to if they get to share with each other and learn too.

    Thank you Dr Tucker
    Lucreacia

  2. Some students will no problem developing a speech, and presenting it to the rest of the class because they are good at research and have developed strategies to help them along the journey. However those student who are challenged I will have to redirect and assist them and create excitement by presenting them with strategies for success.

    • I would love to teach my students how to develop a speech and then feel comfortable enough delivering it.

  3. Any thoughts on ways to incorporate this into a Math class? I was thinking that they would have to select a topic from our math curriculum and then weave it into their chosen path – does that make sense? Thanks for your feedback.

    • Hi Elaine,

      You might want to consider using it for genus hour where kids pursue a passion or share their learning as it relates to math. It might be a fun way to get them thinking about making real-world connections with the mathematical concepts they are learning!

      Catlin

  4. I think this will be a wonderful tool to use in my history class. It allows students to be more creative with researching topics of interest and displaying them on a platform they are accustomed to. I would love to learn more about how to implement this tool in my classroom.

  5. I like the idea and concept of allowing students to use media and what they enjoy and love doing, however I can see some downfalls to it. Some students are not using the program correctly, or playing around. Overall the students who enjoy media may use it correctly and learn something about themselves along the way.

  6. I think this a good tool to use in Science lessons when we integrate real life experiences with the lesson concept.

  7. It’s important to realize each student will benefit from participating in some sort of technology, especially since some students are hands-on learners. I incorporate technology by using Canvas and online lessons. However, I would love to learnmore.

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