Project Based Learning Collaborative Partnership

Dena Dunlap, CPESI PrincipalJennifer Gaston, CPESI Second Grade Teacher

Susan Paschall, CPESI First Grade TeacherSue Spencer, PhD, Winthrop University Faculty-in-Residence

A Little About US

Chester Park School of Inquiry• 435 students in grades PreK-5• 48 faculty members• Title I School:

90% free/reduced meals• 75% African American students• 21% Caucasian students• 2% Two or more races• 1% Hispanic• 1% Asian

Winthrop University• 4 year liberal arts core• 5,000 undergraduate

students • 1,000 graduate students• 286 faculty• COE teaching certification

programs– ECED PK-3– ELEM 2-6– Middle Level Ed. 5-8– Physical Education K-12

Our Relationship Began 2010

• In year 2 as a Professional Development School• Member the Winthrop University NetSCOPE School

Partnership Network. • Network of Sustained Collaborative Ongoing

Preparation for Educators USDOE Teacher Quality Grant– School faculty, University faculty, and interns will participate

in intensive, ongoing professional development and joint school-university inquiry into educational topics of interest.

– Winthrop Faculty in Residence on CPESI campus 2 days a week to facilitate this relationship.

In the beginning: Determining our goals

• Teachers participated in “needs assessment” to determine areas of interest.

• Assessment of Teacher Needs results indicated an interest in Classroom Management.

• We chose to focus on Positive Classroom Management and Project Based Learning goals for the 2010/2011 school year.

Emphasis on Collaboration

Student

Teacher

Project Outline• Fall Faculty Meeting

– Discussed PBL, provided rationale, and showed clips from Edutopia.org(These Edutopia clips sealed the deal for some)

– Asked for volunteers to participate in pilot study fall 2010– Two first and two second grade teachers volunteered – Teachers were asked to create one WebQuest on any unit– Collect pre/posttest data

• Teachers and I worked collaboratively to choose WebQuest format, develop WebQuest, and implement – Key is to provide ongoing support and scaffolding throughout – Understanding that there is no right way to do this– Project is ours

The Fun Part

Implementing PBL2nd grade classroom

Designing a PBL WebQuest

Our PBL Plans for the Future

• Second annual CPESI Math and Science Fair• Faculty and student survey to determine attitude and

interest in the Math and Science Fair • Promote parent/community involvement to improve

perceptions of education/school– Parent PBL Newsletter, invite to M&S Fair, invite to

participate in project development, invite administrators from district office, community leaders

• Continue to involve interns and mentors in the development, implementation, and research on PBL

Questions Now or Later?

Dena Dunlap ddunlap@chester.k12.sc.usJennifer Gaston jgaston@chester.k12.sc.usSusan Paschall spaschall@chester.k12.sc.usSue Spencer spencers@winthrop.edu