Salemwood K-8 ELT School Malden, MA “It is our vision to foster a true elementary and middle school experience for all students to prepare them to be academically and socially successful as they matriculate from kindergarten through high school.” www.timeandlearning.org/maeltimplementation © 2014 www.timeandlearning.org/maeltimplementation © 2014 www.timeandlearning.org/maeltimplementation © 2014 Our ELT Continuous Improvement Efforts: Overview The Expectation and Indicator(s) we chose to focus on this year for improvement: Salemwood K-8 ELT School’s focus for improvement this year was to “connect our PBL Experiences” in an embedded way to our academic focus.” Our Academic Focus is to have our students make real-life connections with their curriculum working together to build new knowledge, skills, and understanding. This meets the following ELT Expectation for Implementation: IV. Additional Time for Enrichment is Used to Deepen Student Engagement in Learning. Why we chose to focus on this area: Salemwood K-8 ELT School chose this focus area because we wanted our students to be able to connect their PBL Experience with what is going on daily in classrooms. Our PBL Experience occurs twice monthly and runs both semesters. Elementary homerooms partner with middle school homerooms on the creation of a project that fosters higher-order thinking skills. Each PBL Experience includes project-based learning with clear objectives and an assessment rubric to measure the use of higher-order thinking skills. Each PBL Experience has a relevant essential question that drives our students’ inquiry. This allows for our students to transfer skills learned in core classes as well as utilizing Bloom’s Taxonomy. www.timeandlearning.org/maeltimplementation © 2014 ELT Continuous Improvement Efforts: What’s Working The improvements we’ve made this year in this area that we are most proud of: A sample of our PBL Experiences include the following: using folk dance to teach problem-solving and self-directed skills, using Dr. Seuss literature to teach geometry and measurement skills, writing books to teach author’s purpose, using creative writing to teach test-taking skills, using bowling to teach mathematical skills, using story-telling to teach oral communication skills, using folk tales to teach problem-solving skills, using modern dance to teach social skills, using famous artwork to teach tone and mood, using guided imagery and yoga to teach how to manage stress, writing children’s books using a mathematical theme, producing a school play to teach team-building skills, communicating with a school in Africa and fundraising for them to teach how we can make a difference in our world, interviewing community workers to teach how a community functions, forming a recycling club to teach its impact on our environment, making model cars to teach aerodynamic design, using plants to teach how their life needs mirror human life needs, making pillows to teach measurement, designing boats to teach team-building skills, analyzing our daily diet with the food pyramid to teach how to create health eating action plans. The impact the work in this area having on students, staff, and/or families, and how do we know (what evidence): Students literally love “PBL Days”. Our attendance is higher and our discipline referrals are lower on PBL Days. Parents/guardians comment to us how much their kids talk about PBLs. PBLs allow the middle school kids to act as mentors and feel needed within an elementary classroom. When administration walks the halls, we hear students’ excitement and comments on PBL days. Most importantly, PBLs are meeting our goal by having our students make real-life connections with their curriculum. www.timeandlearning.org/maeltimplementation © 2014 ELT Continuous Improvement Efforts: What We’ve Learned Lessons Learned in this area: • Middle School kids can work with elementary school kids effectively. • A very large K-8 school that runs as two separate schools: K-4 & 5-8, can come together as one complex with a shared vision. • Due to their success, our PBL Experiences will continue next school year. Ongoing Challenges in this area as we look to next year: • How can we give more “student choice” in PBLs yet still keep the partnerships between K-4 and 5-8 running effectively? • Create a PBL Committee to create/coordinate PBL Experiences that foster “student choice” and still keep our vision alive. www.timeandlearning.org/maeltimplementation © 2014 ELT Continuous Improvement Efforts: Highlighting our Success One way we’re sharing progress this spring with internal stakeholders (staff, students, families, central office leaders) We have created a PBL Slideshow which was shown to all of our students. It was also put on our school website so families, Central Office, and community members can share the experience. Please enjoy our PBL Slideshow at the end of this presentation. One way we’re highlighting success this spring with external stakeholders (partners, the community at large, school committee members, other schools, elected officials, wasetc) answered above. the This media, www.timeandlearning.org/maeltimplementation © 2014 Questions and Feedback from the Audience www.timeandlearning.org/maeltimplementation © 2014 Salemwood PBL Slideshow http://www.kizoa.com/Video-Maker/d9451609kP143713750o2/salemwood-pbl www.timeandlearning.org/maeltimplementation © 2014
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