Betsy, My contract for Spring grading is to complete the assignments required for a 'C' grade, plus add the following additional projects: 1. Summarize a workshop I pulled together for elementary teachers in our area on "Career Awareness" in the classroom. I worked with our SW School to Work Consortium coordinator to plan and carry out this workshop that took place last Wednesday, March 31. I will summarize on paper and give a presentation at a future ITV class.

2. Present a program at our next Specialization training on "Connecting Businesses and Schools". Along with an educator from a Minneapolis-based non-profit organization called, "Youth Trust", we will highlight ways Extension and other 'connecting' agencies can help schools and businesses work together on projects that benefit both students and communities. My part will be to highlight the local School to Work site team that I currently chair in my county, and particularly the Shadow program I work on with a high school guidance counselor in our school.

I will also post this on the web. Will you let me know if this meets the criteria for an 'A' grade?

Also, Betsy, I am very interested in Project-based Learning as a thesis project. Can you give me any ideas as to a possible direction to focus research? Any other ideas on connections across the state would be appreciated. I've found some wonderful web sites and know the School to Work people in SW MN are very interested and willing to help me.

Thanks, Kari Fruechte

-- Anonymous, May 06, 1999

Answers

The ideas for completion of A grade contracts look fine.

I've been looking in my research conference program for project based learning because you had mentioned it before, but I can't find references indexed that way. I will keep trying to figure out what is another way that topic could be labeled.

In the meantime, why don't you do a few searches on the internet looking under the title of "Best Practices" in teaching. Two very extensive web sites that I'm sure I've seen references to what I think is project-based learning is the "Center for Applied Linguistics" and the "National Literacy Education Clearing House." Another place to look may the web site from MN Dept of Children, Families, and Learning because a part of the controversial graduation standards have to do with "alternativee" ways to show learning through projects! Good Luck!

-- Anonymous, May 07, 1999