Susan Brookhart, Connie Moss, and Beverly Long ("Formative Assessment That Empowers," p. 52) describe the paradox at the heart of fostering student ownership of learning: The teacher is in control of how much control the student experiences. Great teachers purposefully create the kinds of learning environments that promote students—not teachers—taking charge. This is a paradox—but if we want our students to be true learners rather than just good students, we must live it.

Moving Beyond Compliance

The first step in releasing control to students, according to Allison Zmuda ("Springing Into Active Learning," p. 38) is to push students to be less passive. After many years of schooling, passive habits—and the "common misunderstandings … about learning" that Zmuda refers to—may be so deeply ingrained that we have to intentionally disabuse students of these notions.

• Look over the "misunderstandings" Zmuda lists on pages 39 and 40. Do you think your students believe things like "Classroom rules are based on what the teacher wants?" or "Once I get too far behind, I can never catch up"? What behaviors do you notice that show your students hold such ideas?
• Try this: Gather your class and write one of Zmuda's misunderstandings on the board. Ask students to discuss it, making clear you're not fishing for any one conclusion. Keep out of the discussion and notice what thoughts students come up with. Prod their thinking if necessary by asking, "Is this statement true of your learning outside of school?" "What might be another way to look at this"?
• Now ask yourself how the checklist for an active curriculum listed on pages 41–42 applies to your teaching. Identify characteristics of your learning environment that may be rewarding passivity more than curiosity and ownership. Identify one thing you might change. Discuss with the group.

Giving Kids a Turn At Bat

Schools may not be the only place students gather where following a program laid out by adults is the norm. Look over Thomas R. Guskey and Eric M. Anderman's article "Students at Bat" on p. 8. What do you think of this statement:

Both in school and in the neighborhood, children today have few opportunities to learn about sharing, establishing rules, fairness, and responsibility. They seldom experience the challenge of resolving disputes through compromise and consensus.

• Think about how you make decisions and resolve problems in your classroom. Do you encourage—or require—students to come up with ideas, or do you package things for them and just ask them to approve your proposals?
• Look over the options for student choice that Guskey and Anderman offer on pages 11–13. Which of these options could you imagine giving your students? Try giving your students one or more of these options over the next week, and report back to the group.

Learning in Depth

Many of the articles in this issue encourage student ownership through giving kids more choices and responsibility. Kieran Egan ("Learning in Depth," p. 58) points in another direction—toward fostering more depth in students' learning.

What do you think of Egan's proposal that students study one topic in depth and from all angles throughout their 12 years of schooling? Would this kind of scheme deepen students' knowledge and their sense of ownership over learning? How could you try something like this even on a small scale in your classes?

Guiding Social Networking

According to Will Richardson ("Footprints in the Digital Age," p. 16), to help students take charge in life as well as in school we need to familiarize ourselves with the learning tools students will reach for—social networking tools like Facebook, blogs, and photo sharing sites. Teachers, Richardson says, need to "help students create navigate, and grow the powerful, individualized networks of learning that bloom on the Web … Our teachers have to be colearners in this process, modeling their own use of connections and networks" (pp. 18–19).

• Do you agree that teachers owe it to their students to try social networking tools so that we can guide students in using them?
• In a noncritical way, discuss in your group how much you use the social networking resources Richardson describes. If you have never used these tools, or feel reluctant to try them, what stops you? What would help you take the plunge?
• Consider using a group session to explore activities like blogging, with teachers who are experienced with digital applications guiding those who are less experienced.