Reimagining K12 Learning
What is the point of school?
My work focuses on development of a student’s internal compass, creativity, self-efficacy, and capacity for perseverance. I aim to reach grade K-12 students and teachers through my work.
Selected Modules & Lessons:
Click to view Identifying Goals/Stable Shapes Lesson Plan
Click to view Frame of Reference Lesson Plan
Any public educator’s task involves assessing and problem solving on a daily basis to serve students. I have worked with a variety of districts each unique in culture, demographics, and structure in the context of a rapidly evolving world.
The insights I have collected over the past 10 years through a design-led approach to teaching and learning have brought me to the working conclusion that the best way to educate students is to create learning experiences that facilitate their personal construction of meaning about the world, their place in it, and how to navigate through it.
I believe the purpose of school is for every student to leave with the tools and the knowing that they can achieve what it is they want to create for their life. Or, if they don’t know what that is yet, that at least they leave with the tools and confidence to figure it out.
As of 2022, I worked with hundreds of students directly, and through my collaborative projects and work with teachers will have reached thousands.
New Insights - New Questions
PBF Concept Map - Circles indicate concepts. Lines indicate relationships. Blue circles have 6 or more directly related concepts.
What is the relationship between problem-based learning, design thinking, and social emotional learning?
Does a non-linear process require non-linear teaching?
In 2019 I worked with K-12 teachers in Tenafly, NJ School District to lead three professional development workshops: Interdisciplinary PBL Integration, SEL Integration, and Intro to Design Thinking.
Teachers are the experts in terms of knowing their students, subject matter, and school context. I’ve shared SEL competencies, process skills, and taught them HOW to put these together with what they already know and do to create cross-disciplinary, problem-based learning experiences that create opportunities to build content-area and Social-Emotional Learning skills.
Example Interdisciplinary PBL Unit. Check out @msfranko for student experience & work samples.
Slide from SEL Integration Teacher Professional Development Workshop
Jan 2019 - Teaching how to integrate cross-disciplinary content into PBL experiences for students.
All feedback and suggestions welcome — Contact me!