Western Albemarle Design 2015
Western Albemarle High School Design 2015 team includes teachers in science, fine arts, English, social
studies, math, and library-media. The team will explore three themes to transform student learning across
content areas.
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Project Based Learning
Blended Learning Environments
Flexible Learning Spaces
Teachers will integrate essential components into their courses to create a range of rich learning
environments designed to support student creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking.
Design 2015 is working to create a range of innovative educational environments in which students’ learning
and engagement are deepened by a focus on critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and
communication. For students, grant support will result in rich learning environments that foster student
ownership of learning, instructional models that support students as creators and makers, and increased
collaboration between students and students, students and teachers, as well as students and communities
(local and global).
Design 2015 will support the expansion and enhancement of innovative practices that a cadre of teachers
have initiated and provide the foundation for new initiatives and transformational work across several content
areas. Design 2015 team members represent Social Studies, English, science, math, and fine arts, and librarymedia center.
Given the multiple disciplines and grade levels represented by the Design 2015 team, all students at Western
Albemarle will be served by this grant and work within at least one transformative learning environment.
What is the purpose of Design 2015?
Motivating students to be engaged in the learning process.
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Re-envisioning the traditional roles of teacher and students to become producers as well as consumers
of learning.
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Re-envisioning how other stakeholders (parents, administrators, librarians, counselors, etc.) can best
support learning.
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This can be done by encouraging the use of instructional strategies to promote:
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Critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, choice, problem-solving, etc.
Blended learning
Project/Passion based learning
Universal design for learning/Differentiation
Design 2015 Members:
Anna Green, Becky Ellis, Beth White, Carla Tacy, Carol Stutzman, Carrie Taylor, Clover Carroll, Danielle Zafrane,
Ginger Lejeune, Jill Williams, Laura Chatterson, Melisa Larson, Michelle Karpovich, Peggy Anderson, Shanna
Lovaglio, William Hughes
WAHS Design 2015 Projects
Science Department
A shared goal of the science team members is to make students producers rather than consumers of
information. In physics and chemistry, design team teachers are developing teacher and student made
resources to support a flipped classroom. With this model, students are building foundational understandings
at home, so that class time is spent on engaging discussions, problem solving and investigative work within the
classroom. Students will get more individualized attention within the class as they are struggling. Flipped
learning is integrated with mastery learning in Chemistry classes. In biology and chemistry, probeware is being
used for student-directed inquiry and exploration. This is to facilitate movement away from “canned” labs
toward student designed experiments.
Math Department
A blended learning environment will be created for Algebra II I using Blackboard. This platform will support a
flipped classroom model using interactive math videos that will include follow up questions and mini-practice.
As in science, students will be generating some of the resources posted and used.
English Department
American Studies will be using interactive technology and project based learning across classes with
multimedia projects using audio, video, online writing and vocabulary exploration. Materials will be used for
research stations, presentations and student generated projects. Specific areas of focus will include film
studies, digital-era writing workshops and expanding collaborative projects with a focus on American history
and culture.
Film Studies
Materials will be used to perform research, create scripts and film advertising, edit and publish film projects,
and make group stations for collaborative learning. This program will dovetail with the expansion of American
Studies project opportunities. The digital writing workshops will introduce students to tools and collaborative
environments that expand writing opportunities across the American studies program.
Fine Arts Department
To create an authentically reflective process, students in ceramics will create online portfolios. To create an
authentic audience, students will create postings of their work to sell on Etsy. com. This will be a “work force
readiness” skill as many professional artists sell their work this way. Money raised will be used for additional
materials, equipment, glazes, etc. for ceramics classes.
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Social Studies Department
Social studies classes will use 5 iPads to create a range of student-centered environments. iPads would be
used in learning station activities and facilitate the study of primary source documents including letters,
records, photographs, videos, map collections. In addition, iPads will be used to make films and other
recordings in a similar approach to science and math where students are producers of information rather than
consumers.
Library/Media Center
The library will support the expansion of technology integration across WAHS with a set of 15 iPads and
storage/charging cart for classroom checkout or use in the library. The set will enable teachers to provide for
their students access to the many wonderful educational apps and multi- media tools to that will facilitate and
enhance project-based and flexible learning environments.
Intervention
An expansion of the use of MAP testing will support individualized learning for all students and provide data
for instructional decision making. MAP will be administered to all incoming 9th graders and data and data
analysis tools will be used to inform classroom instruction in general education/collaborative/intervention
classes. Additional administrations will be given to students below benchmark at end of year and again in
upper grades as needed to monitor progress.
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Quarter 1 Update
WAHS Design 2015 has provided teachers opportunities to facilitate units/lessons that have engaged students
in their assignments. The assignments provide interactive, collaborative and individual activities using a
variety of technologies where students have been offered choice and comfort via project/problem/ passionbased learning. Some of the activities for which students have been participants include:
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Digital writing in language arts classes (blogging, creating screencasts of edits to personal writing)
Portfolio development of art and writing projects
Picture posts of projects on student created web pages (from inception to reflection)
Film creation and editing
Scientific inquiry using various technologies
Blackboard and other two-way learning resources for instruction and assessment
iPad use to support interventions in literacy, documenting collaborative projects,
Screen casting to record problem solving/student learning process