Course Date(s):
Prior to January 11, 2025: Pre-work (2 hours)
Sat., January 11: 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM - in-person - REQUIRED
Tues., January 21: 6:00 - 8:00 PM - Google Meet
Tues., February 4: 5:00 - 8:00 PM - in-person - REQUIRED
Tues., February 25: 6:00 - 8:00 PM - Google Meet (by appt.)
Tues., March 11: 6:00 - 8:00 PM - Google Meet
Week of March 24: Personalized Coaching by Appt.- Google Meet
Tues., April 8: 6:00 - 8:00 PM - Google Meet
Tues., April 29: 5:00 - 8:00 PM - in-person - REQUIRED
In-person: Kennedy Middle School, 165 Mill Street, Natick
Timezone:
Unless otherwise noted, course times listed are in Eastern Time.
Registration Deadline:
January 9th, 2025
Type:
Hybrid
Status:
Open
Credits:
67.5 PDPs
Grad Credit:
Optional 3 graduate credits from Worcester State University - $375 due upon initial registration
Cost:
$450 TEC Members / $475 Non-TEC Members
Natick faculty: $225
(The cost of materials is included)
Upon confirmation of acceptance into the course, participants are asked to purchase their own copy of the text: Cooper, Ross and Erin Murphy. Hacking Project Based Learning. (Cooper, Ross, Murphy), available on Amazon.
Location:
Kennedy Middle School
Audience:
All K-12 Educators
Designing Deep Project-Based Learning Using Design Thinking
Why Project-Based Learning?
Project-based learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working over extended periods of time to investigate authentic, engaging and complex questions and problems. PBL provides teachers with flexible educational possibilities for student learning with a high degree of rigor and engagement. All students have access to grade level standards and content. This course will address these challenges through professional discourse and reflective practice while you develop, execute, and reflect upon a PBL unit of study. Participants will create a project-based teaching product to be used in their classrooms during the 23-24 school year. See here for examples of units previously developed in this course. Teams of teachers are encouraged to take this course together to work toward this common goal.
Listen as instructor Sandy Lemon, of the Natick Public Schools, tells more about PBL and her experience using it in classrooms.
About the Instructor
Sandy Lemon has been in the classroom for 30 years, most recently embracing a new position at the district level as a Personalized Learning Coach. Over the past 15 years integrating technology, she has watched student engagement, excitement, and love of learning blossom through project-based classroom experiences. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, she teaches graduate courses on PBL and Student Agency. Integrating Design Thinking, PBL, and technology into classrooms k-12 have become a passion for her. She taught Grade 5 Language and Literacy and Social Studies for 14 years, Grade 6 Language and Literacy for four years, and was a Literacy Specialist (gr. 5-8) for five years. She has presented for the LearnLaunch MAPLE Consortium and MassCUE.