Kindergarten students were excited to show off their custom-designed habitats to fellow AlexGreen Design Technology Elementary students. This hallway habitat showcase was the culmination of a weeks-long project-based learning unit designed by the fabulous teachers at our school! Project-based learning is one of the teaching strategies being embraced as part of our school's magnet programs. Through hands-on discovery and creativity, project-based learning (PBL) enables students to demonstrate mastery by applying content standards to create authentic products.
Working from the state education standards, teachers craft a "driving question" that provides a purpose for students and promotes interest in the project challenge. In this unit, the driving question was How can we, as ecologists, create a model habitat to show how plants and animals meet their needs? To pique student interest and encourage subject-matter research, students went on a virtual journey to the Nashville Zoo. Students worked on their projects in groups fostering important 21st century skills like collaboration and creativity. Final projects were displayed in the hallways and proudly presented by their makers to students and staff throughout the school.
Alex Green Design Technology Elementary is a Pre-K through 5th grade public school welcoming students from across Davidson County. For more information and to schedule a tour contact Magnet Coordinator Kay Simpson
[email protected] or 615.876.5105