Week At A Glance 3/14-3/18

Print Friendly Week Ahead.........


March 14-
Day 2

Kindergarten Registration @ WM 9a-8p
Out of Building-Smith (@WM 11:00-3:30)

March 15-
Day 3
Faculty Meeting 8AM
Kindergarten Registration @ WM 9a-8p
Out of Building-None


March 16-
Day 4
CV PTO Meeting-6PM
Kindergarten Registration @ WM 9a-8p
Out of Building-Smith (Out of District All Day)

March 17-
Day5
School Board Meeting @ EC-7:30 PM
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Out of Building-Smith (Out of District All Day)

March 18-
Day 6

Out of Building- Godrey (@WM), Orwig (All Day)

Bits & Bytes

Check out this great set of tips for using Chromebooks


PLC in Print

An interesting read from the Marshall Memo this week about project-based learning...

Project-Based Learning 101

(Originally titled “It’s a Project-Based World”)

            “When students engage in project-based learning over the course of their time in school,” says John Larmer (Buck Institute for Education) in this article in Educational Leadership, “there’s an accumulating effect. They feel empowered. They see that they can make a difference.” In addition, they’re more likely to acquire the skills, knowledge, and dispositions needed for college and career success. Here is how Larmer sees the key elements of project-based learning, carefully planned and skillfully managed by the teacher:

            • A challenging problem or question – It should be novel, complex, and open-ended. Students assess what’s required and, with guidance from their teacher, find the resources they need to complete the task.

            • Sustained inquiry – Students are challenged to work on the project over a period of days or weeks.

            • Authenticity – As much as possible, projects expose students to the outside world in all its complexity. “They understand what it’s like to meet real deadlines, not the arbitrary ones typically set by teachers but the ones they had to meet because people were counting on them,” says Larmer. “They learn how to behave, make eye contact, and dress appropriately.”

            • Student voice and choice – Students take responsibility for a series of tasks and make decisions on how to proceed. “They troubleshoot problems and often find themselves in situations that stretch them,” says Larmer, “such as when they interview an expert, use new tech tools, or propose solutions for a community problem to an audience of adults.”

            • Reflection – Teams of students engage in projects that involve ongoing analysis on how they’re doing.

            • Critique and revision – As students work, they fine-tune their process and product. “Sometimes their ideas fail, and they have to return to the drawing board,” says Larmer.

            • Public product – The students conclude their project by demonstrating what they have learned to an adult audience.

            Larmer gives three examples of successful projects conducted by students at different grade levels:

-   Fifth graders researched brain cancer, conducted a fund-raiser, and contributed $1,300 to a children’s hospital.

-   High-school economics students researched home ownership in their community and, working with a local bank, conducted a community education event to inform parents and local residents of the benefits of home ownership.

-   Ninth-grade science students studied local water quality, produced a video, and wrote a class book based on their findings. They also contacted state officials and successfully proposed an adopt-a-shoreline program to improve a local lake.

Larmer closes with four ways that project-based learning can go off the rails and not fulfill its potential:

-   Mistake #1: Using materials that aren’t truly project-based; beware of PBL-lite!

-   Mistake #2: Providing inadequate training and support for teachers; one-shot workshops are not enough.

-   Mistake #3: Over-using projects in the curriculum; basic skills can still be taught in a more conventional format.

-   Mistake #4: Implementing project-based learning on an ad hoc basis; to get the long-term effect, students need to engage in high-quality projects on a regular basis through their school years.

“It’s a Project-Based World” by John Larmer in Educational Leadership, March 2016 (Vol.

73, #6, p. 66-70), available for purchase at http://bit.ly/1QZNyHB; Larmer can be reached atjohnlarmer@bie.org; further resources are available at www.bie.org.