Haleakala at Sunrise!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Back at it...
Hawaii was beautiful, but that is not news. I now have a working example of what "paradise" is. We are getting close to the start of the school year and there are plenty of things happening. We have had to revamp our Integrated Arts program because several of our specialists have left over the summer. Revisioning this curricular piece has yielded some interesting changes in our program.
1. We gave added drama in the "Art" sequence. Details will follow, but it is an exciting opportunity with a really prominent local drama resource.
2. Gym will include a new wrinkle or two. We have engaged TLC Fitness Center which is part of NE Rehab at Allied to teach fitness, goal setting, and an anti obesity/healthy choices piece.
3. Herman Little agreed to return!
4. Music will be taught under an agreement with Conway Rowe of Gallucci Music Studio. We will offer instrumental music (recorders, guitar, and keyboard) with a rent-to-buy feature. This is a major step in our program to develop an apprentice-like program as our students will be working alongside music specialists. The program will also feature some music appreciation.
Also, we are implementing a process portfolio system of assessment that should really set us apart from other schools in this vital area. As part of the new assessment program we have received a grant from Skills in Scranton to implement a "framing company" in Uppers. Charley Sandercock has agreed to serve as the commmunity resource (master) in this project and will teach students to frame items from student portfolios (artwork, photos of projects, writing samples, etc.) that will hang on the walls in our hallways. Interesting project that we think you'll really like.
We are also strengthening our storyteller piece in the Primary class with a new mentor that we will announce soon.
See all new parents at our orientation meeting next Wednesday at the Stadium Club.
1. We gave added drama in the "Art" sequence. Details will follow, but it is an exciting opportunity with a really prominent local drama resource.
2. Gym will include a new wrinkle or two. We have engaged TLC Fitness Center which is part of NE Rehab at Allied to teach fitness, goal setting, and an anti obesity/healthy choices piece.
3. Herman Little agreed to return!
4. Music will be taught under an agreement with Conway Rowe of Gallucci Music Studio. We will offer instrumental music (recorders, guitar, and keyboard) with a rent-to-buy feature. This is a major step in our program to develop an apprentice-like program as our students will be working alongside music specialists. The program will also feature some music appreciation.
Also, we are implementing a process portfolio system of assessment that should really set us apart from other schools in this vital area. As part of the new assessment program we have received a grant from Skills in Scranton to implement a "framing company" in Uppers. Charley Sandercock has agreed to serve as the commmunity resource (master) in this project and will teach students to frame items from student portfolios (artwork, photos of projects, writing samples, etc.) that will hang on the walls in our hallways. Interesting project that we think you'll really like.
We are also strengthening our storyteller piece in the Primary class with a new mentor that we will announce soon.
See all new parents at our orientation meeting next Wednesday at the Stadium Club.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Aloha
Well, as part of the HGS fund raising program we sponsor an annual cruise. This year we go to Hawaii from July 21-31. Yes, lab schools can be fun! It is unlikely that I will be blogging while onboard, and less likely while we tour the islands. However, when we return there will be lots to discuss, and I will begin the process of turning this blog over to the Senior Class (gr. 7 & 8) students to continue. Enjoy the next few weeks and tune in to our site August 1. Aloha.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Carol's Point
Carol's point is well taken. One would imagine that the impact of MI on a student would have real world implications due to the classroom interaction between the individual and the domain. At the Gardner School, for instance, we use an apprentice model. Our students practice in an authentic environment while in school as apprentices in a project-based curriculum. Each of our classes has a real world theme that defines a domain. Our eighth graders operate a newspaper and are apprenticed to local newspaper employees who volunteer to help in their project. Third and fourth graders run a student store that operates just like a real business and have a mentor from the community who teaches them business practices and the stock market. It would be hard to imagine that practicing in an environment that so closely mimics real world domains will not have lasting effects. By learning that they can produce builds confidence and competence. Working with "masters" their can see that their work has relevance and students rarely ask the question that haunts most teachers, "Why do I have to learn ______." In an MI classroom when you fill in the blank it is usually apparent why it is important to learn.
In essence MI helps students mine their talents as they find new ways to solve problems and complete tasks. It is a powerful lesson.
In essence MI helps students mine their talents as they find new ways to solve problems and complete tasks. It is a powerful lesson.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
What is a "lab school" and how does it relate to Howard Gardner?
When the Gardner School was founded on 2005, it was envisioned as a small, private, academic school with a specific purpose. HGS would provide a laboratory for educational practice. The basis for this choice was rather simple; HGS had evolved over three decades from a Montessori approach, to a school using alternative methodologies to meet the needs of students struggling in other public and private schools, to , finally, a laboratory school associated with the Education Department of The University of Scranton. Over this time, several interesting developments occurred. First, a rather unique faculty evolved around a core of educators who remained loyal to the school and its mission. Despite low salaries and minimal benefits, this cadre of dedicated teachers grew together and, together, shared a singular set of educational experiences. The strong early Montessori influences and the resulting extensions of the philosophical base that supports small class sizes, trained classroom aides, active learning, and student-centered teaching techniques, have created a singular moment for this school to enter the national debate regarding school reform.
The practice that extends from Maria Montessori to Howard Gardner and his multiple intelligences has both logical and local roots. Gardner was reared in Scranton and his family still has connections to the region. As a youngster Howard Gardner attended local public elementary schools and lived in very supportive Jewish community known as the Hill Section. The importance of education, tradition, and culture fostered in the community echoes in the distinguishing elements of his theory--field and domain. The individual with his or her talents, operates within a domain where those talents are expressed and recognized (the domain), which is finally adjudged to be valued or not by a field representing the community which assesses its value and relevance.
In schools, the theory works well to explain what educators actually experience everyday in their classrooms. Children learn naturally--education is a normal and enjoyable activity. Gardner places the onus of measuring what is learned and its relevance on the field -- teachers and psychometricians in this case--and its instruments (assessments or tests), not on the individuals themselves. In other words, the broader and more varied the assessment, the more likely we can really know what is learned. Gardner work also suggests that a way to be sure how well learning is occurring is to have children apply their learning in another domain. This is the intersection of theory and practice, of relevance and value.
The term lab school has specific meaning within educational circles. John Dewey and his cohorts looked to establish schools attached to schools that prepared teachers for the classroom. The idea was that, like other professions, educators needed a laboratory within which to practice, test their theories, devise methods, and hone skills. The early lab schools focused on research, curriculum development, observation, staff development, and student teaching. In this model the preservice teacher candidate is the focus of the learning program while the children in the classroom were a secondary, albeit important and valued, concern. Today, lab schools have similar roles. They are extensions of college teacher preparation programs and as such focus on practice and pedagogy. In a slight revision of mission, they serve two sets of pupils equally, preservice teacher candidates and the children in their classrooms. The organization that represents the modern lab school is NALS which now has international representation of schools that hold strongly to the need to provide a space for preparing the next generation of educators in a rather progressive, non-political , clinical environment.
As a way to end this posting, consider the reputation of public schools and teachers in the states. NCLB and the standards movement are all about assessment. But what is being assessed? One can argue that schools and educational professionals (teachers and administrators) are the real focus of assessment. And the assessment model being used is the standardized test. In fact, these tests are rather devised as rather rigid and narrowly focused on an agreed upon set of principles or standards. To return to our earlier discussion of Gardner and MI, the more narrowly defined our assessment becomes and the further it is removed from passsing the test of relevance within a domain, the less likely it can measure what it seeks to quantify. The single formatted test used in most standards testing actually informs practice by foisting more workbook, pencil and paper practice and less application of curriculum.
See you next time.
The practice that extends from Maria Montessori to Howard Gardner and his multiple intelligences has both logical and local roots. Gardner was reared in Scranton and his family still has connections to the region. As a youngster Howard Gardner attended local public elementary schools and lived in very supportive Jewish community known as the Hill Section. The importance of education, tradition, and culture fostered in the community echoes in the distinguishing elements of his theory--field and domain. The individual with his or her talents, operates within a domain where those talents are expressed and recognized (the domain), which is finally adjudged to be valued or not by a field representing the community which assesses its value and relevance.
In schools, the theory works well to explain what educators actually experience everyday in their classrooms. Children learn naturally--education is a normal and enjoyable activity. Gardner places the onus of measuring what is learned and its relevance on the field -- teachers and psychometricians in this case--and its instruments (assessments or tests), not on the individuals themselves. In other words, the broader and more varied the assessment, the more likely we can really know what is learned. Gardner work also suggests that a way to be sure how well learning is occurring is to have children apply their learning in another domain. This is the intersection of theory and practice, of relevance and value.
The term lab school has specific meaning within educational circles. John Dewey and his cohorts looked to establish schools attached to schools that prepared teachers for the classroom. The idea was that, like other professions, educators needed a laboratory within which to practice, test their theories, devise methods, and hone skills. The early lab schools focused on research, curriculum development, observation, staff development, and student teaching. In this model the preservice teacher candidate is the focus of the learning program while the children in the classroom were a secondary, albeit important and valued, concern. Today, lab schools have similar roles. They are extensions of college teacher preparation programs and as such focus on practice and pedagogy. In a slight revision of mission, they serve two sets of pupils equally, preservice teacher candidates and the children in their classrooms. The organization that represents the modern lab school is NALS which now has international representation of schools that hold strongly to the need to provide a space for preparing the next generation of educators in a rather progressive, non-political , clinical environment.
As a way to end this posting, consider the reputation of public schools and teachers in the states. NCLB and the standards movement are all about assessment. But what is being assessed? One can argue that schools and educational professionals (teachers and administrators) are the real focus of assessment. And the assessment model being used is the standardized test. In fact, these tests are rather devised as rather rigid and narrowly focused on an agreed upon set of principles or standards. To return to our earlier discussion of Gardner and MI, the more narrowly defined our assessment becomes and the further it is removed from passsing the test of relevance within a domain, the less likely it can measure what it seeks to quantify. The single formatted test used in most standards testing actually informs practice by foisting more workbook, pencil and paper practice and less application of curriculum.
See you next time.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Introductions
This is the opening posting for The Gardner School Blog, which is the official blog site for The Howard Gardner School for Discovery in Scranton, Pennsylvania (http://www.howardgardnerschool.com/). HGS is a Pre K to Grade 8 lab school associated with NALS: the International Association of Laboratory and University Affiliated Schools (http://www.nals.org/.) Glad to get the particulars out of the way!
This space is where you can read and contribute to conversations involving school innovations in curriculum design. As a lab school, HGS focuses on curriculum design and placing MI theory into practice. Postings can meander around issues that concern schools of all stripes, however, I hope that the blog will become a space to post educational practices and ideas that can be tested and commented on by contributors.
This space is where you can read and contribute to conversations involving school innovations in curriculum design. As a lab school, HGS focuses on curriculum design and placing MI theory into practice. Postings can meander around issues that concern schools of all stripes, however, I hope that the blog will become a space to post educational practices and ideas that can be tested and commented on by contributors.
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