Investigative learning

In light of Spotlight’s win of Best Picture at the Oscars, and the resurfacing of a great Medium piece by one of the real-life inspirations for the movie, I’ve been thinking about the power of investigative journalism and what we can learn from it for education.

One of the most moving aspects of the movie for me was watching these Boston Globe journalists pouring their hearts into the story, almost to the exclusion of their normal lives. They were on a mission…plain and simple. They knew the importance of the work they were doing, the people who would continue to suffer if the story wasn’t told. Combine that with their passion for their craft and for uncovering the truth, and there was very little that could stand between them and knowledge they were seeking, the work they were producing.

I don’t think it’s trite to derive inspiration from this example of passionate investigative journalism for ways to improve learning within our schools. Especially because so many people are already doing it.

Project-based learning, when focused around a driving question or community problem, is one example. When students feel that their work is uncovering some important truth or solving a pressing need, they find intrinsic motivation to learn what they need to.

And even more directly, student journalism continues to be a part of many public schools. But some school newspapers and journalism programs tend to be more effective than others. In her book Moonshots in Education, Esther Wojcicki recommends that teachers and school leaders make journalism programs larger parts of their school programs.

I think Wojcicki is on to something. A journalist pursuing a story that matters will move mountains to learn what she needs to. What’s stopping us from finding some of these stories for our students to pursue?