Giving students a real voice: Student Curriculum Hackers

David Rogers

Curriculum Leader for Geography at Priory School in Portsmouth. Interested in education and creative pedagogy and the use of technology. Trying my best to push boundaries.

Microsoft Innovative Teacher, Google Certified Teacher, Jamie Oliver Dream Teacher and Best Teacher Blog of 2011 in the Education Blog Awards.

Follow @daviderogers

Website: www.davidrogers.org.uk Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As the 2012-13 school year comes to a close, teachers will be deciding what they should include in next year's curriculum. In this post, curriculum leader for Geography David Rogers describes a five-step method he implemented in his school which gave students in Years 7 to 9 the opportunity to decide for themselves what makes a 'perfect lesson' and then write their ideas onto the schemes of work in Google Docs. In this way, students can effectively - and lawfully - 'hack' their curriculum!

Lots of schools and teachers bang on about giving students a voice, but very few actually allow them to have one. At Priory Geography, we have developed a strong culture of allowing young people to get involved in making decisions about school life, for example:

  • The Space Explorers, Space Creators Building Schools of the Future Project supported by a 21st Century Learning Alliance Fellowship;
  • Choosing our GCSE Specification during the last round of GCSE ‘reform’, and;
  • Creating the Mobile Learning Policy for Priory School.

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