Flow, the feeling of being “in the zone” while working, is a powerful force at Acton Academy.  When an Eagle is in flow in completing a Khan math exercise; reading a book or writing a speech, learning happens at an extraordinary pace.

Collaboration is an important part of Acton Academy too.  Sometimes you need a friend to explain a difficult concept, or even more importantly, to ask the right question.  Almost all of the real learning at Acton is student to student, not Guide to student.

But collaboration can interrupt flow.  And too many interruptions can ruin a two hour block of Core Skills time.

So what to do?

Our Eagles came up with this solution – a Collaboration Request board.  Now if you need to ask someone to collaborate, you post a request rather than interrupting.   When your potential collaborator takes a break, he or she can check the board and rendezvous at a set time.  Plus, we have a record of the peer to peer learning.

Collaboration happens. Flow is protected.  Our best ideas come from Eagles.  Every time. If we just ask.