Thread from other blog

"Help me create Minnesota Learning Academy"

2 Comments - Hide Original Post Collapse comments

I'm looking for feedback concerning a model I've been working with. I'm calling it Minnesota Learning Academy, and the idea is that it would be hands-on, innovative, cutting-edge. Classes would be organized by 8 project-based departments. Students would run or help to run most aspects of the school, everything from the finances to the school's cafeteria and clinic, media expressions, and performing arts, and much more. Students learn more generally when they are younger and become more specialized as they move up the ranks of the departments. New computer "epistemic" games and other leading-edge technology is used as are real tools of the trade. Partnerships is a huge part of this school. Students are constantly interacting with professionals both at the school and at job-sites. This aspect will require a full-time position at the school of "partnerships liaison" to develop these relationships and oversee the coming and going of students and mentors alike. The technology coordinator would assist in finding partnerships online- making virtual connections. Each department would have a team of teachers which worked with student leadership in each department to develop and oversee projects and responsibilities of that department. I'll stop here for now. There's more on the MLA blog http://minnesotalearningacademy.blogspot.com/ so check it out and please send your feedback to either blog or email me directly at pauldunkirk@gmail.com
Thanks for your time.

Ms. Bethie said...

Hi Paul!

First thought, the link did not work for me. I got an error message. I just wanted to let you know.

Moving on. I am very intrigued by your Minnesota Learning Academy. I think it is a very interesting idea that does a very good job including technology. I believe that by including current technology into the very core of the school's creation is very admirable.

Yet I am slightly concerened that there is a VERY big emphasis on using technology to teach. Even though I am impressed and am enthusiastic about this school model, I am worried that there might be students in the school who learn best via other methods. I am fully aware that I might be missing large areas of this model (since as I said at the begining the link you offered did not work for me)

Yet, I think this school would very much work and I would be very excited to see it actually be implemented in the near future! Even with my concern, I think this is a very good way to meld technology and education together - good job and good luck! I shall stop here before the comment turns into an essay! Sorry for it being so long!

January 11, 2008 2:27 PM

Paul Dunkirk said...

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post and for the honest feedback. I read your comment as I was leaving class. As I drove home my plan was to read what I wrote carefully and figure out where I mislead that this school model has a "VERY big emphasis on technology." Now that I've read it again, I'm wondering if maybe the fact that we're in a technology class together that you're looking for this, because I honestly can't see it. Maybe you could help me get specific so I can edit it because initial impressions are so important. This is practically the first feedback I've gotten on this subject other than a little from my wife and one friend, so forgive me if I seem needy. The link to the other blog is now fixed if you have time to check that out too.
As this idea gets more towards the side of being a real thing that I could possibly handle putting together, and not just a totally theoretical exercise, it does get more towards technology, using Web 2.0 free web-based tools, I think I could handle (with a ton of help) starting this thing as a virtual school- entirely online, and eventually working towards in-person. Or as extra-curricular. But the original concept was more about student empowerment: small class sizes, student decision-making, real-world projects that would motivate them,etc.; about partnerships with professionals and adults of all stripes to get the students off campus and into the guts of what professionals do. The "project-based departments" organize the school. Each is based on a project: performing arts, visual arts, running the school cafeteria, school publications, running science fairs, running the school finances and a school bank, etc. Technology can tie things together and facilitate things, but the main focus is the motivation of the students and the awesome untapped resource that is the adult world to act as mentors, coaches, guides. I taught in inner-city LA and saw the huge potential that school has- when done right, and this is very rarely the case- to literally SAVE these kids from the crap around them. This is what motivates this idea: getting the most out of this thing we all suffer through called school. Transforming it into something creative, meaningful, engaging, and empowering. The exercise is to dream up the best possible scenario of a school, not based on current modes and models, not based on current restrictions and limitations, but built on the crazy, dorm-room epiphanies of "wouldn't it be great if school was like this..." Using that as a starting point and then saying, "Why not?" And, "OK, let's refine this a little and slowly make it more practical while not losing the original inspiration. Steve Jobs said in an article in Forbes something like, you see these great prototype cars in auto shows but by the time they get mass-produced they've lost most of what was so appealing about them in the first place, and Apple tries not to do that so everybody is involved in every part of the business. Something like that. Point being to not lose too much of the original uniqueness and creative insight.
Thanks again for the comment.

January 12, 2008 7:32 PM

More on Vision

I found the following paragraph in a paper I wrote for an Ed. Psych class (MA in Learning Technology at UST) a year or so ago:

Mixed-grade classrooms, 10-15 students per teacher ratio, teacher loops for several years (stays with same group of kids), teacher collaboration, inventive curriculum and instruction, differentiated instruction, cross-curricular inter-disciplinary focus, real-world applications, student empowerment, a safe, organized, structured, peaceful, inspiring atmosphere with the tools and resources to support in-depth exploration and clearer models of concepts, the opportunity for retelling, performing, student peer-teaching, etc. guide more effective teaching/ learning.

Blogged with Flock

Blogger Evan Bailyn's Ideal School

As I'm very new at this blogging thing, I'm not sure about the etiquette of this, but I just had to post this.  If and when my reply gets published I'll post that too (I should have copied it before I submitted it). Basically I said that I agree wholeheartedly and asked for feedback on my school model.

My Ideal School

Written by Evan Bailyn on 06/20 at 12:41 PM

One of my ultimate goals in life is to start a progressive school which focuses on developing a passion for living and self-knowledge in children. Schools nowadays have a rote, one-size-fits-all curriculum, which is conducive to learning for only a small percentage of students. My ideal school would be communication-based, blending aspects of social work, conflict resolution, team building, and traditional learning.

Classes would be limited to fifteen students, a size small enough to allow individual attention but large enough to furnish the feeling of belonging to a group.

Creative projects would be the cornerstone of the curriculum, incorporating all the life skills that make this method of education unique. The class would be presented with a number of ideas at the beginning of each project, and would also have the option of coming up with their own idea. Some examples are raising money to donate to a charity, creating an anthology of short stories to be bound and published, starting a website, writing and recording an original song, and patenting a new idea. Because of the amount of coordination required for each project, both successes and failures would inevitably spring up along the way, giving the children a meaningful experience of what it is like to work on a real-world project. The teacher would have an important role, psychologically coaching the kids through the highs and lows of the project and facilitating discussions to make them work better together and motivate themselves.

Each school day would begin with a half hour of discussion of the project that the class is currently pursuing. The rest of the morning would be divided between various academic lessons. However, instead of standard lessons, my school would introduce each subject as a useful part of the real world. U.S. history lessons would be justified by explaining to students what their lives would be like if we were still a British colony, and by showing them what school is like in countries where political freedom does not exist. Math lessons would be justified by having the kids run a school store, or by introducing them to other practical uses of numbers.

In addition, academic lessons would be split into two halves. The first half would be a basic skills seminar, and the second an advanced class. Students would be able to choose whether to stay the second half, or else they could leave to work on their current project, read, or pursue an independent study of another subject. The students who stayed - the “second halfers” - would be known as the students with the greatest passion for the subject.

No grades or competition would exist. Rather, the motivation to work would come from a desire to earn the respect of teachers and fellow students and establish a positive self-identity. Kids would also decide the degree to which they would like to participate. Involvement would be based on interest and the satisfaction of publically confirming their talents.

In contrast to today’s system, which anticipates the negative, using poor grades and disciplinary procedures to discourage students, my school would have positive reinforcement as a basic tenet of its educational philosophy. Kids would be regularly praised for their good work, and taught to compliment others. Rather than being trained to avoid the negative, students would actively seek out positivity. For the same reason that a child on a little league team doesn’t want to strike out, no child in my school would want to sit back idly and not learn - it wouldn’t feel right to him on a personal or a group level.

Each afternoon, creative activities such as art, music, reading, and writing would take place. A portion of this time would also be dedicated to the current class project. Once per week, kids would spend the entire afternoon in “Talking Time,” where they openly discuss their feelings about any issue, personal or school-related. These sessions would help to build relationships, foster the discussion of difficult issues, and congeal the class as a team. In the larger picture, Talking Time would help kids to become communicative rather than internalizing their issues, helping them to become happier adults.

In accordance with this policy of positivity and openness, disputes between students would be resolved through a conflict resolution process. The skills of compromising and understanding another person’s point of view would be instilled in children from early grades. Students would openly discuss their disputes in front of the class, with great fanfare expected for any compromise or peace offer made. In this way, positive attention would come not just from doing good things, but from correcting bad things. The only behavior that would not be tolerated in my school is bullying. In younger grades, aggressors would be dealt with in the normal positive way. If multiple instances cropped up, or if the problem was not resolved by the time the student entered later grades, their inclusion in the school would be reconsidered.

If these ideas could be successfully implemented, the learning environment in my school would be a fascinating self-journey, as useful for building emotional knowledge as it would be for sharpening academic skills. Learning would be a fulfilling, exciting experience, and kids wouldn’t have to dread school, as they do now. Most importantly, when my students graduated, they would have a firmly-instated sense of purpose that would make them better prepared for life.

Cynical speculators will comment on the impossible idealism of this system. How could these ideas ever work? My answer: through the flexibility of young minds. By the time a child has reached sixth grade, his brain is already hard-coded with ideas that he has learned from home, school, and friends. Starting a system of positive reinforcement, teamwork, and individualized learning at a young age would create the self-esteem, drive, and curiosity for knowledge that students need to be happy adults. My system might sound naive to those who have been through the current school system, with its grades, disciplinary procedures, and forced learning, all of which can be devastating to a child’s self-esteem. But consider what it might have been like if we had all been taught that we could be great at anything we wanted; if we were respected in school rather than talked down to; if we were given the opportunity to follow the pursuits we spoke of with such passion when we were little. If all of that had happened, then the dream that anything is possible might still be alive in us.

Blogged with Flock

Minnesota Learning Academy

Minnesota Learning Academy Proposal Overview:
Paul Dunkirk

Part 1) The Idea: a cutting-edge, hands-on K-12 school based on real-world Projects and Partnerships, and where student Empowerment is key.

Projects:
• Performances, publications, broadcasts, marketing of inventions, hosting science, math, and tech fairs, debates, student government, think-tanks, etc. (see Project-based Departments below).
• Innovative, cutting-edge, entrepreneurial spirit, real-world applications, hands-on experience, field-trips, travel, on and off-campus projects.

Partnerships:
• Parents, outside experts, community members, businesses, non-profits, government agencies, and various organizations.
• Internships, field trips, off-campus projects, guest-teaching, consulting, mentoring, advising, involvement, student to student mentoring, inter-departmental cooperation.

Empowerment:
• Projects of the highest quality provide focus, motivation, relevance, meaning, and deep, experiential knowledge, awareness, and understanding.
• Small class size and student to instructor ratio.
• Student-centered: student management of school finances, bank, clinic, counseling center, health center, projects, courses, facilities, clubs, fairs, conventions, performances, publications, etc.
• Inclusive instruction differentiated for multiple intelligences and learning modalities. Rigorous, standards-based academic excellence, higher-level thinking skills, test and college prep, real-world experience, skills, and contacts.

Class Organization: Project-Based Departments:
• Departments are interactive and interrelated.
• All students are involved in all departments.
• Earlier years are more traditional. Students begin to specialize as
they progress to higher levels of responsibility and leadership
within the various projects and departments.

Project-Based Departments:

World Community Department
(Social Studies Curriculum and Standards and beyond)
• Students run law club, think tanks, committees, school charity and legal aid, hold elections, run school government, host debates and panel discussions, act as liaisons to community and business partnerships, coordinate travel and exchange.
• Students study law, politics, speech and debate, history, geography, sociology, psychology, anthropology, urban planning, environmental sciences, foreign languages and cultures.

Economic Entrepreneurial Department
(Math Curriculum and Standards and beyond)
• Students help manage budgets for other departments and the entire school and run a school bank/ investment office.
• Students advertise and market the projects and inventions of the other departments.
• Students study economics, business, finance, marketing, advertising, investing.

Visual Arts, Design, and Production Department
(Visual Arts and Industrial Arts Curriculum and Standards and beyond)
• Students oversee the design graphics and layout for all departments such as school newspaper, magazine, online news, ads, fliers, pamphlets, presentations, reports, studies, etc.
• Students manage school gallery; learn painting, sculpture, pottery, glasswork, computer-generated art, design, layout, animation, etc.
• Students learn the trades by creating, building, repairing structures, systems, and products as needed.

Journalism, and Creative Writing Dept
(Reading, Writing, Communication Standards and beyond)
• Students study a broad range of literature and other aspects and forms of communication; they learn to express themselves through writing articles, plays, musicals, poems, stories, speeches, presentations, research, reports.
• Students create content for newspapers, magazines, blogs, advertisements, marketing reports, news shows, etc.

Music and Performing Arts Department
(Music and Performing Arts Curriculum and Standards and beyond)
• Students manage, write, direct, produce, and perform plays, musicals, recitals, talent and variety shows: choir, orchestra, band, drama

Health, and Fitness Department
(Health, Science, and Physical Education Curriculum and Standards and beyond)
• Students manage cafeteria, counseling center, school clinic, fitness center, and athletics programs.
• Students study biology, chemistry, anatomy, psychology; diet, health, nutrition; dance, aerobics, yoga, and various sports and recreational activities.

Inventors and Engineers Department
(Math and Science Curriculum and Standards and beyond)
• Students host a semi-annual science and math fair to showcase their latest inventions, insights and ideas.
• Students address real-world applications and gain hands-on familiarity with the latest equipment and technology.
• Students work with other departments to develop and market inventions and promote the science and math fair.

Technology and Multi-Media Dept
(Technology Curriculum and Standards and beyond)
• Students produce and manage technology integration, film, TV, radio, podcast, blog, websites, email accounts, and tech support.
• Students use cutting-edge technology to manage, program, and support highly-integrated computer-based school and support other departments in their respective projects and goals.


Part 2: Making the Dream a Reality

Research:
• Determine the pros and cons of the various existing school models: traditional public, private, charter, magnet, online, and home schools as well as tutoring organizations.
• Examine Standards, curriculum, pedagogy, underlying assumptions, student participation, motivation, empowerment issues, etc.

Feedback:
• Find out what others would consider a perfect or ideal school and use this info to modify current model.
• Attempt to elicit insights and ideas from as many interested parties as possible.
• Set up online surveys, a web page, a blog, etc. to elicit specific as well as open-ended responses.
• Information gathered online would be used to develop print surveys and interview questions which would be used to develop strategies for focus groups.
• Questions would be constructed with the goal of obtaining candid ideas as to participants’ concepts of “the perfect school” and of the Minnesota Learning Academy working model.

Proposals: Finding the Right Partners:
• Using material based on insights of focus groups and other feedback methods, final proposals would be presented to community, business, and educational leaders; and the feedback loop continues.

My wiki, efolio, email, class wiki, St Thomas

other blog: http://pauldunkirk.blogspot.com
wiki: http://pauldunkirk.wikispaces.com/
efolio: http://pauldunkirk.efoliomn2.com/
email: pauldunkirk@gmail.com
class wiki: http://cied690.wikispaces.com/
University of St. Thomas, Minnesota http://www.stthomas.edu/