I had my first experience with production-driven learning when I was assigned the duty of newspaper sponsor. I was already teaching several classes of high school English and one class of journalism. At the time, a small staff of students, only one of whom was enrolled in my journalism class, stayed after school to work on the newspaper. With purely selfish motives (cutting down on my after-school hours), I decided that the 16 students in my journalism class would take on the major responsibilities of publishing the newspaper, with the after-school staff devoted to refining the publication. Thus the class became production-driven, and all the content I taught was immediately reflected in the next issue of the newspaper.
To my surprise, the following year the enrollment in journalism more than doubled! Two classes of 25 worked on the newspaper (more frequently published and lengthier than the previous year). The next year the classes again doubled. Through some creative scheduling, each of four sections of journalism produced one out of four issues of the newspaper. In the fourth year, there were seven sections of journalism and another teacher had to be hired. At this point we could no longer manage publication through the classes, so the newspaper was again prepared primarily by an after-school group of students. The course reverted to a theory simulation approach: the content was the same as it always had been and some students' writing was selected for publication. The following year, the number of students enrolling in journalism declined by one-half.
It was clear to me what had happened. During the years when students were involved in learning material that was immediately used, they eagerly embraced the learning. An aura of excitement and adventure pervaded as students tried out different types of newspaper leads and interviewed school personalities. The thought that other students, parents, and teachers would be reading the stories motivated them to edit and re-edit. None of this happened when the class was taught as an informational course.
I observed similar experiences with my student teachers who produced classroom newspapers. While other 5th graders completed textbook exercises on run-on sentences, Sandi's class carefully examined sentences in their own stories to determine whether they fulfilled the requirements of “good sentences” worthy of publication. Which students learned about sentences? From the participation, intensity, and energy demonstrated in Sandi's classroom, it was clear where real learning took place.
Class-produced newspapers, then, are clear examples of production-driven learning. What are others? It was helpful to me to establish some criteria for production-driven learning.
- There is a visible, although not always tangible, product. It may be a performance that leaves an impression on the viewers, or it may be a physical product. Regardless of the form, the product is a direct result of student learning of content in the regular classroom. Good and Brophy (1991) discuss the positive impact that creating a product has on student motivation to learn.
- An audience other than the students themselves views the product. Inviting parents to the school for the purpose of viewing the outcomes of learning is a known factor in student achievement and effective schools (Clark, Lotto, and MacCarthy 1980 and Rosenholz 1989 as quoted in Fullan 1991).
- The entire class is involved in the production. Important as enrichment programs are, they do not embody the message that the production is important for all students. When production-driven learning is part of the curriculum, not an add-on or a choice, all students receive the benefits typically associated with cooperative learning—increased academic achievement, enhanced motivation, and, most important in terms of authentic learning, emotional involvement in learning (Johnson and Johnson 1989).
- Most of the production occurs during school time. Unlike the traditional science project, which often results in inequitable experiences for children, the amount of time and energy spent on production is not left up to individual students or parents. Parents may be asked to help students locate resources, props, costumes, or materials, but they are discouraged from transferring the responsibility for the learning away from the child.
A 1st Grade Circus
Among the most successful production-driven learning experiences I have observed took place during Linda's internship. Her 1st graders had read books about circuses, learned words about circuses, and written stories involving circuses. They had counted clowns, seals, horses, and trapezes. They had drawn and colored tents, balloons, and elephants. A clown had visited their classroom and painted their faces with circles, squares, and rectangles. And throughout the unit, students had prepared for the production of their own circus.
One evening in October, parents were invited to the classroom circus. Children dressed as circus performers were in and out of three rings. They read while on a “high-wire,” told circus stories on the “flying trapeze,” juggled while calling out numbers, and counted out bareback riders and elephant riders sweeping around the room. The student teacher, dressed as the ringmaster (what else?), marveled at the number of parents in attendance. She had been told that in this community, parents, many of whom were migrant workers, rarely visited the school.
What did students learn? Aside from vocabulary words, students also practiced reading, writing, oral language, counting, number recognition—all the objectives of a 1st grade classroom. They learned with intensity. Two months of instruction were enhanced because of a two-hour event.
A Tour of the Rain Forest
Another memorable learning experience took place in a 4th grade room draped with greenery hanging from the ceiling and sprouting from the walls. Two young guides in khaki met the visitors at the door. Dividing the visitors into groups of eight, they set out to circumnavigate the “rain forest,” stopping frequently so that other students attired in unusual outfits could explain the different layers of the rain forest, describe the animals inhabiting the forest, introduce the different peoples of the rain forest, and point out the products of the rain forest as used by modern peoples. The tour ended with a talk by two earnest researchers who pressed pamphlets on the “tourists” and made impassioned pleas to join one of several organizations working to save the rain forest. The teacher remained in the background.
What did students learn? Facts about the rain forest; literature, geography, history, science; caring about the earth; how to conduct an event that instructed others.
Several other presentations of production-driven learning have been my pleasure to attend. Among them were a living biography event, where students who had read biographies dressed as their characters; a puppet show about American history; an evening of poetry reading. All of these were presented during the school day or during whole-school evening events. All were taught during regular instructional time.
I now require that my student teachers submit plans for production-driven learning as part of their pre-internship experience. Some of the plans recently shared included dramatic readings, a “living history” exhibit, and a life-size mural. How fortunate their prospective students will be to tie their learning to a production that invokes excitement and that makes the learning come alive.
