I’ve been hanging to do this project for ages, it was an idea suggested in The Motivation Equation and luckily a perfect fit for my first project with Year 10 – a close study of Shakespeare. I can not express how excited I am just to be typing this. Seriously, coolest project I’ve done since The Hunger Games!

Ok, details. We’re still mid project – meaning there’s ample time for my excitement to come crashing down – the trial is next week and they’ve been working super hard. As in, I had to get my camera and film at one point their conversations were so good. Conversely, I’ve also got a few kids who feel they don’t have a whole lot to do. Working on that one…

DQ: Was Brutus a traitor or liberator? 

Johnny and I debated on this DQ. Whilst technically a closed question, I feel its a clear directive from a students perspective. Also, the trial itself implies there will be more justification required than just a simple one word answer. A major focus for this project is self direction, both the Prosecution and Defence have leaders responsible for managing their teams. As with Meet the Bard, we have a rotating student rep responsible for making key decisions and feeding info back to the class. I’m collecting data on the impact of these committees to gain insight into their impact on engagement and ownership of learning.

Anyway. The trial happens next week, live Jury and all. We’re still waiting for the committee to tell us what will happen to poor old Brutus if he gets a guilty verdict – can’t wait to see what they have planned for him.