Tips for Student-Lead Classes

We’ve heard of Project-Based Learning (PBLs), which allows students to mostly have independent leadership through a task or project and creative freedom to add their personal touches. Student-led classes have a very similar approach in that it’s led mostly by the student leaders elected and they create the lessons, plan, and timeline of the class’s tasks.

For example, I advise (not teach) Yearbook and Newsmagazine at my high school. I have been doing this for the past 10+ years and am inspired each year by the student editors taking the reins and finding success or lessons learned through their process of leadership. Nothing is ever going to be perfect, but through different situations and scenarios, students work together to find solutions to dilemmas and setbacks. Resiliency has always been a teen trait, but in student-led classes it is really something to observe. 

As I mentioned, my role in these types of classes changes from teacher to adviser. I advise, I don’t teach. I advise, I don’t lead. I joke with the students that I’m there to pay the bills and make sure we don’t do anything illegal in our publications. But I also step in when editors aren’t having success with a student who won’t get their work done, has a grading question, or whose behavior gets disruptive or beyond student responsibilities. 

Here are my tips to get more student-led learning happening in your classroom.

1. Have students apply for a leadership position the year/semester before it starts, or if it’s a one-year class, at the beginning of the year. Ask questions like:
   1. Why would you be a better leader than most?
   2. What are you most proud of in this class?
   3. What is a growth area you would like to see happen in this class?
   4. When faced with a student who _________, explain how you would handle that.
   5. Are you dedicated to outside of class work, covering events, leading staff, and overall being the face of the publication? 
   6. What other responsibilities do you have going on? (Work, clubs, sports, AP classes, etc)
   7. Why do you want this role?
2. Hold interviews with previous leaders (before they graduate or if gone already, just with you, the adviser). Go through their application and assess their commitment and ideas.
3. Once a leader or leaders are “hired”, change the language used in class from students to staff members. Labeling students in that way changes the environment from “just another class” to “more of a fun job”.
4. Students listen to students more than students listen to teachers/advisers. (We already know that!) Schedule time with your leaders outside of school or in the summer before school starts to conduct leadership training. I will attach the presentation I use for my publications editors and you can get a feel for or adapt it to your own class. Topics often include:
   1. Our Why/Mission
   2. Areas of growth from previous years
   3. Leadership Training: working as co-editors, expectations, leading a group, etc
   4. Editor expectations
   5. Next steps before the year begins
   6. First few weeks of school planning
5. Student leaders should plan out a welcome couple of days at the beginning of the year to introduce themselves and get to know their staff. Adviser participates, but also must get a list of needs for activities beforehand so they can buy or find materials. Activities should get students up, interacting, and laughing. Collaborating is key and mixing up friend groups in various tasks allows students to step out of their comfort zone and meet new people they’ll work with often.
6. Have leaders plan out the first magazine issue, yearbook deadline, or project. We use an app called Time Tree that allows student editors to create a calendar of class time and deadlines. It sends alerts to student phones via text each day. I also print off calendars for those who do not have access to technology or prefer paper copies. As an adviser, I approve deadlines and calendars to make sure it’s paced realistically. 
7. Then ready, set, go! Have students welcome students each day, lead them into mini lessons if necessary, work one-on-one with staffers, and do their thing. Sooner than later, they will be fully functioning and you’ll be sitting back, holding tears back in pride