http://www.healthebay.org/blogs-news/what-teens-really-learn-aquarium
Monday, August 26, 2013
Inquiry Project Teaching Plan (Santa Monica Alternative Schoolhouse)
When we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work and when we no longer know
which way to go we have begun our
real journey. The mind that is not
baffled is not employed. The
impeded stream is the one that
sings.
Wendell Berry
Teacher Guided Investigation (TGIs): Our science-teaching program will continue to emphasize direct experience of inquiry and experimentation in the natural world outside of the classroom. Students will begin the year by developing a testable question that will investigate the near coastal ocean and sandy shore environment in which we all live. After identifying a significant topic they will design and perform either an experiment or a descriptive investigation. Small groups of students (3/group) will choose personally interesting topics from a menu of marine science topics; meanwhile, I will be modeling and directing the inquiry processes by performing an investigation of my own alongside them. 7th graders will examine physical or chemical processes and SMASHing seniors will apply themselves to one of the six unifying principles of marine biology in an effort to increase their readiness for high school biology learning.
Timing: This project runs from late Sept and concludes in January.
Place-Based Stewardship Action Project (PSAPs): As
the holiday season draws to a close and we are all feeling full of love we will
turn our attention directly to caring for our planet. Student Action Teams (SATs) will select a local, regional, or
globally important place to nurture and find a way to positively influence the
place. Teacher directed research into Regional
Biogeograhy and environmental sustainability
shall play a significant supporting role in the project; however, the intent of
this project is to help kids learn how to translate good intentions into
meaningful action. In each case students will have to learn the natural history
of their selected place, research local organizations, and define the issues carefully
before acting, but the continued emphasis will be on the ultimate effectiveness
of the action. We shall use local university partners (USC/UCLA), NGOs, and
parents to guide/aid us in this work and learning how to collaborate effectively
outside of the school environment is a critical piece of the intended learning
objective. Students will have the option of continuing this work into the third
trimester contingent on the quality of their learning and service.
Timing: Scheduled for Feb through April. Particularly motivated
learners may need to begin working earlier then this to match scheduled events
of our partners. USC’s Quick-Science Project, for example, will begin before
the holidays with dates to be determined.
Student Interest Based Inquiry Investigation (SIBIs): Following
spring break we begin a new investigation cycle that will be entirely student
generated with coaching from teachers, alumni tutors, and mentors from local
colleges. These individual investigations may be experimental in nature,
research based, or a data mining experience, but will have to examine
significant matters drawn from life science, Planned-Parenthood, or teen
topics. The topic may involve any class here at SMASH, be thematically linked
to other class work, or be something completely to academics.
Evaluation: Students will keep a working portfolio that will go home weekly for parent check and
signature. Individual learners/peers or
an adult will review them bi-weekly. Activities and investigations will be photo/video documented and made available to
parents. As a high school prep strategy, students will occasionally take quizzes and tests. No grades will
result as this practice is a learning exercise meant to teach the pragmatic
skill of test taking! Weekly progress reports/reflections
will be written by each learner and sent home on Friday.
Persistence is the twin sister of excellence.
One is a matter of quality, the
other, a matter of time.
Marabel Morgan,
The
Electric Woman
Project Based Learning
(Also known as the Senior Exit Project)
Project Goal: This culminating project is an opportunity for SMASHing
seniors to deploy effective habits of mind and heart in pursuit of producing knowledge and skills; simply put,
we wish to observe how they produce knowledge, act on significant ideas, and
behave when the answer to a problem/opportunity is not immediately known.
The project is a final opportunity to celebrate
SMASH’s unique brand of voice and choice learning.
Project Description: The project has three components
reflecting SMASHing Learning Expectations in the social curriculum, high demand
academics, and with respect to project-based learning. Students will:
1.
Perform
an “Individual
Learning Endeavour (ILE).” This part of the project will demonstrate student performance under
challenging conditions that require strategic reasoning, perseverance,
creativity, and time management skills. Students will choose from any
significant area of human achievement and act to develop a new skill related to their area of interest.
Students will produce evidence of two hours of off-site learning effort/weekly.
Learning logs and parent signatures will be required.
2.
Students
will work in 3 person Collaborative Service Teams (CSTs) to perform a service to the SMASH community. Examples of
this service work may include mentoring younger students, physical improvements
to our shared space, or developing new learning opportunities for your younger
brothers and sisters. Photo or video documentation of these activities will
serve as the evidence of learning. This work will happen primarily during
school hours, but will also require after school effort.
3.
Individuals
will develop and present a “Learning Defense and Celebration.” Individual students will comprehensively examine their SMASH experience and present their
findings to a group of parents, teachers, and younger SMASHites. Students will
develop themes reflecting their personalized experiences; however and critically,
examples/activities must be drawn from all academic subject areas. Organized
and diligent students will have adequate time to perform most of these tasks
during class time.
Evaluation of the Learning
Defense and Project Materials
Students
will be evaluated using existing SMART guidelines.
Specifically, they will be
asked to speak with clarity, precision, and frequent citing of specific
examples.
Measurable outcomes will
need to be identified, measured, and discussed during all activities related to
the exit project. Special emphasis will be placed upon the effectiveness of the
activity they choose to have the group perform during the final presentation.
Accurate information,
whatever the subject at hand, is of particular importance in high demand
academic environments.
Reliability will be measured
by of how frequently and effectively students self advocate for themselves.
Timely action to turn in
work and meet deadlines will be measured weekly (20%/Week)
Text,
email, or visit! Do whatever it takes to understand the project. I would love
to help…
Sailor Takes Leave: Kurt Leaves SMASH
To sailors, the phrase “homeport” captures
diverse meanings: comfort, friends, safety, or simply the place where he rests
his heart. To me SMASH is a “home port,” a workplace that elevates mere work to
a labor of love alongside stellar partners, vibrant students, and hard working families.
While in port at SMASH, I have found joy in lasting measure and a gratifying
sense of worth in exploring the world alongside our beloved young adolescents. Warmed
by this environment, my heart expanded from the almond sized shell of my
earlier years into a cornucopia replete with marvelous kids, stimulating
relationships, and the fruits of hard work. Like any sailor in a fine port, I have
found great friends to spend time with, engaging projects to explore, and just
enough minor trouble to keep things interesting. The years have thundered past as I grew ever
more comfortable, increasingly more secure, and ever more tied to the people
here in my “home port.”
Sailors also know the
sublime pleasure of setting a new course, leaving the safe confines of port, and
slipping free of land bound for the restive comfort of “wine dark seas.” It is
in this happy situation that I now find myself; poised to depart my homeport (SMASH)
and outward bound for new places, challenges, and adventures. As I take my leave of full time teaching this
June, I am unsure of my next destination, but equally sure that I am returning
home. In closing, I want to thank you for sharing your marvelous children with
me. Without them in the world, I would feel incomplete.
Thanks again, Kurt.
With these words I took my leave of a much loved community, deeply appreciated job security, and the finest collection of teenagers in the United States.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)