EnCORE Con
A student-run learning experience
In many ways, fifth-graders are like high school seniors. They are the oldest students on campus and given more privileges than younger students. The younger grades often look up to fifth-graders, seeing them in the hallway as “those big kids.” Especially in May, fifth-graders start suffering from a ten-year-old version of senioritis, the well-known affliction of students in their final year of high school, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance. One way I try to combat fifth-grade senioritis is to give my students the chance to teach something they know to their classmates. One of my favorite examples is an experience I designed a couple of years ago called EnCORE Con, where I let my students be teachers for a day.
I was inspired to create a education conference-style experience for my students after first attending SXSWEDU in 2018. This conference is one of the most transformative professional learning experiences in my career. Imagine hundreds of passionate educators and brilliant speakers offering a wide range of compelling sessions, in-depth workshops, and engaging learning experiences. I have met some incredible people at SXSWEDU and have deepened my pedagogy in ways I didn’t realize I could.
What if I could create an experience like this for my students? My students are incredibly knowledgeable on a variety of topics. Rarely, are they asked to share or teach something they know a ton about. What would it look like to take an entire day and put students in the role of teachers and breakout session facilitators?
Using SXSWEDU as my template, I offered students different session options, everything from a standard presentation to a workshop or a panel discussion.
I had students fill out a Session Proposal where they described their session and listed three takeaways (Learning Objectives) they had for the audience. Once students chose their session format, they got to work planning, researching, and creating. I have never seen students so engaged! They spent a week in May preparing for our EnCORE Conference, and they had a blast figuring out how best to present their expertise. My job was to help secure resources for sessions and facilitate when someone needed help.
The first year we did this, we learned how to solve a Rubik’s Cube, fold origami, and how and why cats purr. I put out an all-school call to anyone willing to donate Rubik’s Cubes for a day and spent an afternoon cutting 8.5 x 11-inch copy paper into square origami paper. One student shared his love of Japanese culture. Another presented an incredible Ignite session titled: 20 Things Shrek Taught Me About Life. Students improved their speaking and presenting skills and learned a ton of great things from each other. It was a fantastic experience!
Letting my students be teachers for a day changed our classroom dynamic. Students began seeing each other as fellow conference goers instead of competitors for a grade. Since I was not grading these projects, students felt free to experiment with topics and styles of presenting. Two student ran a design challenge workshop where students had to build a game to play using cardboard, tape, and other crafting supplies. One student learned how best to use a document camera, while another learned how to embed incredible 3D Rubik’s Cube simulations into a slidedeck.
My classroom quickly transformed into a bustling educational conference, and the best part was that it was entirely run by my students. They created a schedule for when breakout sessions would happen (so as not to conflict with lunch and recess). They rearranged the furniture so that we could have multiple sessions occur simultaneously. One of my favorite moments was when students realized that if they attended one breakout session, that meant they would miss out on another one. The conference format quickly changed so that every student could attend and participate in every sessions. No one wanted to miss their classmate’s sessions.
During EnCORE Con, I was not the expert in the room. Each student had an opportunity to facilitate learning in a way that they chose. Students got to share something they loved with their classmates. They took their breakout sessions seriously, both as a facilitator and an audience member. I believe that this experience strengthened their peer bonds and our classroom community. And we learned a ton!
EnCORE Con 2024
This year, I plan to make a few tweaks to the experience. I have a new respect for conference organizers! It is a ton of work to make sure every presenter has what they need to lead a meaningful session.
Here are a few things I want to change for EnCORE 2024.
1. A week-long conference
Trying to cram everyone’s session into one day didn’t work, so this year, I want to expand it to a week-long conference. This way, students will get a chance to see everyone’s presentation or participate in everyone’s workshop without feeling rushed.
2. Expand the audience
Why should my fifth-graders only get a chance to present to their own class? This year, I will offer the ability to present to other classrooms throughout the building. This will be a great opportunity for students to showcase their expertise to the younger grades, and it will give them experience in needing to differentiate based on age and ability. How would you modify teaching origami to second-graders?
3. Expand the conference
When I first imagined EnCORE Con, I wanted the entire grade-level to participate. I envisioned opening up every classroom and letting students pick and choose whose breakout session they would attend during the day. I could hear them compare their schedules, I’m going to Michael’s Minecraft session at 8:45 AM and then Samantha’s Taylor Swift panel discussion at 9:30 AM.
I piloted this in my classroom in 2022. Last year, although we didn’t do this experience, I talked it up to different teachers in the building. This year, I’m ready to pitch it to the larger grade-level team. I expect to have some pushback, considering what I’m asking. I’m not sure any public school is prepared to shut down operations for even a single day, much less a week, in order to immerse students in a full and in-depth conference experience. Still, it’s worth a try!
EnCORE Con started as a fun way to revive motivation and engagement of my fifth-graders suffering from senioritis. The experience deepened my understanding of teaching and learning. I believe that true collaborative learning in a classroom must include the teacher. I realize that there needs to be times when I’m providing direct instruction on a concept that my students do not know. However, EnCORE Con taught me that I want to give my students more opportunities to learn from each other. I had so much fun learning from my students. I can still make an origami crane!
What if school was more like an educational conference? What if students spent a week immersing themselves in a new skill or learning from their classmates? This might not work for every day of the school year, but I think it is a great idea for a week at the end of the year, especially when everyone is suffering from senioritis.
If you have any ideas about how to improve this experience, let me know. I’d also love to hear about what’s happening in your classroom. Drop me a quick comment or note!
Have a great week!
—Adrian
Resources
Bring TED-ED Student Talks to Your School
For the past four years, I’ve tried to get my school to adopt the TED-Ed Student Talks program. They have so many amazing resources for teachers helping students prepare their very own TED Talk. I highly recommend the application process. I think this would make for an incredible after-school club.
Here is a collection of Student Talks from students all around the world.
Learning by teaching others is extremely effective
More research that shows how students teaching others is a better way to learn.
There is so much research on the value of students teaching their peers. This National Association of Elementary School Principals article written by Cheri Sterman, Director at Crayola Education, is a good summary of the value of students as teachers. She also shares some great classroom examples.
Did you know there are nine models of peer teaching? I want to incorporate more of these in my daily classroom instruction next year.
If you ever have the means to go to this conference, I urge you attend. It’s incredible! If you can’t go to SXSWEDU, you can still watch the highlights from each day. Volume 1. Volume 2. This is still my favorite keynote speech, ever!
Hi Adrian! My students chose Minds in Motion and this project was a huge hit. They were incredibly engaged, came supremely prepared and impressively talented. They had takeaways, props, but most importantly, enthusiasm!! My most difficult student's (simply b/c of raging ADHD) mom wrote me "this was the first assignment ever where I didn't have to prod, plead to get him to do it. He did it on his own and there were no tears from him or me!" I sent pictures and videos to the moms and they were thrilled. This will now be a mainstay in my curriculum - exactly the freshening it needed! Thank you so much!
Such a cool idea, especially in these final throes of the school year. Trying to think of how to adapt something similar to a high school environment.