Success Stories
When we take away the function of “turning in” student work, students and teachers have the opportunity to focus on learning. There are huge learning implications of sharing student work to a network, versus hiding it in digital folders. Our champion teachers understand that putting reflection, metacognition, and feedback at the forefront of student-led projects builds stronger learners.
“The focus is on learning”
Barry Frank, a 6-12 English Teacher and Instructional Coach, Queens School of Inquiry
Barry uses Spinndle to promote ongoing reflection, feedback, and co-learning in his PBL and Inquiry projects. He’s a tech guru who is always looking for pedagogically sound tools to enhance learning. He highlights that “nothing gets turned into the teacher” on Spinndle, and the large positive impact that has on teaching and learning alike. For him, Spinndle addresses his 3 major problems associated with student-led projects - management, equity, and school-wide implementation.
”Empowered the kids to do their own thing"
Katie Littlefield, High school Social Studies Teacher, Pinkerton Academy
Katie runs complex projects with her students. Supporting executive functioning skills is critical for her. She found that Spinndle not only helped her struggling or truant learners plan and organize their work, but also empowered her self-motivated learners to “do their own thing." Not only has it helped her students move through more complex projects, but the visual process tracker has made her regular check-ins easier.
“Made my progress report process so much easier”
Shelly Campbell, Gifted and Talented Teacher
Shelly is using Spinndle because it tracks each student’s project process, documents feedback, and encourages students to build a deeper understanding of their skills. Instead of tracking down student work, hidden in digital folders, Shelly emphasizes the amount of time she saves using Spinndle’s teacher dashboard, where she can see each student’s workflow start to finish.
“They’re learning how to communicate”
Crystal Koenig, K-12 Gifted Support Teacher
Crystal is always putting cutting-edge pedagogy to practice in her classroom. Her class goal is to enhance each student’s communication, networking, and collaboration skills. On Spinndle’s peer feed, students continually work together, share ideas, and practice constructive and positive feedback.
“Documents their growth in competencies”
James Denby, Lecturer, NHL Stenden - ITEPS
James is getting his teachers-in-training to define and document evidence of growth in each of their competencies. His teachers are using Spinndle to break down the process of creating skills portfolios by engaging in continual reflection and development. If we’re asking K-12 students to build their own portfolios, shouldn’t we give them a space to identify, define, and understand their skills before they start showcasing?