When I see great teaching, it’s in the form of my students’ work. Each year my students create either a Civil War museum or a Holocaust Museum. This unit is their performance assessment where they demonstrate all of the skills we have taught and acquired over the course of the school year. The museum is student directed: they develop the concepts, topics of their exhibits, conduct all of the research, design the layout of the museum, and construct their exhibits. The final touch is for them to piece together their speeches as they give actual tours of their museum to their peers, teachers, administration, parents and the community. This is the time when I see my teaching come out through their enthusiasm and pride in their work. It is truly a moment for them to shine as they become the teachers of the unit. How can teaching get any better than that?

Leslie Pickler