We’ve all had teachers who go through the motions. But then there is an extraordinary breed of teacher who is able to engage students in learning through the use of all manner of motivating methods.

Case in point: a teacher I know is using the “build a better mouse trap” idea. Students are researching all types of non-lethal mousetraps. This means that they have read, write, perform calculations, interact, socialize, use the internet, design, draw, test, hypothesize etc. A cunning trap indeed – using a design brief to lure the students into using and extending their academic skills.

Then, an older class has been given the task of assessing the efforts of the other class. There are all sorts of benefits of peer assessment for both the assessor and assessed. It allows the assessment to be done by people with a greater understanding of how a person of that age would approach the task. It allows the assessor to evaluate how they would have responded to the task. It gives them a sense of being more of a partner in the educative process. I could go on for some time.

The kicker is that the traps are based on measurements taken from live mice – size, weight, reach etc. I drew the line at letting the mice be used to test the traps.

In any case, I raise my glass to those teachers who see their classrooms as four walls that contain the future.