1. Charlottesville City Schools School Board Presentation April 10, 2014

2.  The Buck Institute For Education defines PBL as… “a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning important knowledge and 21 st century skills through an extended, student-influenced inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and learning tasks.”

3.  [PBL] is not the dessert you serve students so they can “have fun” or “get a hands-on experience” after a traditional unit of instruction. Instead, a project is the main course that organizes the unit… it’s helpful to think of the project as the unit.

4.  Coordinators presented to administrators and teachers  Two staff attended day-long training with national expert  Schools received copy of national expert’s book  Coordinators offered content-specific PBL training and resources  Schools submitted PBL plans for review; feedback was provided

5. 1. Significant Content Scientific process, observation skills, record keeping 2. 21 st Century SkillsProblem-solving, collaboration, communication 3. Driving QuestionWhat is turning the water brown? 4. In-depth Inquiry What experiment tells us if the leaves or the acorns are turning the water brown? 5. Need To Know Students checked the experiment each week and took pictures to document changes. 6. Voice & Choice Students generated the experiment, their hypotheses, and the weekly write-ups. 7. Revision & Reflection Over time, students revised parts of the original experiment. 8. Public Audience Results were presented to classmates and beyond.

6. First Graders  Learned about ◦ Goods & services ◦ Wants & needs ◦ Spending & saving  Opened a Marketplace ◦ Made projects to sell ◦ Determined prices ◦ Bought and sold ◦ Evaluated their success Second Graders  Investigated ◦ Bartering systems ◦ Advertising techniques ◦ Ads, jingles, logos  Played Bartering Game ◦ Created a new cereal ◦ Packaged and “sold” it

7. Third Graders  Experimented and did research using Jefferson’s gadgets and inventions  Presented work at a public forum at Monticello  Received feedback from local engineers and historians

8.  Third & Sixth Graders ◦ Completed projects that…  Were student initiated  Had a plan for learning  Involved research  Required collaboration  Included parent volunteers  Culminated in a product or demonstration

9.  Evaluate the quality and effectiveness of current PBL units across grade levels and schools  Refine the process that has 5 th, 8 th, and 10 th graders presenting their work to a community panel  Plan units for next school year

11.  “An ePortfolio is a curated collection of digital artifacts representing hard work, creativity, and collaboration.”  “Cooper and Love (2007) describe ePortfolios as organized compilation of artifacts that demonstrate knowledge, skills, values, or achievement that articulate the relevance, credibility, and meaning of presented artifacts.”

12.  ePortfolios ◦ Increases student engagement  Students become authors and publishers of content and are more likely to reflect on the content they create and share. ◦ Increases student participation  By expanding the walls of the classroom, the learning becomes more personal and authentic encouraging active student participation. ◦ Increases student digital citizenship  Creating, managing, and representing oneself in a positive manner on the web is an essential understanding.

13.  Research models and platforms  Present to stakeholders & collect feedback  Select Google Apps for Education  Migrate to Google Apps Teachers/Staff Nov. 2012 Secondary students Nov. 2013 Elementary students Feb. 2014  Develop Portfolio Template  Pilot Student Portfolios Buford Middle & Walker Upper Elementary

15.  Walker Elementary Mrs. Powell/Mrs. Plunkett Two English Classes – 35 Students 5-7 Writing Samples Personal Narrative Expository Writing Narrative Essay Fiction Writing (Spooky Stories, Tall Turkey Tales)  Buford Middle Mr. Kenney/Mr. Jones Physical Science Class – 18 students Reflect on STEM Project & Labs 5 Labs Experiences Sample

16.  Evaluate ePortfolio Pilot Implementation  Establish Grade Level Benchmarks ◦ Types and Number of Artifacts ◦ Specific Grade Level  Conduct ePortfolio Development Training