A critical transformation

Some critics of public education argue that schools today aren’t like they used to be. In reality, many schools are too much like they used to be. Today’s jobs need workers who can communicate and think, not pick the right answer from a multiple-choice test.

Fortunately, that’s changing – and perhaps nowhere is it more apparent than in northeast Indiana, where project-based learning is transforming classrooms, schools and entire districts to create critical thinkers and problem-solvers instead of test-takers.

Stories by Devon Haynie and Angela Mapes Turner published Sunday outlined the origin of the region’s education transformation – a generous share of a $20 million grant from the Lilly Endowment through the Talent Initiative – and its progress. Six New Tech High School programs are in place, and project-based learning is taking root in elementary, middle and high school classrooms throughout northeast Indiana.

Adams Central Community Schools in Monroe embraced the changes enthusiastically. The high school on the kindergarten through grade 12 campus is in the second year of conversion to a New Tech program and already has been selected as one of 20 national demonstration sites for the model, which is overseen by a non-profit group in Napa, Calif. A $10 million renovation at Adams Central has reconfigured and rewired classrooms to accommodate the new instruction model. The “tech” piece is a laptop computer for each student; the “new” piece is real-world instruction that makes learning relevant to students.

On Wednesday, Adams Central’s New Tech freshmen in biology and English were beginning a nutrition unit that will culminate in a project due before Thanksgiving. They are charged with demonstrating how to make healthy choices on a low-income budget, creating menu plans for a local food bank. Biology teacher Mike Hower and English teacher Katie Isch used a fantasy football-style draft to set up the project groups.

Hower said concerns about group work and its effect on grades are one fear parents have about project-based learning, but he said the students catch on quickly, recognizing that almost everyone has talents to bring to the final project. The challenge for teachers is structuring a project so every student understands what they already know and what they will need to know to complete a project. Hower said he realized his approach was working when a group of students confronted him after class one day to demand lesson information.

“I used to stand up in front of the class and lecture on this topic and the kids were, like, ‘yeah, whatever,’ but here they were demanding to know it,” he said.