Exciting Examples of Project-Based Learning in the Northeast - Posted by Cady Staff

There is an inspiring collection of schools in the Northeast working on exciting projects with their students. They are a concentrated group of innovators and collaborators at Darlington Learning Village, George Stephenson High School, Cramlington Learning Village and Park View School.

Darlington is challenging every department to use project-based learning strategies to design meaningful projects for their students. They are planning to get the structures and support in place for project-based learning to take root in Year 7. Currently, they are planning a day-long workshop (in June) inviting student leaders from a variety of schools developing project-based learning. These student leaders will be trained in critique and project planning to support the further development of project-based learning at their school sites around the area.

George Stephenson High School has a program called iLearn that takes students out of their ability groupings to focus on collaboration and skill-building in Year 7. They are looking to strengthen their iLearn projects even more and use more critique to create beautiful work across Year 7 during iLearn and beyond. They know that if iLearn goes well, students will crave more meaningful projects as they move throughout their high school experience.

Cramlington Learning Village has been a leader of innovation and project-based learning for some time.  When I mention working on project-based learning in England, I am often asked if I have visited the Cramlington Learning Village. I can now say that I have. There is consistently more impressive student work being displayed around the school with each new project (the picture above and to the right is an example of a school-wide project displayed recently). They are working on tuning projects across the school to promote more quality project work. They are also gearing up for their Fortnight (two-weeks of intensive projects across the school that students sign up for in completely re-mixed groupings) which will take place in June.

Park View is also using project tunings and critique to strengthen the projects they are working on and to present beautiful work. There is a great focus on making community connections and improving the community surrounding the school (and in the wide world beyond). There are strong local community connections being made, as well as school links with a school in Nigeria. I was so impressed with the work I saw in one of the Year 12 classes working on a project inspired by Randy Scherer’s Tagature Project. The students in Alison Moore’s class were creating beautiful work and giving thoughtful kind, helpful and specific feedback to each other, strengthening next drafts.

There is really so much to celebrate in the Northeast. I am looking forward to returning in June to see how their projects are developing further and to be a part of the workshop for student leaders at each school site. If you are interested in exciting innovation going on in UK schools, I highly recommend a trip to the Northeast (with a stop off at the Angel of the North, on your way).