Project Based Learning

I recently found out that I'll be moving from middle school to high school next year. I'll be piloting a new program with another teacher with Algebra I and Algebra II students in the same classroom.

Our high school is a "New Tech" school, which means it's focused on project and problem-based learning. The tentative plan is to do projects, lead small group workshops, and generally be "less helpful," (to borrow the words of Dan Meyer). We'll have a 1:1 student to computer ratio. No sitting in desks in a row, no lectures, no traditional homework assignments . . . . have we lost our minds? I'm excited, and also a little terrified about how this is all going to work.

We're going to be using a program called ALEKS as the main backbone. I've never used it before, but have heard great things about it. ALEKS is an "artificially intelligent assessment and learning system." To me, it takes standard based grading to a whole new level. Students have to show mastery of a concept before it's added to their "pie." I can also set up assessments on a regular basis - if they get something wrong, it gets taken back out of their pie, so they're constantly reassessed on what they know. And the best part is that the computer grades it all for you! Talk about freeing - I can't wait to have more time to spend developing projects instead of grading papers.