Middle School Project Based Learning in the Academic Courtyard and Preserve

Middle School students have been tending beds in the Academic Courtyard as part of their science curriculum. Teachers Maura Saurman, Jim DiFranco, and Kate Cassidy developed The MilkWeed Project as a key feature of their program asking the question Who can grow the healthiest milkweed for transplant into The Preserve. A project based learning initiative (PBL), the teachers have retooled their current thematic curriculum to include one PBL unit per grade per year.  The Milkweed Project has been developed for the units on energy based on the essential question, where does energy go? Faculty were looking to include a way for students to not just follow the cycles of energy by working in the Academic Courtyard, but find an authentic way for it to be applicable to GA’s preserve.

When asked why The Milk Weed project is a game changer for teaching and learning in the sciences faculty reported that students have practice at applying concepts they learned throughout the year and use them to make a difference. Collaboration with peers and faculty in person, through a dedicated space in an online classroom space (VLE) and across networks using shared Google Docs has also been a game changer for students. Authentic inquiry combined with engineering and design, alternative assessments and team work has been a motivating factor for student success and has contributed greatly to high levels of students engagement.