The Three Pillars in Action: J-Term at Hazen Union

Workshop Notes:

Three Pillars in Action: A Hazen Union Middle Level Example Arne Hagman Allison Paradee John Craig Susan Hennessey

Hazen Union Middle Level students and faculty engaged in a J-term this June, modeled after the work from Lyndon Institute and many other schools throughout Vermont. Teachers worked to create authentic, hands-on, applied learning seminars based off the interests, strengths, and passions of our students; seminars were led by staff and community members to provide opportunities for meaningful learning experiences that are different from what already exists in our school’s curriculum offerings. Join us as we share our process and resources in this whole-school effort to create personalized, proficiency-based, flexible pathways for our students. CIA2 Flexible Pathways, CIA 4 Proficiency

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John Craig: principal at Hazen Union

Allison Paradee: social studies teacher at Hazen Union

Susan Hennessey: Tarrant partner teacher for Hazen Union

Resources:

• “J-Term at Hazen Union” (Tarrant blog post about this project)
• J-Term Parent Night Slideshow

Focus:

Community-based interdisciplinary unit (was an Action Research project from MGI 2016)

This includes personalization and flexible pathways

PLP’s are how students share out their journeys

Starting-points:

MGI think-tank with Hazen Union representatives

Book club with the Buck Institute’s Gold Standard PBL book

Transparency with community about the project (sharing the why/how/what of J-Term)

Brain-based learning and Act 77 both inform the process and practice of J-Term

Process:

• Hurdles:
• Schedule
• Community support (parent buy-in)
• Developing an expert network (community members, teachers, etc.)
• Bringing in experts who can support student inquiry (heavy machinery, automotive, etc.)
• Which transferable skills do students focus on
• Seminar choices:
• Students fill out a Google Form to develop results based on their interests (this disallows students from simply making groups based on friendships)
• Based on Google Form results, students choose seminars from the handbook
• Building up to a J-Term celebration night
• Students knew the deadline and expectations for sharing their learning and connecting to their PLPs
• Students practiced presenting their J-Term learnings before the big night

Outcomes:

• Students learning!
• Large range of learning experiences:
• “The art of mountain biking” (maintenance, trail construction, riding skills)
• CPR certification w/ EMT crew
• Independent study projects
• Studio art
• Automotive
• Gardening
• Community support:
• The celebration of J-Term this year was “one of the biggest celebration of learning (other than high school graduation) in the past decade.”
• An “all call” went out to parents/community members to invite them to the J-Term celebration night (school night) and social media was used to promote it
• Celebration:
• Make sure it’s heavily promoted to bring in parent/community support
• Authentic audience: big part of motivating students to step up
• Students each have iPads (with PLP site - was Google Sites - or some reflections on display). Some students make iMovies, slideshows, trifolds, or even displays of the learning to showcase the learning
• Table handouts asking for feedback from those attending the celebration night