Alison McNee – Page 5 – Chrysalis School

Project-Based Learning

May 15, 2015 By:Alison McNee

Research: The objective of project-based learning is to engage students in projects that will help them learn content and skills in ways that traditional nose-to-textbook methods can’t offer. When learning is connected to real world situations it becomes relevant to students’ lives and provides the foundation for deeper, more joyful learning, and better retention. Aside from building critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, project-based learning also encourages independence, collaboration, communication, goal-setting, and creativity.

Practice: Project-based learning is a critical avenue for students whose learning style favors kinesthetic or “hands-on” activities. Our students take up a myriad of projects each year at all ages and grades, ranging from constructing a milk jug igloo to better understand geometry, to combining a Physics of Flight course with actual flying lessons to understand the principles of physics, to participating in a crime to learn about forensic science. By engaging themselves in every detail of a project, students learn lessons they’ll never forget. It’s not only fun…it’s learning at its finest!

Senior Nate Pollak- Where is He Going and What is He Doing?

May 14, 2015 By:Alison McNee

Nate Pollak is at home at Chrysalis – this is likely why he chose to go to Fairhaven at Western Washington University. If you want to find Nate, check the activity room, but be ready to look around, because he is never just with one person. He flows in and out of different social groups and navigates a variety of friends and experiences. When asked about Chrysalis, he often cites how much he appreciates the flexibility and small classes. He credits Chrysalis for his belief in himself and his desire to pursue more education after high school. Nate says he chose Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies in Bellingham precisely because it reminds him of Chrysalis. We have appreciated Nate’s smiles, confidence and strength. We wish him great success next year at Fairhaven!

Happiness

May 8, 2015 By:Alison McNee

Research: The World Happiness Report was released last week with the purpose of assessing quality of life to measure national progress and inform future policy making for the well-being of society. It dedicates a chapter to the well-being of children and concludes that emotional development—not academic achievement—is the best predictor in determining whether a child becomes a satisfied adult. It recommends that schools focus on well-being to nurture children’s emotional health by developing trust, practicing empathy, stressing the use of praise, and emphasizing mutual respect, kindness, and play.

Practice: At Chrysalis we know that the foundation for learning is based on two very important things: (1) individual well-being, and (2) engagement. When a child isn’t well, they cannot perform at their potential, despite their capacity. When a student isn’t engaged and doesn’t buy in to the work they’re doing, they achieve less. Our goal is to provide a safe, positive, and stable environment for kids to assure their happiness in school. When kids are happy and engaged we are given the opportunity to stretch their abilities, deepen their learning, foster their success, and provide joy in learning.

Our Beloved Smartphones Prevent Sleeping

January 23, 2015 By:Alison McNee

Research: A new st udy focuses on the effect of small screens (phones and tablets) on children’s sleep and concludes that they are worse for sleep than television screens. The problem is that we hold them closer to our faces, which prevents the increase of melatonin that drives us to fall asleep. They are also more interactive, which tells our brains to stay alert.

Practice: The prevailing recommendation for children and teens is to remove technology (TVs, computers, phones, tablets, etc.) from their bedrooms at night. Having a technology curfew is one great way for parents to protect their sleep. Teens especially just can’t resist the temptation of getting to the next level on their favorite video game or checking who “liked” their last post. This is where we as parents have to step in to ensure their ability to function the next day and their overall health.

A New Vision of Schooling

January 9, 2015 By:Alison McNee

Research: I was taken aback by a recent opinion piece in which James Delisle proclaims that differentiation is a farce. These are strong words for a practice we believe is so fundamental to learning! He agrees that the theoretical benefits of differentiation are great: determining what students know and still need to learn, allowing students to demonstrate what they know in multiple ways, and encouraging depth and complexity in the learning/teaching process. But in practice, it simply cannot be implemented in the traditional heterogeneous classroom where so many types of learners are lumped together.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/01/07/differentiation-doesnt-work.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS1

Practice: Herein lies the qualification of his claim. When we think of schools and classrooms in traditional ways, he’s right—differentiation cannot take place. It can work, however, when we create a new vision of schooling. At Chrysalis differentiation is an inherent part of our program. It is a natural element of the individualized class and can easily be incorporated into small groups that group students according to ability. (Maybe we should invite him in to show him how it’s done!)

Middle School

December 12, 2014 By:Alison McNee

Research: Middle school is a fascinating time in the course of child development. During this period, the section of the brain that’s in charge of organizing, decision-making, analyzing, and judging, is in the process of reorganization. This means that the part of the brain that monitors emotions is in charge of where information goes, which can spell trouble for learning. Author Heather Wolpert-Gawron underlines the importance of having teachers who understand and enjoy middle schoolers during this years. Teachers who can tap into their need to socialize and see their natural self-absorption as an interest to work with will be most successful. Humor, productive feedback, flexibility, and support are crucial during this period.

Practice: Our middle school program encompasses the 7th and 8th grades and is all about keeping our students engaged and preparing them for high school. Seventh graders spend 4 days at SC and Fridays at our high school campus, where they start to gain familiarity with the environment, staff, and students. Our 8^th graders make the full transition to the high school, where they take courses with their cohort and begin to interact with the upperclassmen. In preparation for a successful high school experience, they take a personalized study skills class and are taught school guidelines and cultural expectations during this very formative year. Our middle school teachers are rock stars! They love this squirrely bunch and even travel back and forth between the two campuses to maintain continuity.

Thinking Differently

December 5, 2014 By:Alison McNee

Research: David Flink, an advocate for children with learning challenges, recently posted an article and video based on his book, “Learning Differently.” He argues, “…we must accept that one in five children think differently. It is absurd to admonish children with learning disabilities to ‘simply try harder,’ and detrimental and debilitating to cheerlead them along, without acknowledging that in our current school structure they begin at a deficit.” By approaching learning differences from a deficit perspective, we undermine a child’s potential. The most important thing we can do for them is understand their challenges, teach them the tools and introduce the accommodations to allow them to be successful, and encourage them to advocate for their own needs.

Practice: Flink refers to a need for adults to be “learning detectives” to best serve a child’s needs. In our admissions process we ask our students a lot of questions, probing to get a sense of how they learn best so we can match them with the right teachers. Then the work is transferred to our teachers, who are true learning detectives. They help our students identify what works best, implement any accommodations they need to be successful, and develop tools that they can use for the rest of their lives.

Strong Relationships Equals Strong Schools

November 21, 2014 By:Alison McNee

Research: The Seattle Times sponsored an Education Lab over the last year to look at what works in schools to boost student achievement. They presented their findings in Sunday’s paper. The themes they found included strong relationships with caring adults, teacher buy-in about the school’s philosophy, and flexibility to attend to students’ needs. They conclude, “squeezing 1 million Washington kids through a single curriculum or instructional style is a strategy guaranteed to fail. The most dynamic [schools] trust educators to adapt to the specific needs of the pupils sitting before them.”

Practice: Our teachers are incredible professionals. We trust them to make the right call with their students and allow them the flexibility with their curricula and methods to change gears at any time to respond to student needs, even within the course of a single session. Not only are they highly skilled in the art of teaching, but they also provide mentorship and guidance for their students to help build upon their strengths and character.

One-On-One Instruction

November 14, 2014 By:Alison McNee

Research: In 1984 Benjamin Bloom of the University of Chicago concluded that one-on-one instruction was the most effective way to learn. Bloom found that consistent feedback, corrective processes, timely remediation of miscommunication, reinforcement, encouragement, and active participation in learning led to higher student achievement, positive attitudes toward learning, and positive academic self concept. His research remains salient today, as researchers scramble to find solutions that can challenge his results in traditional classrooms.

Practice: Our 30 years of experience endorse the value of one-on-one instruction. People often ask, how can you squeeze a week’s worth of material into one hour of instruction? The power of one-on-one instruction allows us to do just that. Our group classes are small and personal. They necessarily meet for longer periods, but continue to incorporate the elements of instruction that Bloom considered essential to the learning process.

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