Middle School Teachers Attend Educational Leadership Academy

Thanks to the generosity of St. Luke’s Parents Association, in 2016-17 four members of the 7th grade teaching team were able to attend world-renowned High Tech High’s Educational Leadership Academy, the institution’s year long accredited program for teachers and administrators.  The program’s focus is project-based learning (PBL).  

 

History teacher and Middle School Curriculum Coordinator Jen Pokorney, Science teacher Carrie Van Atten, English teacher Frank Henson, and English and History teacher Sarah Westerberg traveled to San Diego for three separate workshops at the High Tech High Campus.

The 7th grade Project-Based Learning team had a transformative experience. St. Luke’s has been using project-based learning in its curriculum for some time, but this was a great opportunity to learn more about new inter-curricular opportunities for deeper learning.

Once back at St. Luke’s, the entire 7th grade team implemented new ideas into its signature Xploration program which focused on how play-based activities can enhance deeper learning. Existing PBL projects at St. Luke’s such as the 5th grade Kiva project, 6th grade country and immigration projects, 7th grade Pie Night, Discovering Voices, and Xploration projects and programs, and 8th grade service projects will also benefit from information we learned.

 

Various elements of PBL are now found in many parts of our curriculum, including the addition of Presentations of Learning given by the Middle School students during their end of the year Parent-Advisor Conferences.