It's really kind of amazing when you think about it

This week my student teacher's evaluator was in my biology classroom. He was there for the second period of a double block on Friday--not prime engagement time for my class. Most were working on their projects--just a few really off-task. But as I sat with he and the student teacher after and we discussed this model of instruction, a thought occurred to me, and I said;

"You know it's really amazing that they are doing as much work as they are. there are no late penalties in this class, and they know that. They can always redo all of their assignments for a better grade, and they know that. Yet here they are working on their projects."

No threats necessary.

And I typically see the lowest levels of engagement during that second Friday period, when the kids are all tired from a full school week and anticipating the weekend. I've said this before and I probably say it more in the future: autonomy, mastery and purpose works.

This really should surprise me. This is how human beings work. But it's still amazing.