Design your own school

1. Design your own school Group project

2. One important question • Are you happy with schools now, as they are, or do you think they need to be changed? • If we’re basically happy with the way schools operate now, then we really don’t want them to change • or we want them only to change in small, insignificant ways • But if we’re not happy with the way schools are, then we should want to change them • But change them how?

3. Your task:  Design the ideal school • 1. Choose how you will describe your school in general terms.  You may find yourself wanting to describe it in terms of: • a. Where it is located (city, rural, suburban, spread-out, enclosed, etc.) • b. The age (or grade level, if your school uses grade level) of students being served • c. The physical structure your school may (or may not) require:  building(s) or campus area (Provide a sketch if that is helpful.) • d. Kind of classrooms and other public areas required for usage • e. Kind of student (and kind of family) being served (considering such things as race gender, socio-economic level, etc.) • f. Public or private school, considering school funding (or other form of community or business support)

4. Purposes or goals of the school • 2. Name and explain the declared goals or purposes of this school • 3. Name and explain the educational theory and philosophy of education to which this school subscribes (or what mix of theories and philosophies to which people subscribe) • 4. Provide a “pedagogical creed” for the school that describes how those working at the school understand such things as: • a. The purpose of the school • b. How children learn • c. What motivates children to learn • d. Curricular organization • (See Dewey’s “My Pedagogical Creed” for other ideas): http://dewey.pragmatism.org/creed.htm

5. Teachers and other professionals working at the school • 5. Describe the kind of teachers (or other professionals) you want to teach in your school. • a. Describe the expertise and professional qualifications they possess • b. Describe personal characteristics and how these might be enacted in the professional lives of your teachers. • ORGANIZATIONAL FEATURES AT YOUR SCHOOL • 6. Describe and explain how students would be organized or grouped in your school (age, grade, interest, skill possession, etc.) • 7. Describe and explain the curriculum in your school • a. What the curriculum is and why • b. How it is organized and implemented

6. ORGANIZATIONAL FEATURES AT YOUR SCHOOL • 8. Describe and explain the extra-curriculum in your school (if important or applicable) • 9. Describe, in general, how students will be assessed and the basis upon which they will be advanced through the curriculum • 10. Describe and explain any notable features of the school day or school calendar

7. Instructional features of your school • 11. Describe and explain the kinds of instructional approaches one might find in your school • Describe a typical class lesson or class period • Describe a typical learning exchange between teachers and students • 12. Describe and explain the philosophy of assessment in your school • a. Describe how the quality or acceptability of student work products will be communicated to students (assignment grades, course grades, transcript of performance, performance assessment, portfolios, or the like) • b. Describe how teachers, students (and others) would be held accountable for their performance • c. Describe what understanding (as in “understanding curricular material”) means in your school and how you will know students “understand” what they are taught

8. Resources available to you for the completion of this assignment: • your own thoughts about what schools and teaching might and can be • classdiscussions • anyotherbooksorjournalarticlesyoumight find • http://www.edtechpg.com/COTF/cotfflash.html • http://www.educause.edu/LearningSpaces • http://www.bcse.uk.net/downloads//69A_Learning_Journey.pdf • http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/layout.htm • http://www.designshare.com/index.php/articles/design-project-based-learning • http://schoolstudio.engr.wisc.edu/futureclassrooms.html

9. Rubric • Written documents:  100 points •   5 points:  General description of your school (item 1 above) • 30 points:  Goals or purposes of your school (items 2, 3, and 4, above) • 10 points:  Description of teachers and other professionals (item 5 above) • 25 points:  Description of organizational features of your school (items 6—10, above) • 30 points:  Instructional features of your school (11 and 12 above)

10. Rubric • Presentation:  30 points • Evaluated on such things as: • 6 points: each group member participates in making the presentation • 6 points: presentation is logical, comprehensible, and complete • 6 points: any hand-outs or visuals are well-crafted, clear, and legible • 6 points: speakers are knowledgeable, involved, and speak clearly • 6 points: presentation communicates all aspects necessary for audience to understand thenature of the ideal school being presented.