Academics
Nurturing the Whole Child | Project-Based Learning | The Museum Model
Nurturing the Whole Child
We know you have a lot of choices when it comes to preschools in Sarasota. At our schools, our commitment is to form a relationship with each child and family, to know each child beyond their statistics, and to help each child grow academically, socially and emotionally. We are firmly committed to the belief that parents are the primary influence in a child’s life, and that any quality program, be it at the preschool or middle school level, must actively include and nurture the parent-child-teacher-school relationship. All students have an intrinsic need to be a part of a community in their school setting – a community that is built on the importance of relationships. We are a school where the words “teacher”, “mentor”, and “coach” are the same, where students know the teachers know them, where they are valued and respected, and where they are challenged to excel.
We believe that the consequences of an education that focuses only on proficiency in reading and mathematics, and that is devoid of rich educational experiences, limits the possibilities for our children to experience real world opportunities that go beyond the skill level. As a school we are, first and foremost, committed to providing a strong and solid foundation of skills. Our curriculum exceeds county and state standards and reflects national standards of education. However, at our schools, we also pride ourselves on teaching for relevance and understanding, teaching 21st century skills. The old-school model of passively learning facts and reciting them out of context is no longer sufficient to prepare students to survive in today’s world. Solving highly complex problems requires that students of all ages have both fundamental skills (reading, writing, and math) and digital age skills (teamwork, problem solving, research gathering, time management, information synthesizing, utilizing high tech tools).
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Project-Based Learning
Our program stresses the importance of integration throughout all of our classrooms. It is what separates us from the other schools in the area, and is something in which we take great pride. Understanding project-based integration across the curriculum, and how it is implemented in the classroom, is crucial to our success. Project-based learning is an integral component of our curriculum. A project is an in-depth investigation of a real-world topic worthy of students’ effort and study. In project-based learning, students work in teams to explore real-world problems and create presentations to share what they have learned. Compared with learning solely from textbooks, this approach has many benefits for students, including: deeper knowledge of subject matter, increased self-direction and motivation; improved research and problem-solving skills; and essential understandings. One of the major advantages of project work is that it connects school to real life.
By focusing on the big ideas that need to be understood, we are able to avoid superficial content coverage and concentrate on the essential questions that allow us to teach for understanding versus teaching for knowledge acquisition. Evidence of understanding is a greater challenge than evidence that our students know a correct or valid answer. Evidence of understanding through student engagement and effective teacher questioning provides the basis for a rigorous curriculum. Our small class sizes allow us the opportunity to not only provide a curriculum that is intellectually rigorous but also ensures that all students have equal access to learning and that we are on top of the needs of all of our students.
In the preschool years the “idea” for the project stems wholly from the children’s current interests and explorations based on their everyday, real-world interactions and experiences. At the early childhood level, project work is designed to provide the part of the curriculum in which children are encouraged to make their own decisions and choices – usually in cooperation with their peers and in consultation with their teachers. We know that such work increases children’s confidence at an early age about their own intellectual powers, and strengthens their dispositions to continue learning. Topics can include “what happens at the supermarket?” or “how houses are planned and constructed” and children explore the phenomena first-hand and in detail over an extended period of time. The process of the exploration and study of the project is documented through project panels thus not only allowing our young children an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and work, show their understanding, but also to demonstrate to them that adults see their work as worthy and important.
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The Museum Model
For our kindergarten-eighth graders project-based learning becomes curriculum fueled and standards based and is the basis of our museum model. Project-based learning addresses the required content standards, centering on science and social studies. With project-based learning, the inquiry process starts with a guiding question and lends itself to collaborative projects that integrate various subjects within the curriculum. Essential questions are asked that direct students to encounter the major elements and principles of a discipline i.e., “What is a civilization? What happens when cultures collide?” Project-based learning asks students to investigate issues and topics addressing real-world problems by integrating subjects across the curriculum. The beauty of an integrated curriculum is that writing skills are not being taught only in the language arts classroom, and “Rome” is not being studied in isolation with the social studies teacher. Rather, students are asked to produce an authentic project demonstrating their knowledge of history using their writing skills. This allows for an understanding of the connections between concepts, curriculums, and real world applications.
The museum model allows our preschool-eighth grade students to take project-based learning to a higher level by direct and focused “real-world” study as well as collaboration with community resources and experts in the field. By creating bridges between and across subjects, students view knowledge holistically, rather than looking at isolated facts. Project-based learning is a method that fosters abstract, intellectual tasks to explore complex issues. It promotes relevance and understanding, which is true knowledge. Students explore, make judgments, interpret, and synthesize information in meaningful ways. It is much more representative of how adults are asked to learn and demonstrate knowledge. The culmination of our students’ research and investigations occurs during “museum night” where students have an opportunity to display, explain, and teach the relevance and meaning of their work to other students, parents, and community members.
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Academics
Nurturing the Whole Child | Project-Based Learning | The Museum Model
Nurturing the Whole Child
We know you have a lot of choices when it comes to preschools in Sarasota. At our schools, our commitment is to form a relationship with each child and family, to know each child beyond their statistics, and to help each child grow academically, socially and emotionally. We are firmly committed to the belief that parents are the primary influence in a child’s life, and that any quality program, be it at the preschool or middle school level, must actively include and nurture the parent-child-teacher-school relationship. All students have an intrinsic need to be a part of a community in their school setting – a community that is built on the importance of relationships. We are a school where the words “teacher”, “mentor”, and “coach” are the same, where students know the teachers know them, where they are valued and respected, and where they are challenged to excel.
We believe that the consequences of an education that focuses only on proficiency in reading and mathematics, and that is devoid of rich educational experiences, limits the possibilities for our children to experience real world opportunities that go beyond the skill level. As a school we are, first and foremost, committed to providing a strong and solid foundation of skills. Our curriculum exceeds county and state standards and reflects national standards of education. However, at our schools, we also pride ourselves on teaching for relevance and understanding, teaching 21st century skills. The old-school model of passively learning facts and reciting them out of context is no longer sufficient to prepare students to survive in today’s world. Solving highly complex problems requires that students of all ages have both fundamental skills (reading, writing, and math) and digital age skills (teamwork, problem solving, research gathering, time management, information synthesizing, utilizing high tech tools).
[top]
Project-Based Learning
Our program stresses the importance of integration throughout all of our classrooms. It is what separates us from the other schools in the area, and is something in which we take great pride. Understanding project-based integration across the curriculum, and how it is implemented in the classroom, is crucial to our success. Project-based learning is an integral component of our curriculum. A project is an in-depth investigation of a real-world topic worthy of students’ effort and study. In project-based learning, students work in teams to explore real-world problems and create presentations to share what they have learned. Compared with learning solely from textbooks, this approach has many benefits for students, including: deeper knowledge of subject matter, increased self-direction and motivation; improved research and problem-solving skills; and essential understandings. One of the major advantages of project work is that it connects school to real life.
By focusing on the big ideas that need to be understood, we are able to avoid superficial content coverage and concentrate on the essential questions that allow us to teach for understanding versus teaching for knowledge acquisition. Evidence of understanding is a greater challenge than evidence that our students know a correct or valid answer. Evidence of understanding through student engagement and effective teacher questioning provides the basis for a rigorous curriculum. Our small class sizes allow us the opportunity to not only provide a curriculum that is intellectually rigorous but also ensures that all students have equal access to learning and that we are on top of the needs of all of our students.
In the preschool years the “idea” for the project stems wholly from the children’s current interests and explorations based on their everyday, real-world interactions and experiences. At the early childhood level, project work is designed to provide the part of the curriculum in which children are encouraged to make their own decisions and choices – usually in cooperation with their peers and in consultation with their teachers. We know that such work increases children’s confidence at an early age about their own intellectual powers, and strengthens their dispositions to continue learning. Topics can include “what happens at the supermarket?” or “how houses are planned and constructed” and children explore the phenomena first-hand and in detail over an extended period of time. The process of the exploration and study of the project is documented through project panels thus not only allowing our young children an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and work, show their understanding, but also to demonstrate to them that adults see their work as worthy and important.
[top]
The Museum Model
For our kindergarten-eighth graders project-based learning becomes curriculum fueled and standards based and is the basis of our museum model. Project-based learning addresses the required content standards, centering on science and social studies. With project-based learning, the inquiry process starts with a guiding question and lends itself to collaborative projects that integrate various subjects within the curriculum. Essential questions are asked that direct students to encounter the major elements and principles of a discipline i.e., “What is a civilization? What happens when cultures collide?” Project-based learning asks students to investigate issues and topics addressing real-world problems by integrating subjects across the curriculum. The beauty of an integrated curriculum is that writing skills are not being taught only in the language arts classroom, and “Rome” is not being studied in isolation with the social studies teacher. Rather, students are asked to produce an authentic project demonstrating their knowledge of history using their writing skills. This allows for an understanding of the connections between concepts, curriculums, and real world applications.
The museum model allows our preschool-eighth grade students to take project-based learning to a higher level by direct and focused “real-world” study as well as collaboration with community resources and experts in the field. By creating bridges between and across subjects, students view knowledge holistically, rather than looking at isolated facts. Project-based learning is a method that fosters abstract, intellectual tasks to explore complex issues. It promotes relevance and understanding, which is true knowledge. Students explore, make judgments, interpret, and synthesize information in meaningful ways. It is much more representative of how adults are asked to learn and demonstrate knowledge. The culmination of our students’ research and investigations occurs during “museum night” where students have an opportunity to display, explain, and teach the relevance and meaning of their work to other students, parents, and community members.
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