Tag: project-based-learning

Head’s Corner: Power of Agency

Agency- Latin agentia “ability,” and ag(ere) “to do, drive”

Over the Winter Break, I received several emails from parents sharing with me a New York Times opinion piece they felt described Saklan perfectly. The article “Giving Kids Some Autonomy Has Surprising Results” should not be a surprise to anyone familiar with our work at Saklan.

“Agency” is a core value at Saklan. Students having “voice and choice” in their learning is a central tenet of Project Based Learning and our approach to SEL. Student agency honors students’ experiences and curiosities while giving them a locus of control over their lives. In short, it creates “buy-in” to learning. 

According to surveys by the Brooking Institution, very few students feel they have control over what they are learning. “The more time they spend in school, the less they feel like the author of their own lives, so why even try.”

In a majority of classrooms today, teachers introduce a topic and share with students what they will be learning. They have their standards to check off and material to cover. Just looking at those two sentences feels dispiriting.

Why not introduce a topic, ask students what they know about the topic (they know so much more than we often realize), and ask them what they want to investigate next? There are subtle differences between these two approaches, but student engagement is markedly different in the one that gives agency.

Giving agency raises academic standards by requiring students to invest in their own learning, reflect on their progress, and course-correct. If that sounds familiar, it is what we do as adults in our working lives. 

Agency creates a love of learning and a love in learning- and as if that is not enough to convince society that this is the right approach to education then a look at our standardized testing data should convince the doubters. 

Portraits of Kindergarten

In art class, kindergartners recently worked on representing themselves through portraits. First, students observed well-known self-portraits by Vincent VanGogh and Frida Kahlo, and then used the art elements of line, shape, and color to create their own self-portrait drawings.

Next, the kindergartners observed the artwork of contemporary artist Cindy Sherman, who photographs herself dressed up as different imagined characters. In collaboration with their PBL unit exploring the driving question of “How can learning about each other’s names make us better friends?” students planned their own Cindy Sherman-inspired photoshoot that visualized the meaning and stories behind their names. Each student posed for photographs wearing costumes and props that not only represented their names but that superbly matched their unique personalities. Check out their photos below! 

#SaklanProjectBasedLearning

Amazing Tour Guides

Last week, the preschoolers were very excited to welcome their parents, buddies, and other community members into their classroom for their Nocturnal Animal Project Culmination.

The Owlets spent two months learning about nocturnal animals after a student brought up the concept during circle time at the beginning of the year. The other students had a lot of prior knowledge about animals and were very interested in learning about animals that are more active at night, so the teachers designed a project based on their natural curiosities.

As part of their project, the Owlets took on the role of surveyors, going around the school to ask other classes an important question: Which garbage collector is your favorite—raccoon, opossum, or skunk? After gathering all the votes, they counted them together as a class. It was a close race, but in the end, the preschoolers discovered that Saklan’s favorite animal is… the raccoon!

During the project, the Owlets created an Owlet Wildlife Center, after learning about Lindsay Wildlife’s Rehab Hospital. During their study they learned an important lesson: once an injured animal heals, vets usually release it back into its natural habitat. With this in mind, it was time to return the now-healed animals in their care. Maggie’s hippo and Shay’s hairy cow were delivered with care back to their “homes.” Maggie and Shay were so happy to be reunited with their stuffies, and the Owlets were just as excited to see their hard work pay off!

To get ready for the culmination, the Owlets reviewed all the facts they had learned by creating colorful infographic posters. Their attention to detail was spot on as they helped color the giant animal drawings, carefully choosing the real-life colors of each animal. In addition to coloring the posters, they did some fun math with them, measuring the length and width of the animals using unit cubes.

Finally, all their learning and hard work came together for their Nocturnal Animal Culmination, which was a great success! Teachers, parents, and buddies were all very proud of the Owlets. They were amazing tour guides, confidently sharing everything they’ve learned.

Head’s Corner: We Are “Really Doing It”

Last year, a Saklan Trustee and I had the privilege of attending the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) Heads and Trustees Conference. This annual gathering brings together nearly 500 school leaders and trustees, all focused on learning, sharing ideas, and discussing the future of independent schools.

During one of the many breakout sessions, we found ourselves mingling with trustees and heads from other independent schools, exchanging experiences and posing questions to each other. Among all the conversations that day, one in particular stood out. As we discussed various educational models, the topic of Project Based Learning (PBL) came up. A fellow school leader, well-acquainted with the educational landscape of the Bay Area, turned to the group and said: “There are lots of schools in the Bay Area claiming to be PBL schools, but Saklan is the only one really doing it.”

This simple statement was a powerful reminder of how far we’ve come. When we embarked on this journey to make PBL a cornerstone of Saklan’s approach, our goal wasn’t just to enhance academic rigor and engagement. We aimed to redefine what rigor and high engagement should look like in a modern school setting.

This week, we took another step in that journey by officially launching a video that showcases the incredible work we’ve been doing at Saklan. This is more than just a celebration of our accomplishments; it’s an invitation for others to see how we’re shaping the future of education—where students are deeply engaged, challenged, and, most importantly, truly prepared for the world ahead.

At Saklan, we’re not just talking about Project Based Learning. We’re living it. And we’re proud to say—we’re really doing it.

Warmly, 

David

#HeadsCorner

Egypt + Humanities

Written by Guest Blogger & Saklan Project Curriculum Instructional Coach and 6th grade Humanities Teacher, Linda Lathrop

If you read the blog post from Saklan Science Specialist, Vickie Obenchain, on September 13th, or followed along with our adventures via Instagram, you know a bit about our 2 weeks exploring Egypt with the help of an excellent Egyptologist. The goal of our trip was to soak in as much information as possible and bring our experiences back to enrich classroom curriculum. 

Back at Saklan it was a pleasure watching the 8th graders apply knowledge from our hot air balloon trip over Luxor to their hot air balloon experiments in science. I know Vickie is looking forward to sharing all about camel adaptations with the 2nd graders during their animal adaptations PBL unit, and I even recently shared with 7th grade a presentation on the Library of Alexandria as part of their Community Spaces PBL unit too!

However, I can’t help but be most excited about how our trip informs the 6th grade humanities PBL unit: Artifact or Art Opinion. 

In this unit we explore the driving question, “Who does art really belong to?” To kick off our unit we imagine ourselves at the Met Gala of 2018. Believe it or not, a viral photo from that event helped uncover that the Met paid nearly $4 million dollars for a looted Egyptian artifact- the golden coffin of a high priest named Nedjemankh. 

In sixth grade over the next 7 weeks we will dive into researching specific Egyptian artifacts held outside of Egypt, explore the arguments for and against repatriation of artifacts, and learn directly from archaeologists and museum experts. In the end students will have developed arguments for how they believe the driving question is best answered- stay tuned! 

Thanks to our incredible summer experience in Egypt, this year students will get to expand upon the resources I have used in previous iterations of this PBL unit. I’ll be able to share my photos of ancient temples and tombs that speak directly to their classroom research, as well as video clips with mini lectures from our Egyptologist, to enrich the PBL experience. 

One additional highlight of the trip was visiting an after school program called the Funtasia Project in Luxor. A handful of these programs exist around the world and are designed to engage students in project work after school. This particular site in Luxor also collaborates with local schools and teachers to extend project learning into the academic day. We met with the leaders of the organization, as well as some students who took us on a bike tour through the neighborhood and later shared about the impact the program has had on their lives and educational experience. It was fascinating to learn that across an ocean and thousands of miles, there are students working to build their collaboration, communication, and complex thinking skills through project work, just like we are doing here at Saklan. 

It is hard to put into words all the ways witnessing these incredible historic sites has impacted what we can bring back to Saklan students. I remain humbled by the opportunity to attend this professional development trip and look forward to continued opportunities to weave our learning into Saklan units. 

Saklan Projects!

To learn more about project work at Saklan please join us for Saklan Projects! on Tuesday, October 22 at 6:00 p.m. This virtual presentation is for current and prospective families! During the event you will hear more about how teachers design projects to address learning goals and maintain academic rigor while providing immersive, joyful learning experiences for your children. RSVP today to receive the event link!

#SaklanPBL