Summary
Highlights
Stephen Zipkes, founding principal of Manor New Technology High School, shares his personal journey to appreciating education through self-directed learning. He introduces Manor New Tech as a 100% project-based instruction school where students learn to apply knowledge to real-world situations, making it relevant.
Teacher Mary discusses her collaboration with co-teacher Michael Chambers to design a 'Hunger Games' project that integrates English Language Arts and History standards. They align state standards to cover topics like analyzing moral dilemmas and understanding the emergence of totalitarianism, as seen in World War II.
Mary explains their process of engaging students with an 'entry event' and then facilitating 'knows and need to knows' sessions. This helps students identify prior knowledge and what they need to learn, guiding them through the project with 'breadcrumbs' or clues. She also emphasizes the dynamic nature of project-based learning, requiring teachers to constantly assess and scaffold student progress.
Stephen highlights that students average 60 projects and 60-65 public speeches annually, leading to over 200 public speeches by graduation, thus developing strong communication skills. Students share their favorite projects, which include creating their own projects, developing a soda in chemistry, producing a kids' show, and learning about spatial diffusion and historical events.
Mary describes the 'critical friends' protocol, where students give and receive feedback on their presentations. Students present their work, often through creative mediums like skits, which engages the audience. The feedback process involves 'I likes' (positive aspects), 'I wonders' (clarifying questions), and 'next steps' (critique and suggestions for improvement).
Students present their projects, one focusing on moral dilemmas using 'The Hunger Games' as a context, and another on a difficult choice during World War II involving a wounded escapee. Mary explains her assessment criteria, which include organization, delivery, tone, and rhetorical strategies.
A student expresses how project-based learning fosters independent knowledge acquisition and better prepares them for state tests compared to traditional methods. Mary concludes by sharing her renewed excitement for teaching, observing how project-based learning helps students realize their potential, which in turn motivates her even further.