Choice, Accountability & Academic Excellence: How Projects Work

Many Hebrew Academy primary and elementary students choose to work on projects during their student choice time. A project, in multiage methodology, is a medium-to long-term educational effort chosen, defined, shaped, researched, created, and presented to peers by students. The learning is often multi-modal and the presentation often multi-media.

Broad project ideas emerge from the overall theme of classroom learning, with an initial list resulting from a brainstorming session. Students may declare their interest in working on one of the ideas solo or with others. While students lead the projects, teachers take many opportunities to guide their efforts. On any given day, teachers may encourage any of the following: clearer articulation of a project goal; more exact planning; a shift in perspective; exploration of new data sources; and refinement of the presentation. Peers are also daily sources of new ideas and creative solutions.

Student-led projects are different from assignments related to direct instruction. Regarding projects, a child may but need not sign up to work on one. Having signed up for a project, she may but need not work on it on any particular day. The principle of choice goes so far as to allow that if he loses interest, he may but need not complete a project.

How could it be, then, that projects promote personal accountability and academic rigor?  Here’s how it works:

1.   Student choice ignites a child’s intrinsic motivation to learn. As with adults, the more “into” something a child is, the more focused effort the child will put into it. With high motivation, great focus and effort, and regular consultation with both teacher and peers, a student’s learning is propelled well past basic expectations. 

2.   Because of the opt-out option, children feel fully in charge when sticking with a project. With the teacher’s help, students reflect on their capacities and internal drive. They learn to generate their own goals, actively interact with concrete materials, tools, and resources, and make sense of their experiences. They learn what it feels like to put one’s whole self into a project, and later in life, into any demanding task, effort or job. With each project chosen and pursued, children practice acting on their internal drive and using their full capacity. Putting one’s whole self in feels good and becomes a lifelong habit of mind and heart.

3.   The accountability of a project is first to one’s own learning and second to teammates and teacher. This promotes a habit of personal accountability that will serve our students throughout their lifetimes, for instance, when studying for cumulative high school exams, in the classes of less-than-stimulating college professors, when writing a dissertation or starting an entrepreneurial venture, and when parenting their own children. 

4.  Taking advantage of the motivation, effort, and focus of a project, teachers prompt students to meet a high standard of academic excellence with great success; no attitudinal barriers stand in the way! Every skill students learn during direct instruction can be honed sharply during consultations around a project.

To thrive in their 21^st century world, our graduates will need to:

• tap into their own talents and interests, 
• hold themselves accountable for an excellent result, 
• leverage the knowledge, wisdom and perspectives of others, 
• and put their whole selves into the work they are doing, and the different work they will be doing after that, and the yet-again different work they will be doing after that. 

Hebrew Academy’s projects are superb preparation for adult 21^st century lives filled with personal satisfaction and success.

Q. What if my child does not want to pursue a project -- should someone insist?
A. If a student is not ready to throw his or herself into the long, focused commitment to a project, the best course is to continue to build her/his skills, knowledge and confidence through direct instruction and learning centers. The teacher will continually watch for opportunities to stimulate curiosity and gently encourage the first steps toward that commitment. Seeing peers take that leap will also help. Hoisting a project on a student erodes the very foundation of its "magic."  Without the internal drive, the work will become externally focused, and the student will not get to experience the thrill of self-propulsion.

Math and Me and Q&A

This is a story about math and me. There’s a physics story that goes with it; I’ll tell that one another day.

It was the 70s. I collected frogs (not real ones). I wore denim overalls with a tiny teddy bear peeking out of the bib pocket, walked barefoot in the halls, and listened to Cat Stevens, Dan Fogelberg and Renaissance. I wrote maudlin, historically-set stories.

When I entered jr. high school, it was determined with scientific objectivity that I was average in math. Advanced in other subjects, but average in math. From that determination forward, public school very nearly prevented me from ever understanding mathematics.

Average meant I was assigned to “B track” classes and “B track” students got the system’s most blasé teachers. In our progressive, upper middle class, suburban public school, “A track” classes got the shining stars and “C track” got the never-give-up-on-a-student heroes.

First there was Inverted-Camel-Man (ICM). He reeked of sour body odor and breath. Poor ICM! Once, he pushed out his protuberant belly and popped a button that pinged like breaking glass all the way across the silent room. I don’t remember what subject he taught.

Then came two years of teachers so skilled and interesting that I can bring nothing about them or their subjects to mind. 

Finally, there was Mostly-Deaf-Burn-Out-Man (MDBOM), who always—but always—faced the blackboard rather than the students. Trails of cigarette smoke followed MDBOM from his office to the classroom. He was the one who answered, “Because you have a test on Friday,” when I asked why we were learning long geometry proofs. MDBOM became my last math teacher, until my last summer at university. 

Before we head off to my alma mater, SUNY-Binghamton, I must tell you that in both jr. and sr. high school, I was a B+/A- student in math, and I got a 93% on the NYS Regents Geometry Exam. 

Riviera Ridge Apartments, Vestal, NY. I still collected frogs and wore overalls. By now, I was into ELO, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Queen, and the Police, and I had accidentally fallen in love with Donna Summer and – horrors! – disco. In order to graduate from SUNY-Binghamton, I needed one math class. I signed up for it during summer session. 

Day one.  My jaw was clicking; I barely slept the night before. In walks my first math teacher in five years: a nun. A nun! A nun teaching Algebra/Trig. Oy. So, when the sister asked for questions, up shot my hand. “Why do I need to learn this?"

“I’m guessing that you are not an engineering student, or computer or hard science student, right?” She waited for me to nod ascent.

Nod.

“Then the truth is that you won't need it. Is the real answer that you are learning this because you need these credits to graduate?” Wait.

Nod.

“Do you like crossword puzzles?” she asked.

“Yes,” I answered. What an odd question! 

“So, you enjoy thinking for fun.”

“Yes.”

“What about this, then? What if you think about what we’re doing here just the way you think about completing crossword puzzles? Pretend it’s fun and see how it goes.” Wait.

Confused stare. Head tilt.  

“Can you try it?”

“I guess….”

“Good,” she nodded. “Next question?”

That June, I spent many happy hours drinking iced tea or Genny Cream Ale, and “doing” math as if I was doing a crossword puzzle. When I didn’t get something, Sister Anne explained it, or had a classmate explain it. Patiently. Again and again as needed. Once, I even got to explain a point to another student. Through some holy alchemy of attitude, kindness and connection, not only did I ace the class, I actually understood the math.

As I became an educator, I learned more about math and me. For instance, had someone noticed that I “got” English syntax and grammar, s/he could have built a bridge from that strength over my confusion:

(X² x Y) + 32 = 12.  This is a sentence. (“I understand sentences!”) It is broken into phrases or clauses (“I can see them”) that include nouns (“There they are”), verbs (“Of course”), and modifiers (“I totally get that”).

Instead, I relied on my memory to “earn” respectable grades while understanding little of value, and deciding that I was mysteriously stupid at math.

While I loved getting good grades in other subjects, in math classes, decent grades were my defiant refusal to be crushed. (“Watch, mom, I will ace this class and the Regents. Then I will never take another math class in my life.”) I knew that I had no clue what any of it meant. And while I refused to let others see me fail, I believed deeply in the mathematical stupidity that my good grades masked. 

That is, until a kind, patient and wise teacher broke through my certainty of failure and found a way to invite success.

Q. Without grades, how do you measure my child’s achievement?

A. Hebrew Academy teachers use recognized standards of achievement to assess your child’s progress and to determine what s/he needs to work on next. Where they are available, such as in Math and Language Arts, we hold ourselves and your child accountable to the Common Core Standards. For Spanish, Hebrew, Social Studies, and Science, we look to culminating Regents and other high school level exams or expectations, to set challenging goals. In Judaic Studies, we have developed our own standards, under Judaic Studies Dean Julie Pollack’s leadership, and we are always raising the bar. 

There has been much controversy about the Common Core in public schools. The debate is rarely about the standards themselves, but rather about how the state is deciding to test everyone (read: more standardized tests) and how it determines when all children of a given grade are considered accountable for certain material.

At Hebrew Academy, your child is deemed to be ready for this skill or that material when s/he has mastered the skill or material that leads up to it. Developing this much awareness of the standards and of each child (what is the next instructional point, how do I best deliver it for this individual, and does s/he have it yet) is the daily work of our teachers. They do it intensely and collaboratively, child by child, observation by observation, demonstration of mastery by demonstration of mastery. We are fortunate to have the teachers who devote themselves to each student in this way and to have the resources to support their efforts.

Why Multiage Classrooms?

                                         

This blog is also the Q&A. Enjoy!  Shabbat shalom, Rhonda

Q: Why Multiage Classrooms?

A: In response to extensive parental input regarding social and academic opportunities, and to secure the school’s economic viability, the Hebrew Academy board of trustees sought a new educational model that would support strongly differentiated instruction while allowing for larger and more diverse social groupings.  After extensive research nationally, the board became very interested in the writing of Multiage Learning proponents, and investigated this model deeply.  Once choosing it, they then sought a new head of school (me, ultimately) whose educational vision matched that of the school’s and who had the experience to lead teachers, parents, and students through the transition. 

Four Learning Advantages in Multiage Classrooms

1.       Differentiated Instruction—Teachers in multiage classrooms focus on the learning goals of each student rather than on a single set of goals for all students (e.g. “Fifth grade Language Arts”).  By combining ages, we dissolve the persistent though wrong-minded thought that everyone in the room ought to be at the same developmental place. This frees teachers to find the next instructional point for each student, regardless of age or the grade they would have been in. For instance, we have some 5 year olds and some six year olds reading at a “second grade level” while other five and six year olds are reading at kindergarten and first grade levels. One sixth grade student may be reading the Talmud’s Aramaic with beginner’s understanding while a seventh grader (who might be superb at Math) continues to master a Mishnaic statement in Hebrew. Differentiation addresses the reality that every person learns differently and at a different pace. By acknowledging that reality and using it as one’s teaching (and parenting) premise, we adults can foster rather than hinder growth for each child.  “I can’t,” becomes, “I haven’t yet.”  And “I can,” becomes, “I can now do X and next up is Y.”   “I can’t” stops the train; so does “I can.”   In each of these frames of mind there is nowhere else to go.  In the former case, the child can never achieve it; in the latter case, the child already has achieved it, so that’s that.  By deeply individualizing (differentiating) instruction for these children, they are motivated rather than stopped; they want to progress from where they are now to a new place just over the horizon.

2.       Individual Attention and Assessment—The heart of instruction in a multiage classroom is the individual student, so each student is regularly listened to, thought about, encouraged, and directed according to his or her specific needs as identified regularly by the teachers over the course or two or three years.  While much of the work is done in groups, these groups are formed based on the teacher’s ongoing assessment of each member’s instructional (and sometimes social) needs.  Individual attention and assessment address the reality that children flourish when attended to deeply by caring adults. After a baseline is set in the fall, teachers revisit each student’s progress several times each week.  While whole group instruction sets a theme, a big idea, or a direction, individual and small group meetings, conferences, and assignments move the individuals along their own continuum of growth.

3.       Pursuit of Individual Interests—In multiage classrooms, part of each day’s learning takes place at centers and through projects.  These centers and projects are orchestrated by the teachers and often relate to the unit theme or big ideas, but they are chosen by each student.  Do I feel like writing? Listening to music? Doing a computer search? Solving a puzzle? Playing a math game?  Do I want to work alone right now or with my friends?  Teachers note what each student is drawn to, and in subtle ways encourage students to stretch themselves and, at times, take small social and intellectual risks.  Student choice addresses the reality that everyone’s set of passions and talents is unique, and that life fulfillment comes when it shapes one’s  work, learning, communal, and social choices.

4.       Opportunity for New Friendships—Each year in a multiage classroom, a student is part of the youngest, the middle or the oldest group in the class.  As each grade group “graduates out” from a class and another group “graduates in,” the social dynamics change.  Last year’s novice may become this year’s old hand.  Last year’s confident eldest may have to work through shyness again.  Personal growth is presumed normal. The social reinvention children undergo periodically, that is so very difficult when one travels with a static set of peers, is encouraged in this combination of stability and change.  In our slightly larger classes there are more options; over the years those options grow, not only in number but also in quality.  Opportunities for new friendships address the reality that as children develop, they crave the stimulation of different relationships.

"Learning is the Work"

I am experimenting with a new format for communicating with you: a Looking Forward blog to replace my weekly column.  

At the end of each entry, I will include FAQ that has come to my attention. (Please email your questions to me at rrosenheck@hacdalbany.com. I will strive to incorporate them in a growing FAQ compilation.)



My starting point today is the words of organizational change maven Michael Fullan, who writes, "Learning is the work."  And so it is at Hebrew Academy, among the children and the adults on whose learning I am focusing today. 



Our assessment format has changed from grades to narratives in our K-7 classes, and our faculty is exploring how best to paint the portrait-in-words of your child(ren)'s learning. Julie Pollack, Patty Balmer, the teachers, and I are working collaboratively to ensure that each of their descriptive reports is clear, accurate, and revealing, and that it relates to the standards and goals to which the student is being held. Once you've read them, we look forward to your feedback.



We have learned that without the information once provided by homework, tests and grades, parents were getting less information, and so we began seeking alternative approaches to keep parents looped in regularly. I know that many have started to see the results of these efforts already.

As for me, the educational leader, I am also seeking clearer and even more transparent modes of communication. It is understandably scary to let go of the familiar "code language" of grades and grade level. Yet that is what I ask of each parent.  Our teachers have the talent, skill and perseverance to bring out the best in each of their students. I believe you will discover that this daring approach, taken on wisely with this profoundly skilled faculty and with strong leadership support, prepares students for successful future learning and work far better than the "sort and label" industrial-age model of graded classes and graded children.




FAQ ~ How will high schools know in which classes to place Hebrew Academy students in ninth grade?

A ~  Several of the local high schools’ guidance counselors asked that we retain the traditional grading system in eighth grade. They affirmed that descriptive assessment prior to that year will have no negative impact on placement decisions for high school classes. As preparation for their transition to high school, our 8^th grade will be a stand-alone (not multi-age) class, with Regents coursework and subject grades from which the high schools can easily make placement decisions. The schools' guidance counselors already understand that a Hebrew Academy education gives students a solid foundation for high school; as we communicate with them about our new approach, we are confident that they will be even further impressed.