Rollinsford Grade School

Question, Problem, and Project Based

Learning

Kate Lucas, PrincipalSeptember 18 & 25, 2013

6:00-7:00RGS

Technology Integration

Literacy

QPP

Related Arts

Mathematics

7 Pillars

Content Specific

Competencies

Comprehensive Education

Literacy

Comprehension

Phonics

VocabularyPhonemic Awareness

Fluency

Mathematics

Numbers and

Operations

Geometry

Functions and

Algebra

Data, Statistics,

and Probability

Problem Solving and Reasoning

Related Arts

Art

Music

Library

Physical Educatio

n

7 Pillars

As a community of learners we believe that it is our mission to

support educational experiences that inspire and awaken the individual

genius in students who can demonstrate the following

characteristics:

*Lifelong Learners

*Effective Communicators

*Culturally Appreciative Individuals

*Critical Thinkers and Problem Solvers

*Involved Citizens

*Social Entrepeneurs

*Resposible Children

The why…

Because it involves the richness of human connection the breadth of human diversity, the complexity of human conflict, and the inspiration of human hope, social responsibility is truly heartfelt responsiveness to the world. It’s not a tool we give to students or a skill we help them develop, it is a gift we offer them of their human birthright. ~Sheldon Berman

Technology Integration

Student Engagement

21st Century Skills

Student Ownership

The why…

More and more studies show that technology integration in the curriculum improves students' learning processes and outcomes. 

Research shows technology integration deepens and enhances the learning process. In particular, it supports four key components of learning: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts.

Content Specific Competencies

Health

• What does it mean to be healthy?

Science

• How do the interdependence of life systems sustain or destroy...• the environment?• each other?• themselves?

Social

Studies

• How have past cultures/societies shaped present day?

The why…

Because competencies ask why, the so what, the now what, not simply the what.

Because competency is a student’s ability to transfer his/her learning in and/or across content areas.

Because to be competent a student must apply their knowledge, skills, and beliefs to novel situations.

“If I had asked my customers what they wanted they would

have told me a faster horse.”-Henry Ford

When curriculum, instruction, and assessment shift out of the covers of a textbook and into the real-world context of projects, everything changes. Instead of superficially “covering the curriculum” as chapters in a textbook, students and teachers need to uncover the more complex issues revealed through the structured inquiry of projects.`Milton Chen

Question, Problem, and Project Based Learning

Focus on

significant

content

21st Century

Skills

Engage students

in in-depth

analysis

Voice and

choice

Establish a

need to Know

Organize task around driving

question

Revision and

reflection

Include a public audienc

e

At its core, the project is focused on teaching students important knowledge and skills, derived from standards and key concepts at the heart of academic subjects.

Focus on significant content:

Students build skills valuable for today’s world, such as critical thinking/problem solving, collaboration, and communication, which are taught and assessed.

Develop 21st century skills:

Students are engaged in a rigorous, extended process of asking questions, using resources, and developing answers.

Engage students in in-depth inquiry:

Project work is focused by an open-ended question that students explore or that captures the task they are completing. 

Organize tasks around a driving question:

Students see the need to gain knowledge, understand concepts, and apply skills in order to answer the driving (essential) question and create projects, beginning with an entry event that generates interest and curiosity.

Establish a need to know:

Students are allowed to make some choices about the products to be created, how they work, and how they use their time, guided by the teacher and depending on age level and QPP experience.

Encourage voice and choice:

The project includes processes for students to use feedback to consider additions and changes that lead to high-quality products, and think about what and how they are learning.

Incorporate revision and reflection:

Students present their work to other people, beyond their classmates and teachers.

Include a public audience:

The why…

Allows for flexibility: Through curriculum integration, teachers can plan for the development of key skills and understandings that transcend individual strands and subjects.

Builds on prior knowledge and experiences: Choosing meaningful connections among subject areas helps students build on their diverse prior knowledge and experiences, supports their holistic view of the world, and ensures more meaningful learning.

Unifies the students’ learning: Curriculum integration enables students to develop a unified view of the curriculum to broaden the context of their learning beyond single subject areas.

Reflects the real world: When curriculum is organized in a holistic way, it better reflects the real world and the way children learn at home and in the community.

Matches the way students think: Brain research supports the theory that younger students take in many things and process and organize them at one time. Teaching ideas holistically, rather than in fragmented pieces, better reflects how young students’ brains process information.