I took the weekend before writing about my latest visit to Calhoun MS. I visited on a day with a lot of “nines”, 9-19-19. So far, Thursday and Friday mornings have been used as dedicated PBL time for student projects. This day was about one week before their culminating Molasses Festival where students will be showcasing their learning for the county festival. The Molasses Festival is a Calhoun County tradition that will be held September 27-29th.
I began the day in the second floor wing and immediately encountered students preparing their speeches with note cards and completing their display boards. Students in Mr. Dan Cosgrove’s class are studying various cultures and have been divided into groups representing countries like Japan, Mexico and Ireland. Pictured below are students in the Ireland group completing their display. These students have also been practicing a traditional Irish dance which they will be performing for Molasses festival attendees. A guest speaker from Japan recently visited to discuss Japanese culture and students excitedly told me about the various alphabets used in Japanese writing.
Miss Kelsey Norris’s (6th grade?) science students have assumed the roles of engineer for the “Molasses Festival Company” and have been tasked with building a roller coaster that launches a marble that represents a cart transporting sugar cane from Mt. Zion to Arnoldsburg for molasses production. Once the roller coaster has been built, students will write a report describing their coaster and discussing the transformation of potential and kinetic energy.
Mr. Josh Johnson’s (7th grade?) science students are building games which can be played at the festival and I want to specifically discuss how the games were chosen as it is a great example of student empowerment and a Simulated Workplace environment. Students applied to serve on a Selection Committee. Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Sally Stuart carefully chose seven students to serve on this committee. Students were divided into ten groups to generate ideas for their game but the selection committee was tasked with choosing only five. The ten student groups pitched their ideas to the Selection Committee who, according to the teachers, took their role very seriously. They asked difficult questions to the presenting student groups and exemplified student ownership in the process. I think this is an excellent example of Simulated Workplace and providing an opportunity for students to express their own voice and serve an integral part of the decision-making process.
In addition to the PBL units being completed for the Molasses Festival, the students in Mrs. Stuart’s class are also working on a Growth Mindset PBL. Students are preparing presentations on growth mindset which will be shared with high school students on October 1st. Growth Mindset is a topic that I have been actively reading through the work of Dr. Jo Boaler and Dr. Carol Dweck. Dr. Boaler works at Stanford University and operates a mathematics website at www.youcubed.org which houses research on growth mindset and brain research, in addition to excellent math tasks and research. I highly recommend looking through this resource for any growth mindset or mathematics ideas.
The students in Mr. Johnson’s enrichment class have taken it upon themselves to form groups based upon school improvement ideas. Several groups are involved in beautification projects across the campus while one group has decided to revive the now defunct school newspaper. The original school newspaper was titled Clarion and was published before the new school buildings were constructed. The newly formed newspaper will be titled the Red Devil Clarion. These middle school students have assumed roles (Editor, Copy Editor, Feature Writers, Sports Editor) and enlisted the help from local newspaper personnel with the Calhoun Chronicle. This newspaper initiative will impact more than just their Empowerment Academy. There are so many possibilities for this new venture and they have already begun contacting local business leaders for assistance/guidance and of course advertisement revenue. It is an excellent example of student entrepreneurs making a difference for their school and community.
Great job Calhoun MS teachers and students!!
Steve