Advance Inquiry and Innovation Course Piloted!

This year, along with Mount View Middle school, we have been piloting a new course for our 7th and 8th grade advanced readers. This new course, Advance Inquiry and Innovation, is based around the principles of Project Based Learning.

What is Project Based Learning? 

(Source: http://pbl-online.org/About/whatisPBL.htm)

Project Based Learning is an instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation. These activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom.

Project Based Learning is synonymous with learning in depth. A well-designed project provokes students to encounter (and struggle with) the central concepts and principles of a discipline.

Project Based Learning teaches students 21st century skills as well as content. These skills include communication and presentation skills, organization and time management skills, research and inquiry skills, self-assessment and reflection skills, and group participation and leadership skills.

Project Based Learning is generally done by groups of students working together toward a common goal. Performance is assessed on an individual basis, and takes into account the quality of the product produced, the depth of content understanding demonstrated, and the contributions made to the ongoing process of project realization.

Finally, Project Based Learning allows students to reflect upon their own ideas and opinions, exercise voice and choice, and make decisions that affect project outcomes and the learning process in general.

Combining these considerations, we define Project Based Learning as:

a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning essential 

knowledge and life-enhancing skills through an extended, student-influenced inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks.

The pilot course being taught at WLMS this year consists of the following themes and incorporates a well-developed project for students to complete during each module. The modules are:

MODULE I	MODULE II	MODULE III	MODULE IV
Grade 7/8: Environmental Science	Grade 7/8: Civic Literacy	Grade 7/8: Engineering Design	Grade 7/8: Media and Communication

The following video provides information about how a rural middle school and high school are implementing Project Based Learning at their schools. I believe this approach has a lot of promise as we continue to engage middle school learners!