Week 6: Choice Words - Exhibition vs Test

When most of us hear the word assessment, we think of No. 2 pencils, Scantrons (make sure you fill the oval in completely!), and the pressure of sitting silently in a classroom waiting for our test scores to define us. For generations, tests have been the measure of whether learning “counted.” But what if assessment looked less like a score on a page and more like a performance on a stage? At Acton, instead of final exams, learners prepare for Exhibitions of Learning. In Exhibitions, accountability is not to a gradebook, but to an audience. To parents. To peers. To themselves.

Exhibitions can be nerve-wracking. Learners stumble over words, forget lines, and experience the same sweaty palms we all felt before a big presentation. But unlike a test where mistakes are highlighted with a red pen, Exhibitions transform failure into growth. Every Exhibition is practice for the real world, where communication, creativity, and resilience matter far more than memorized answers. Tests measure memory. Exhibitions reveal mastery. And mastery is what prepares learners for life.

This past week, our learners, guides, and families came together for the first Exhibition of the year. It was a celebration not just of individual work, but of something more foundational: the relationships, commitments, and shared identity that make the Acton studio truly a tribe.

The Quest: Build the Tribe

Our opening Quest this session focused on “Build the Tribe.” At its heart this quest is about connection, trust, and shared responsibility. Over the weeks leading up to the exhibition, learners engaged in:

• Group challenges designed to stretch their collaboration muscles, to lead, to follow, to negotiate, and to adapt.

• Collective conversations about what it means to be a strong studio community; how we treat one another, how we respond when someone missteps, how we lift each other.

• The co‑writing of the Studio Contract of Promises: learners drafted norms and guardrails to guide behaviour, communication, accountability, and restoration.

• Daily practices that reinforce belonging: working in squads or pairs, checking in emotionally, supporting each other when someone is stuck, building rituals of warm greetings and respectful exits.

In short, the quest was less about finishing “projects” and more about becoming a community that can do challenging work together.

Spark Studio’s Exhibition: A Sneak Peek Inside a Day at Acton

For our youngest heroes in the Spark Studio, their exhibition was a warm, intimate look into their world. Families gathered in the studio for a special format:

1. Socratic Discussion Demonstration First, learners offered a glimpse of a Socratic Discussion in action. They sat in circle, responding to questions about promises and integrity. It was a gentle but powerful reminder: even our youngest heroes are learning how to think together, to listen deeply, to question and respond with care.

   
   

2. Hero‑Led Tour & Showcasing Favourite Work After the discussion, each hero became a tour guide. Families walked through the studio spaces with their child, listening to their explanations of materials, observing them in their work flow, and getting to see what the learner was proudest of. Perhaps it was a self authored and illustrated story, a collection of books read over the session, an art piece, or their Hero Board (a poster of their making, with words and pictures to describe them, their interests, their heroes, and what they hold most dear). Whatever it was, it was chosen by them. The hero paused, shared the story behind the work, answered questions, and invited parents into their thinking.

   
   

3. Signing the Contract To close their exhibition, the Spark Studio held a beautiful and symbolic Contract Signing Ceremony. One by one, each hero was called forward to sign their name on the Studio Contract; a set of promises they had co-created through discussion, storytelling, and reflection. As each name was added, the sense of ownership and unity deepened. This wasn’t just a classroom agreement....it was a declaration of who they are becoming together, as a tribe.

   
   

We witnessed many beautiful moments. The space was full of light, soft laughter, and the delight of families entering into the learner’s world.

Discovery Studio Exhibition: Shared Vision, Real Collaboration

As the energy flowed from Spark into the Discovery Studio, families were welcomed into a space that looked and felt a little different.....more writing on the walls, more group projects displayed, and a deeper sense of intentional systems created by the learners themselves.

The Discovery heroes led the way through an exhibition designed to showcase the foundational work they’d done in building their studio culture. This wasn’t about polished presentations, it was about transparency, process, and participation.

Families were invited to stroll through studio, visiting each hero "station"; dedicated areas where each learner displayed their Hero boards and the work they were most proud of from this past session. Afterwards we were invited to watch their Lip Dub video - one of the most difficult, conflict ridden (and therefore conflict resolution heavy!) challenges they faced this session. The Lip Dub video contest is held every year and Acton Academies from all over the globe participate. Studios are each challenged to select, memorize, choreograph, and lip synch over a song of their choosing while filming.....in one take....with the heroes being responsible for all filming and editing. It is a huge undertaking and in the process, so many talents, skills, and character traits rose to the surface. Ultimately they prevailed. They showed tremendous grit, resilience, and dedication to their tribe and submitted their Lip Dub on time and with excellence.

Families also explored a gallery of documentation from the group challenges that had pushed the learners to collaborate under pressure. There were photos, reflection cards, and process journals - each representing a moment that instilled in them the deep lessons of communication, leadership, or flexibility.

We then moved on to the next great challenge of their session and one of the highlights of the Discovery exhibition - the unveiling of their Studio Contract of Promises. Written entirely by the heroes through Socratic dialogue, negotiation, and iteration, this document reflected their shared beliefs about how they want to live and work together. It was powerful to hear heroes explain why specific promises were important, or how they’d resolved disagreements about wording. These were not abstract ideals. They were real commitments forged through experience. After reading each item aloud to their audience, one by one they stepped forward and, feathered pen in hand, signed their name to the contract.

This exhibition was more than a display of finished work. It was a first public act of accountability and belonging. By inviting families into the studio, the learners stood as representatives of their tribe. They had already begun committing, through contracts, challenges, and conversations, to the covenant of their community. We saw in their eyes both pride and humility: pride in the work they’d done, humility in knowing there’s more to grow, more to learn, more to contribute.

As the session continues, the real test of “Build the Tribe” will be sustaining these relationships when conflict arises, when fatigue sets in, when ego or misunderstanding challenge unity. But after this exhibition, we believe our learners are stronger, more rooted in compassion, more capable of honest dialogue, and more committed to shared growth.

Thank you to all the families who attended, who asked thoughtful questions, who cheered courageously. May this year be one in which our tribe deepens, stretches, and becomes a container for daring and kindness alike.

“There is immense power when a group of people with similar interests gets

together to work toward the same goals.”

Idowu Koyenikan