Progressive Education
and Project Based
Learning at Kazoo School
What we do
How we do it
Why we do it
Kazoo School
Kazoo School is a small, independent,
progressive, Pre-K - 8th grade school in
Kalamazoo, MI.
What is a Progressive
School?
As Jim Nehring at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell
observed, “Progressive schools are the legacy of a long and
proud tradition of thoughtful school practice stretching back
for centuries” — including hands-on learning, multiage
classrooms, and mentor-apprentice relationships.
Progressive education doesn’t lend
itself to a single fixed definition.
Any two educators who describe themselves as sympathetic to
this tradition may well see it differently, or at least disagree
about which features are the most important.
Progressive Education is:
Despite such variations, there are enough elements on which
most of us can agree so that a common core of progressive
education emerges:
Attending to the whole child -- Intrinsic Motivation
Community -- Collaboration
Social justice -- Deep understanding
Active learning -- Taking kids seriously
Why implement Project
Based Learning?
Today’s students will enter a job market that values skills and
abilities far different from the traditional workplace talents that so
ably served their parents and grandparents. They must be able to
crisply collect, synthesize, and analyze information, then conduct
targeted research and work with others to employ that newfound
knowledge.
In essence, students must learn how to learn, while responding to
endlessly changing technologies and social, economic, and global
conditions.
Intro to PBL
The Collaborative Classroom: Social and Emotional Learning
Traditional academic approaches won’t develop learners who are
critical thinkers or effective writers and speakers. Rather, students
need to take part in complex, meaningful projects that require
sustained engagement and collaboration.
PBL in the Primary Classroom:
Learning about Magnetism
Hands-On
Learning
What sticks?
Conducting experiments to
find answers
Plastic spider does not stick!
Collaborative Learning
Working
together
to create
meaning
Magnet Maze
Engaged in Learning
Lines of Magnetic Force
Focused, cooperative learners
Competent, confident
students
Learning and
having fun!
Magnetic Racing Hot
Wheels
Making connections
Magnetic poles
Fun with trains!
Science Night!
Sharing our learning with the community
Magnetic Fish Pond
Displays
Student Made
Science Night
Teaching others what we have learned
Project Based Learning
Why teach this way?
-Real world problems capture students' interest
and provoke serious and critical thinking
-Students learn to collaborate and share ideas
-Depth vs. Breadth - students explore topics
more fully and develop deeper understanding
-Students learn to solve problems and make
decisions independently
-Students develop competence and confidence
Student Inspired Projects
Haitian Earthquake 2010
Environmental
Stewardship
Native tallgrass prairie
restoration at Ft. Custer
Recreation Area
Kleinstuck Preserve
Collaborative Plot Studies
Individual Observation & Recording
Project Based Learning in Upper
Elementary Science: Knotweed Project
Upper Elementary:
Literature Projects
Students create dioramas, game boards, posters, plays, models and more to
share their understanding of literature.
Basegroup Buddies
Older students pair with younger
'buddies' to serve as mentors,
role models, project helpers, and
field trip 'chaperones'.
Computers and Projects
Every 4th and 5th grader is provided a laptop for school
use.
Social Studies Projects in the
Upper Elementary: The Constitution
Students learn the basics with hands-on
projects.
More Constitution . . .
. . . add some fun
Using New Knowledge:
Making Laws
Student "Legislators" presenting the bills that
became laws during the Legislative Session.
Social Studies in the Upper Elem.
Grades:Regions of the United States
A race to find the important features of our United States Regions
Your Mission:
Create a series of clues that will direct the players to important geographical,
cultural, historical, or recreational features of your region.
Your Challenge:
Use your research skills to find the important features about each of the states
in your region in order to create good clues for your contestants.
So, why isn't there more
Project Based Learning?
-More teacher preparation
-Greater involvement with Students
-Teacher as Facilitator vs. All-knowing Teacher
-Assessing a Project vs. Grading a Test
-Managing Group Dynamics and Conflict
-PBL teaches skills (planning, problem solving,
collaboration, deep thinking) that are not
easily measured by standardized testing.
Your Challenge
-Decide how you want to teach.
-If progressive, project- and inquiry-based
learning resonates with your style and your
philosophy of teaching and learning, seek out
independent or public schools that support
these ideas for your internships as well as for
your future teaching positions.