From a recent Edutopia article entitled: "Five-Year-Olds Drive their Own PBL Projects":
"These kids have a very authentic, real purpose for learning," says AEEC principal Lilli Land. "When you want to find something out, what do you do? You go to the computer, you get on the Internet, you get a book. You don't go to an adult and just have them feed you all the information. You have to learn to be a problem solver; you have to learn to be resourceful. So we teach them to be lifelong learners, and you have to keep them excited about the process of learning."
Looking through the tech/2.0 prism with an eye on potential:
Although the project-based curriculum generates much of the enthusiasm for learning here, a recent infusion of technology -- putting interactive whiteboards in every classroom -- has raised the bar for students and teachers. Touching a giant screen, teacher Sandy Armstrong calls up a wall-size map of South America and points to Brazil. "That is a big place!" shouts a boy kneeling in front of her. And when she starts a video clip of an imposing anaconda, he says, "I'll bet he's gonna slide and slither and try to bite him."
"When they put it in our classroom and I saw everything that it could do just playing with it, and my kids were so excited, I could see what a difference it made in a matter of weeks," says Armstrong. "Even the teachers that have been teaching for twenty-five years that are afraid to jump into technology, they have jumped in with both feet. It's rejuvenated their ideas and their motivation."
Watch a video on the school here!
Sign my 8 month old Beckett up. He just learned to crawl for the first time yesterday. His whole life is a PBL experience today. Refuse to let that slip in favor of worksheets alone. And I want a kindergarten like this to be available for him in 4 years. Without exception.
Doesn't seem to erase the need for highly-qualified teachers. I would imagine that these educators have to be even more nimble on a moment-to-moment basis to guide each kid on a multiplicity of paths, and be in a position to help them frame their questions and search. But engagement at this level -- at the age of 5 -- will undoubtedly mean that the game of education will be profoundly different for these kids assuming that their future teachers/schools can continue to foster their growth.
My question: What is this district doing to ensure that each of these kids are in a position to keep learning this way in 1st grade, 6th grade, 11th grade? Or is this merely a curious tangent that will not be valued in later years?
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