The study spouts statistics from test scores as well as the use of laptops and technology in schools. Despite the statistics (which can always be argued in various ways), the value from the article is actually near the end:
Successful School RestructuringOff to finish reading Reinventing Project -Based Learning by Suzie Boss and Jane Krauss.
A five-year study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers found that structural school reform works only under certain conditions:
1. Students must be engaged in activities that build on prior knowledge and allow them to apply that knowledge to new situations.
2. Students must use disciplined inquiry.
3. School activities must have value beyond school. In their report, "Successful School Restructuring," the researchers at Wisconsin's Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools found that even innovative school improvements, such as portfolio assessment and shared decision making, are less effective without accompanying meaningful student assignments based on deep inquiry. Reseachers analyzed data from more than 1,500 elementary, middle, and high schools and conducted field studies in forty-four schools in sixteen states between 1990 and 1995.
As with everything else, this is an evolution in the way I teach. I am fully committed to this and work towards better practice in my classroom. (Now for more hours in a day - that would help!)
Tags: Project based learning, Suzie Boss, Jane Krauss, edutopia
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