Put Ownership on Students with an EdCafe!

I learned about the wonderful idea of an edcafe model from Ms. Katrina Kennett . She is an inspiration and a wonderful English teacher. Her blog goes into much more depth about edcafe’s and many other creative ways to teach.

 

What is an Edcafe? 

According to Katrina, “An EdCafe is a way to structure class that promotes student choice and ownership over learning. The model was inspired by EdCamp conferences, where participants build the schedule and choose what sessions to attend. This bottom-up approach shifts energy, engagement, and opportunity for exploration to the students, and transforms the teacher into expert facilitator instead of gatekeeper/manager.”

 

My First EdCafe

I ran my first EdCafe this past Friday. My students read a political book of their choice as their summer assignment. I thought this model would be very beneficial to share the books. I created the basic outline and students submitted their book titles and a few sentences about their book. Students were placed in a particular session to present. The remander of the class could choose what session they would attend. I even had an intermission with food. Overall, my students were engaged, enjoyed sharing their books, and really like the freedom to be in control of their own learning. My principal observed this lesson and said the lesson put the ownership on the students. He also said they they were actively involved in the classroom.

 Here is how I organized the EdCafe:

Images of EdCafe on PhotoPeach

Benefits of the EdCafe Model

  • low pressure presentations
  • small groups
  • student centered topics
  • Engagement
  • Student Ownership
  • authentic note taking
 Some Tips to Running a Successful Edcafe 
  • Scaffolding is key to the success of the edcamp in the classroom model during first attempt teacher should be more directive to establish the tone and the framework for students.  In future sessions more freedom to choose topics can be given.
  • Set clear expectations – kids learning how to take notes because the notes were for the students, not for the teacher
  • Be organized -use google forms to sign up kids
  • Make it fun– I brought food for the intermission between sessions.
  • Student Choice- My students could decide, which Edcafe they went to. They enjoyed the freedom and flexibility.
  • Use Technology– I recorded each sessions discussion with an ipad at each table.

My Students Comments: 

  • “The Edcafe was fun”
  • “Can we do that again?”
  • “I wish we had more time to discuss our books”
  • “Can we have more structure for the next one”
  • “I really liked the way we presented our books today”

I plan on having another Edcafe with my students. Now that they know the general structure it will be easier to run. I plan on doing it with different articles. I will assign five articles and then have students come in and share their article and lead a mini discussion. Each session will be a different article. I also really like Katrina’s idea with quotes and primary documents. Do you have any other suggestions on how an EdCafe can be successful in history?

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3 Comments
  1. Pingback: EdCafes in Action! « What is an EdCafe?

  2. Thanks for sharing. I’m really interested in how this all worked. Specifically, as someone who has taught AP US Government & Politics, I am interested in knowing what texts you suggested to your students as part of their summer assignment. Also, what did you end up doing as a scaffolding exercise to help students?

    Thanks again!

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