On a Tuesday morning in September, I walked into Crew class1 at NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies and something felt different. The basic structures seemed to be in place—students were circled up, the advisor was introducing an opening question, a talking piece was at the ready… all pretty standard. But then, as the talking piece began to make its way around and students answered the prompt, I realized it was a circle full of ninth grade boys with just one exception: Sharon. The lone girl in the group, she looked around with a mix of exasperation but good humor as the boys in the class filled the space with their answers (and jokes). It was just the second month of school, and while she seemed to be holding her own, I wondered how this imbalance would play out. How would she find her voice in this space?
Flash forward to the end of the school year. We have convened a focus group of students from across the ninth grade to share feedback about their Crew experience. This year, we started a new unit called Try Stuff, during which students were supported to design and lead their own Crew session. We were eager to hear how it went. Sharon spoke up almost immediately—she was excited to share about the lesson she created for the unit, an interactive presentation about websites and apps that can help students study (“not cheat,” she is careful to clarify). “I was the first student to lead a lesson and I was nervous,” she explains, “but my Crew advisor checked in with me and helped me get set up so I felt really supported.” Similarly, because it was something all students in the Crew were doing, they felt a sense of comradery and support: “We encouraged each other a lot.”
While it may have been a scheduling oversight that initially landed Sharon in an almost-exclusively male Crew, the opportunities she had to lead and the readiness she felt to present her ideas were no accident. In fact, they’re a prime example of the impact of a year-long, multi-cycle, continuous improvement process being tested at her school and across New York City.
It started in the fall with Katrina, her school’s Crew guide (a teacher assigned to lead Crew implementation and improvement), reflecting on the relatively low engagement she was seeing in Crews. She decided to join the continuous improvement group called “Making Crew Relevant and Meaningful for Students.” The was composed of about a dozen other Crew guides from public schools across NYC grappling with this same problem of practice: Students did not feel like their Crew experience was relevant to their academics or life outside of school. At monthly meetings, the Making Crew Relevant group was laser-focused on introducing systems for elevating student voice, which they believed was essential to increasing relevance and engagement. Together they brainstormed change ideas, shared learnings, and reviewed data to see what worked.
Katrina focused her first improvement cycle on supporting Crew advisors to implement student-led opening questions. Instead of teachers opening up the Crew space and doing the check-in, students picked the question. This laid some groundwork, but didn’t seem to have much impact. It still felt like Crew time was adult-driven.
So in the winter Katrina took a bigger swing. She consulted with a Crew advisor she had observed the previous year who facilitated a student-led unit they called Try Shit, which tasked each Crew student with leading an activity, teaching a game, or presenting on something they were passionate about and wanted other people to try. Katrina took the idea and developed a series of lessons, rebranded as Try Stuff, that supported students as they brainstormed an activity to lead, outlined a plan for how to lead it, and identified any materials needed. Worried that Crew advisors might run into the common refrain of “I dunno what to do,” Katrina provided some categories and examples to get students thinking, including a de-stress strategy, teaching their peers a game, leading a song or dance, or presenting on a favorite animal. This also helped ensure there was variety in the activities students led. Sharon said the encouragement to make a lesson about a hobby or passion made it more exciting. Students led lessons on everything from crafts like origami and slime to informational presentations such as “How to play golf,” “The influence of the Kardashians,” and my personal favorite, “How to do laundry.”
Try Stuff was a hit! Crew advisors were thrilled to hand over some of the facilitation, and students came up with all sorts of creative lessons to share with their Crews. It did require some advance scheduling to make sure students were prepared when it was their turn, and some Crews had to revise their activities based on space limitations or material costs—but all that proved well worth it. Student perception data showed that from the beginning of the year to the end, positive student responses to the question, “How much has your Crew helped you think what is important to you?” increased by almost 8 percentage points, while positive responses to the statement, “I find out more about my strengths in my Crew” increased by 6 percentage points. For many schools, those numbers are frustratingly hard to shift, especially as students tend to get more apathetic and disengaged by the end of the year.
When Katrina spoke to students in focus groups, they raved about Try Stuff. Ninth graders and seniors alike pointed to it as a highlight, both the experience of being able to lead Crew and participating in other students’ activities. One student said, “It was nice to lead an activity about something I could relate to. Choosing my own topic helped me to talk freely.” Another student reflected, “Student-led lessons helped us share what we’re into outside of school. Some shared about sports and card games and slime. I got to know what people are like outside of school.”
Furthermore, the experience of each Crew member sharing an activity helped bond Crews in a unique way. By spring, when the school hosted its first Crew Olympics, it was clear as they cheered each other on and worked together through challenges that they had come to really know and rely on each other throughout the year. And at the end of the day, it was Sharon and her Crew that took the gold medal!
Step 1:
Develop a basic routine with your advisory/Crew class that familiarizes students with the different parts of a lesson. This will help them feel more confident leading, and provide them with a planning structure:
You can see an example of a slide deck made by a student for their lesson here.
Step 2:
Identify which advisory/Crew sessions you will reserve for student-led lessons.
Step 3:
Introduce the Try Stuff unit to your students and have them complete page 1 of the Try Stuff Worksheet to do an initial brainstorm.
Step 4:
Calendar out when each student (or pair) will lead and have them complete page 2 of the Try Stuff Worksheet to map out the details of their lesson plan.
Step 5:
Hand over the reins! On student-led days, provide some basic support with classroom management but avoid playing too large a role. This allows students to have ownership over their lesson and authentically experience both the fun and challenge of teaching.
Step 6:
Reflect with students about how Try Stuff went as you wrap up the unit. Ask questions about what support they appreciated or needed more of, and how it could be improved when you do it again.
1. Crew is the advisory structure in all NYC Outward Bound schools, as well as schools in the national EL Education network (which has its roots in Outward Bound). In Crew, small groups of students gather regularly to focus on social, emotional, and academic development.
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