What is a Moonshot Classroom?

Date : April 14, 2019
Category(ies) : Classroom practices

A moonshot classroom is a_ fundamental shift _to give students _more autonomy and agency_ in the classroom and entrusts them with greater ownership of their learning outcomes. While teachers still play an integral role, their core purpose has evolved from _‘sage on the stage’_ to _‘master coach’_ of each student’s development.

Educators face a directive today of preparing students for a future of work that is rapidly changing. We ought to move away from simply teaching content to guiding students on how to build skills and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways.

Trust

Respect

Independence

Collaboration

Kindness.

STUDENT AGENCY

Students should be the drivers of their own education. The role of the teacher is guiding, curating, and supporting.

MASTERY-BASED

Students must work to meet expectations and learning standards, as opposed to earning grades. Learning for improvement and growth not peer competition and points.

PASSION-BUILDING

Students must learn to embrace failure, rigor, dedication, and passion in work and learning. Educators must model this.

REAL WORLD WORK

Students must produce learning projects with real world applications and an authentic audience.

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY

To support flexibility with learning and time in the classroom. Using blended learning is key: the best of both face-to-face and online.

ways to revolutionize education for the digital age with the focus on giving student more autonomy and agency in the classroom.

<strong>Moonshot Strategies</strong>

<strong>Esther Wojcicki</strong>

Esther is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at MediaX at Stanford; a 2009 MacArthur Foundation Research Fellow; the 2002 California Teacher of the Year by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the 2011 Charles O’Malley Award recipient from Columbia Scholastic Press. Esther has spoken on world stages including TED, the G20 Summit and Singularity University Summit.

In 2015, she co-authored a book on blended learning entitled Moonshots in Education: Launching Blended Learning in the Classroom****. The book encapsulates the Moonshots movement manifesto and details ways to revolutionize education for the digital age with the focus on giving student more autonomy and agency in the classroom.