An English-as-second-language teacher feels that everyone has creativity and imagination, and the teacher's role is to nurture those qualities. Drawing on the Foxfire core practices, she acknowledges and reinforces those moments when learners reveal their own unique insights into learning, and she facilitates exploratory and innovative thinking…

A teacher of a special education class of 7- to 10-year-olds took her students outdoors to stimulate their interest in learning. Schoolyard nature study and environmental field trips led to schoolwide presentations and television performances about recycling and conservation. Peer teaching was an important learning strategy. These students…

A Brooklyn high school photography program encourages students to work for the pleasure of doing something well, not just for grades. Concepts are explained four different ways so students at different ability levels catch on. Working cooperatively encourages kids to recognize their abilities and take on more responsibility. A unique grading…

Reminiscence of a graduate education class that shifted students' focus from right answers to understanding illustrates how Foxfire teachers are never finished constructing their knowledge about teaching. Similarly, there is no single correct way to implement the Foxfire approach. Success is measured by the applications and interpretations of…

A high school teacher in rural Georgia who has used the 11 Foxfire Core Practices for seven years describes how they have helped her enable students to guide their own learning and think for themselves. Her classes' high scores on state writing tests and Spanish competitions are further testimony to the viability of the practices. (TD)

Foxfire awards were presented to a professor of education who helped found a Foxfire-affiliated teacher network and develop new courses, and four elementary-secondary teachers who implemented Foxfire classroom approaches that included learning centers; student tutoring; individual folder work; student-researched stories of family, community, and…

Students in a combined grade 3-4 in a charter school in Asheville, North Carolina, chose the topics and ways to demonstrate their learning to fulfill history curriculum requirements. Their choices of local historical architecture and traditional quilt-making spiraled out to include photography, historical fiction, and quilted pillows, which were…

A teacher describes using some of the Foxfire core practices to teach a "last chance" program for students in grades 7-8 who were angry, oppositional, and defiant. After a cooperative classroom planning process in which counselors helped students articulate their ideas, the students began revealing their interests. These interests, in…

A Nebraska high school art teacher who wanted to change from dictator to facilitator suggested that his class study local barns. Students found an old round barn, involved other classes, and helped found a nonprofit organization that coordinated a successful community-wide restoration effort. (TD)

Jack Shelton, teacher, minister, and community builder, describes the benefits of education that is active, relevant, and involved in the community. As coordinator of a cooperative of 29 small rural Alabama schools that enables teachers to implement experiential educational approaches rooted in community study and service, he discusses the…