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Foxfire Core Practices |
| Givens
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1. The work teachers and learners do together is infused
from the beginning with learner choice, design, and revision. The central
focus of the work grows out of learners' interests and concerns. Most problems
that arise during classroom activity are solved in collaboration with learners,
and learners are supported in the development of their ability to solve
problems and accept responsibility.
2. The role of the teacher is that of facilitator and collaborator. Teachers are responsible for assessing and attending to learnersâ developmental needs, providing guidance, identifying academic givens, monitoring each learnerâs academic and social growth, and leading each into new areas of understanding and competence. 3. The academic integrity of the work teachers and learners do together is clear. Mandated skills and learning expectations are identified to the class. Through collaborative planning and implementation, students engage and accomplish the mandates. In addition, activities assist learners in discovering the value and potential of the curricula and its connections to other disciplines. 4. The work is characterized by active learning. Learners are thoughtfully engaged in the learning process, posing and solving problems, making meaning, producing products, and building understandings. Because learners engaged in these kinds of activities are risk takers operating on the edge of their competence, the classroom environment provides an atmosphere of trust where the consequence of a mistake is the opportunity for further learning. 5. Peer teaching, small group work, and teamwork are all consistent features of classroom activities. Every learner is not only included, but needed, and, in the end, each can identify her or his specific stamp upon the effort. 6. Connections between the classroom work, the surrounding communities, and the world beyond the community are clear. Course content is connected to the community in which the learners live. Learnersâ work will "bring home" larger issues by identifying attitudes about and illustrations and implications of those issues in their home communities. 7. There is an audience beyond the teacher for learner work. It may be another individual, or a small group, or the community, but it is an audience the learners want to serve or engage. The audience, in turn, affirms the work is important, needed and worth doing. 8. New activities spiral gracefully out of the old, incorporating lessons learned from past experiences, building on skills and understandings that can now be amplified. Rather than completion of a study being regarded as the conclusion of a series of activities, it is regarded as the starting point for a new series. 9. Imagination and creativity are encouraged in the completion of learning activities. It is the learnerâs freedom to express and explore, to observe and investigate, and to discover that are the basis for aesthetic experiences. These experiences provide a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction and lead to deeper understanding and an internal thirst for knowledge. 10. Reflection is an essential activity that takes place at key points throughout the work. Teachers and learners engage in conscious and thoughtful consideration of the work and the process. It is this reflective activity that evokes insight and gives rise to revisions and refinements. 11. The work teachers and learners do together includes rigorous, ongoing assessment and evaluation. Teachers and learners employ a variety of strategies to demonstrate their mastery of teaching and learning objectives. |