Phase I Planning
APPLICANT INFORMATION:
Entity Applying for Innovation Zone Designation
___ √ _ _____
_____ Department or Subdivision _____ Higher Education Institution
Name of Entity Applying: PikeView Middle School (Opening August 2011)
County: Mercer
Superintendent: Dr. Deborah Akers
Number of Professional Personnel: 38 (5 additional professional positions may be added)
Number of Service Personnel: 12
_____________________________________ ________________
Signature of PikeView Middle School Principal Date
________________
Signature of County Superintendent Date
PROJECT DESIGN
A.
Creative vision for the project
In August (2011) the new PikeView Middle School will open its doors to 560 students from four distinct communities – Athens, Lashmeet/Matoaka, Oakvale, and Spanishburg. A beautiful, state-of-the-art building will attract and motivate students . . . for a little while. But the blended faculty knows that the key to middle school achievement lies beyond bricks and mortar.
Their vision is to open PikeView Middle with a staff fully trained in inquiry-based learning and then implement the project- based learning (PBL) model on all levels and in all classrooms.
Administrators and faculty members commit to project-based learning because it will address multiple purposes: (1) Improve academic achievement; (2) excite apathetic middle school students; and (3) encourage team-building and collaboration among both faculty and students (especially critical in the first years of a consolidated school). Research supports positive outcomes: (1) improved comprehension and retention of learning as measured by
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WESTEST2, Acuity benchmarks, teacher-generated assessments including rubrics, and other performance-based assessments; (2) decreased incidences of absenteeism and grade-level retention; and (3) a school climate of cooperation and acceptance – a climate students would consider warm, and teachers would find supportive of professional growth and risk-taking.
Other collateral benefits for teachers will likely include more teacher collaboration and implementation of new, effective teaching strategies. Students may profit from increased emphasis on research and presentation skills and the differentiation of instruction implicit in project based learning. It is also hoped that PBL will result in a culture of motivation and achievement wherein disciplinary offenses are infrequent.
As reprinted in “Teaching for Meaningful Learning,” PBL requires the completion of
“complex tasks that typically result in a realistic product, event, or presentation to an audience”
(Thomas, 2000). Students work in cooperative groups with the teacher as an instructional guide to study, investigate, design and present a solution to a real-world problem ( “driving question”).
Teachers plan lessons that require multi-subject knowledge and multiple approaches to learning, projecting and assessing outcomes with customized rubrics.
Because the lessons are relevant, inquiry-driven, experiential, and collaborative, the PBL model is showing impressive results on secondary campuses. “Evidence exists that through
PBL, students become better researchers, problem-solvers, and higher-order thinkers” (Gultekin
2005 as cited in Bell, 2010). PBL is tied to benefits that exceed factual learning i.e.transfer of learning to analogous situations (Moore, Sherwood, Bateman, Bransford, & Goldman, 1996), ability to define problems (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992), and ability to support reasoning with clear arguments (Stephien, Gallagher, & Workman, 1993). Data collected and analyzed by Morris (2003) and Goodnough (2005) further support PBL as a high-interest teaching/learning vehicle for true technology integration.
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Current data – global and local – underscore the challenges inherent in teaching adolescents. Broadly, problem areas include attendance, motivation, discipline, and achievement. Locally, of the four schools feeding into PikeView Middle, two failed to meet
AYP for 2009-2010: Athens (math – Low SES) and Spanishburg (math – All, White, and Low
SES; reading – Low SES.) Increasing proficiency in reading and math is at the heart of all four schools’ Strategic Plans. Similarly, principals at all four schools report declining attendance rates over the past five years and over the course of any given year (Table A), and from Monday –
Friday (Table B). Retention rates, which often improve in upper elementary, appear to spike in grade seven (Table C). Discipline referrals sky-rocket in seventh grade (Table D).
Table A
PikeView Middle School: PBL ‐ Formula for Success
Table B
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Table C
Table D
PikeView Middle School’s Leadership Team is voluntary and broad-based (as noted below).
The vision for this proposal was born out of a brainstorming session conducted during the faculty-to-be’s first meeting on November 10 th . The plan was further developed by the
Leadership Team on November 17 th . Team representatives include administrators Bryan Staten,
Beverly White, and Rebecca Curry; Candace Adkins, Billy Curry, and Shelley Weiss, math;
Debbie Ball & John Turner, Guidance; Chris Gore, art; Nikki Underwood, English; Tammy
Tupper and Sherri Mitchem, Science, and Susan Hatcher, Special Education.
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B.
Goals and Objectives for the project:
I.
GOAL   1:    The PVMS faculty and administration will receive training and support in  project‐based learning.
A.
Objective: 100% of faculty will receive summer training in PBL.
II.
GOAL 2:
The PVMS faculty and administration, working in grade-level teams, will plan and write/ select PBLs for the 2010-2011 year.
A.
Objective: Each grade level team will submit a first PBL for administration/faculty review by August 1. PBLs will include driving questions, key concepts, activities, performance-based assessments & rubrics.
B.
Objective: Future submission dates will be determined.
III.
GOAL 3:
The PVMS faculty and administration will implement grade-level PBLs within the first weeks of the 2010-2011 school year, setting up monthly or bi-monthly “project days” for student teams to work outside the confines of the classroom and bell schedule.
A.
Objective: Faculty will meet periodically to review and refine PBL lessons and keep documentation of same.
B.
Objective: Completed PBLs with materials, documentation, etc. will be posted to a web application for sharing.
C. Activities necessary to implement/ achieve the goals/objectives of the initiative:
Project-based learning when fully implemented is a revolutionary tool
. It rejects the
“dominant paradigm” of the teacher/lecturer in favor of teacher as coach and project manager; students explore their way to a real-world solution by way of textbooks, resources, technology, and outside consultants. Because PBL requires teacher collaboration, student teamwork, and cross-curricular thinking and resources to answer real-world questions, the faculty believes it will motivate adolescent learners, accelerate learning, and enhance school climate.
The
“new idea” is the student-centered paradigm which will, given time, infiltrate all aspects of PVMS. Allowing students the privilege of exploring together ideas that are relevant to them
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empowers students to “step up to the plate” in other ways. Likewise, allowing professionals to work together opens new possibilities that do not exist when teachers barricade themselves in their own classrooms. The excitement of PBL, the collegial spirit, and the teacher leadership that is expected to emerge should help all faculty grow in PBL strategies.
The project-based approach will give teachers the flexibility of teaching content standards via multi-subject lessons. Because student teams tackle various piece of the problem & project, it is also a natural vehicle for differentiating instruction “Project days” will provide extra time for those projects that are the natural outgrowth of classroom work.
At present, no Mercer County K-8 or middle schools have attempted grade-wide or schoolwide PBL. PikeView Middle intends to set aside one or two days each month when the schedule is relaxed to allow grade-level student teams to work on projects whether outings, experiments, interviews, or special technology applications.
As noted earlier
, evidence
points to equal or better factual learning/comprehension with project-based instruction and also better problem-solving abilities, enhanced reasoning, and better knowledge transfer. PBL also draws on the strategies students deem highly motivating: simulations, projects, games, current events, thought-provoking questions, group activities, and hands-on experiences (Hootstein, 1994).
PROJECT EVALUATION
As with anything new, PikeView’s project-based learning initiative will take time to become institutionalized and yield results. PVMS teachers know that the more systemic the initiative, the more teacher knowledge and buy-in, the more quickly gains will be realized.
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Impact Expected
Improved academic achievement
Increased student motivation
Enhanced school climate for students
Engaging, supportive professional climate
Evaluation method Mechanism for Reporting
Westest2, benchmark assessments, teacher-made assessments, PBL rubrics and performance assessments, student progress reports and retention data.
Innovation Zone annual status reports; school newsletter; school website; publicity related to IZ grant, LSIC reports, individual progress reports as uploaded to Edline
Same as above Attendance records; disciplinary referrals; retention rate data; student, parent, and faculty surveys posted to the Edline website to which all parents have access
Attendance records; disciplinary referrals; student, parent, and faculty surveys
Innovation Zone annual status reports; school newsletter; school website; IZ grant publicity, LSIC reports
Same as above School satisfaction and other surveys;
Faculty Senate and grade-level team discussions; anecdotal information
SCALABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
PVMS will post PBLs to their website and blog about successes and challenges as seen in the context of a new consolidated school. The model requires minimal project budget, only funding for initial faculty planning/training. The school will use business partners, local institutions/ agencies, and adjacent high school facilities to provide PBL project support.
ABSTRACT
PikeView Middle envisions opening a new consolidated school in August 2011 with a staff fully trained in inquiry-based learning and ready to implement a Project- Based Learning
(PBL) model on all levels and in all classrooms. Aided by daily grade-level team planning teachers believe “PBL – Formula for Success” will introduce students to an inquiry model that begins with a driving question and ends with student-produced products, projects, or
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presentations. Daily classroom PBL lessons would culminate in twice-monthly grade-level student team activities. The pro-active innovation is expected to result in a warm school climate
, a culture
of mutual learning, and single unified community.
PBL will also improve student achievement, motivate apathetic learners, and encourage team-building among students and faculty. IZ funding would underwrite Leadership Team planning, PBL training, and collaborative sessions for writing interdisciplinary PBL lessons and rubrics. The PBL Model would cost little to sustain. Accountability indicators would derive from formative/summative assessments; attendance, discipline, retention data; surveys and observations. Using various electronic media, PVMS would post PBL lessons and outcomes for other schools to replicate.
Indicate the policies or code that prohibit or constrain the design: NONE
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