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"There seems to be a fine line between passion and frustration. But if we are experiencing emotions in our endeavors, that should say something about the learning climate we are participating in. It means we care deeply about the process and the outcomes."

"Why Schools Should Help Students Find Their Passion"

Students saviing schools with their passions

Good comments about using Web 2 to connect learners to others (experts) passionate about topics of shared interest.

Good comments about using Web 2 to connect learners to others (experts) passionate about topics of shared interest.

Any time when we can put students in the role of teacher can be a benefit to everyone. I wouldn't say passion-based, student-driven learning is any less work than a more traditional model of instruction, but in this context, I could not image a better way to teach.

Last week I posted Passion and Professional Development: Four Anecdotes, the first part of a chapter I'm writing for a book edited by Mike Lawrence. This post includes three more anecdotes written for the same chapter. Again, I'd be thrilled if some of you find inspiration here - and I'd be grateful for any feedback you can provide.

For the past eight years students in Year Six at Redlands have participated in a Personal Passion Project during Term Four. It is a way to finish their time in Junior School with a project that connects their passion with all they have learned about managing inquiry/design based projects to that point.

Passion Based Learning

Slideshare PBL

Thoughts on PBL

inspiring article and an excerpt from a book.

Resources on how to create and maintain a passion-driven classroom.

Looking for a conference with a difference? What story do you have to tell? The #motm13 Unconference is built around stories for the purpose of making strong connections with other passionate educators who are integrating ICT with pedagogy.

"ROLAND Gesthuizen describes himself as a social media evangelist. His passion for social media and Twitter in particular extends beyond the global power of tapping into and sharing ideas. For his students it has brought the outside world to his classroom in a way that could never be imagined."

"Six weeks into Coursera's Passion Driven Statistics course from Wesleyan University, students received a notice that they would participate in a new kind of peer-based grading exercise for their final projects."

Some educators are using popular commercial games like World of Warcraft (WoW) to create curriculum around the game (via @Learnfreeli)

To succeed in the 21st-century economy, students must learn to analyze and solve problems, collaborate, persevere, take calculated risks and learn from failure. 

Few people enter the teaching profession because they are passionate about controlling behaviour or disciplining prospective pupils. Most become educators because they want to make a positive difference in students' lives. However, countless well-intentioned yet potentially ill-prepared teachers find themselves in situations during the school year where they feel compelled to use forms of intimidation, manipulation, bribery, yelling, scolding, or even false praise to make students behave. These archaic classroom management techniques often backfire- as they did for me early in my teaching career-and result in students losing respect for and disliking the teacher.