SESSION 5

: IGNIT

E

PRESENTA

TION

MA

KE

YO

UR

SE

L F HA

PP Y

NORTH MARION HIGH SCHOOL

Location: Farmington, WV

Student Population: Approximately 800 – Class AA, Low SES

Mascot: Huskies

6 YEARS AND STILL GOING STRONG…

IDENTIFIED ISSUES

- High Dropout Rates

- Student Empathy

- Teacher Frustrations

- Low Test Scores

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

- Project-based learning

- Hands – on activities

- More opportunities to take electives

- Combined core subjects

INNOVATION ZONE:TRUST, RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

- Students can enjoy coming to school

- Students love to be challenged

- Teachers enjoy their jobs more when students are happy

- A learning environment can be setup based on trust, respect, and responsibility

- Students like to be treated like young adults, not babies

- Students will work harder when they know there will be some sort of accountability (more than a grade) at the end of it all

ONE SIZE FITS ALL?

- Not all students respond well to this type of teaching

- Some enjoy more traditional styles of learning

- Some don’t learn the content well through projects /hands-on activities

- Traditional assessments are oftentimes necessary

- Just like a teaching strategy of lecturing over and over again gets boring, so does the PBL

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR ME AS A TEACHER

- This experience has made me such a better teacher – having another teaching in the classroom with me ups the accountability!

- My teaching philosophy has changed drastically for the better!

- I used to be the strict, miserable teacher that ruled with an iron fist, now I’m existing in a classroom full of mutual respect and happiness!