The Lion’s Share: Collaboration helps drive collective, individual responsibility
In education, we talk a lot about 21st-century skills, the skills students will need to thrive in the years ahead.
In “The Global Achievement Gap,” Harvard University professor Tony Wagner writes about the importance of problem-solving and critical thinking, collaboration across networks, adaptability, initiative, effective oral and written communication, analyzing information and developing curiosity and imagination.
Few would disagree with the importance of these skills, but how does a teacher actually set the stage for this type of learning? How does a teacher motivate students to value collaboration and adaptability, curiosity and imagination?
When I asked Mark Lowrie, the teacher for “Lincoln Live,” the Gahanna Lincoln High School TV program, how he motivates students, he had some interesting things to say.
He told me his students have the unique opportunity to tell stories about their classmates, their teachers and their school community.
“We get 9 minutes every day to tell stories, where 2,400 students and 200-plus teachers and staff are watching (as are parents and community members who also tune in throughout the day on YouTube). I have to get students to buy into this unique and powerful responsibility. Great power requires responsibility.”
His goal is to build a family-like atmosphere in which students support and challenge each other to do high-quality work, which means they need to get better each and every day. It is a lot of pressure, to be sure, and explains why their class motto is “Excellence is earned. Run faster.”
Looking back to 2018: Award-winning Gahanna Lincoln teacher Thomas Gregory inspires equipment drive
Looking back to March 2021: Lincoln Sports Zone: Gahanna Lincoln broadcast show gets viewers 'in the zone'
“Lincoln Live” students must meet strict deadlines and high standards, but grades aren’t what motivate them. They are intrinsically motivated. They show up every day to create shows with images, solid writing and storytelling in an effort to get people’s attention, to move them and even make them laugh at times.
It is a collaborative effort with collective and individual due dates. When your story is up to run on the show, it has to be ready. If it’s not, then there is a hole in the show.
“No one wants to let their classmates down, so they get their stories done on time for the most part,” Lowrie told me. “Collective and individual responsibility are the keys to creating quality work in a timely manner. Students need to concentrate on creating quality stories with captivating words and images.”
Lowrie’s goal is not necessarily to encourage students to pursue television as a career. He knows it is a very difficult way to make a living. Instead, he hopes that students will learn a few simple things they can carry with them throughout their lives.
He hopes students will build a sense of confidence, know how to tell a story, talk with people and do presentations that are meaningful and that grab people’s attention. What could be more 21st century than that?
The Lion’s Share: Sense of belonging promotes champion response to challenges
It has been a banner year for students in the program. The three television programs, “Lincoln Live,” “Lincoln Sports Zone” and “Film/Documentary Production” received 18 nominations from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Ohio Valley Chapter! NATAS will announce recipients of the student Emmy Awards during a virtual presentation July 24.
This is my last column for the ThisWeek Rocky Fork Enterprise as superintendent of the Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools. I’m grateful to our community for its support during the past six years. Our schools are on a trajectory to reach new heights under the leadership of our new superintendent, Tracey Deagle, and our hardworking teachers, support staff and school board members.
Steve Barrett is superintendent of Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools.
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: The Lion’s Share: Collaboration drives collective, individual responsibility
