Fay Utilizes Project Based Learning For Powerful Instruction
Morgan B. Scoville, Head of School, M.Ed.
Friday, October 22, 2021
On Monday, October 11, 2021, our entire Faculty participated in an all-day Project Based Learning Workshop facilitated by Jessica Catoggio, the Director of Professional Learning at the World Leadership School. The World Leadership School partners with K-12 Schools to “reimagine learning and create next-generation leaders.” The driving question for this full day of professional development was, “how might we utilize Project Based Learning to plan powerful instruction for our students?” Our Faculty, with their teaching teams, visited five different “Stoke Stations,” each focused on an element from the “Wheel of Pedagogy,” or learning priorities of Project Based Learning which are:
- Voice and Choice World Leadership School Visits Fay
- Community and Campus Engagement
- Deliverable and Audience
- Reflection and Formative Assessment
- “The Hook” and Engagement Touchpoints
There were links to resources at each station where the teaching team explored each learning priority and saw examples of them in action. Each station was designed to “stoke” or inspire ideas for the projects they were working on and spark discussion on how each element might appear in their project.
After visiting each Stoke Station, members of Faculty from each grade level and specials department presented to their colleagues. They received real-time feedback from their colleagues on updated Project Based Learning units that they plan to execute. The teachers were engaged, encouraged, and collaborative. Some of the driving questions they developed for future Project Based Learning units were:
- What patterns can we observe and predict related to the sun, moon, and stars?
- How does energy move and affect our world?
- How can we successfully hatch eggs and raise chicks in our classroom?
- How are magnets valuable?
- How can we create a song to impact our Fay Family?
- Why do we use different types of transportation?
- How can we enhance the Primary I backyard to be more friendly to butterflies, dragonflies, and other friendly critters?
- How can we use heart rate data to improve fitness performance?
- What does sportsmanship look like at Fay?
- How can we further connect with Spanish-speaking communities in Houston?
- How does matter move among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment?
- How can we create a good or service to solve a problem?
- How can we create a museum experience to educate our Fay Family on the Revolutionary War?
Our Faculty ensures that your children will benefit from Priority Two of our strategic plan through this work. The focus of Priority Two is to develop and support an entirely student-centered academic and experiential program, highlighting Fay as an inclusive place where a spirit of adventure and freedom is nurtured using the outdoors for overall student enrichment.
Your children are on an accelerated and authentic path to leadership. They are the future leaders that will change this world!
Stoked,
Morgan B. Scoville, M.Ed.