Wanny's Words: Eighth Graders’ International Architectural Design and Engineering Project

By Wanny Hersey

Superintendent/Principal at Bullis Charter School

Last week I had the pleasure of serving on the judging panel of our eighth grade students' 3-D school designs presentations for the international “School of the Future Design Competition” sponsored by the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI)   These middle school students used the Design Thinking process and technologies at the FabLab@BCS, such as the laser cutter, to create environmentally responsive school models during their Architectural Design and Engineering intersession.

As you know, BCS is committed to educating the whole child using curricula that is project-based, integrated across academic areas but specifically in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math), all with a focus on developing 21st century skills. But what I thought was most interesting for community members to see was that the 8th grade students were challenged to envision an innovative use of the Blach site where the Bullis Center for Innovation is presently located and to create a model that not only takes into consideration the learning and physical environments but also addresses how their proposal connects learning to their community so that the there is a mutually beneficial partnership.

The students also presented their designs to the BCS Board of Directors on Monday.  Board members, as well as many members of our local community, had the opportunity to see the amazing projects first-hand and ask students questions about the process.  We also congratulated the winning group who will work with their teachers to prepare for the regional level of competition next month!

Take a look at some of the amazing 3-D models!

Wanny's Words: Visit from the Singapore Ministry of Education

By Wanny Hersey

   Superintendent/Principal at Bullis Charter School

BCS had the pleasure of hosting members from the Singapore Ministry of Education at BCI on Wednesday for a tour and discussion about our innovative programs.  It was a tremendous honor to have this 19-member delegation visit our school because they were interested to see the best practices in American education in action, especially our project-based learning and design-thinking curricula that are integral to our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) program.

 

Students explain how they are designing and prototyping a 3-D prosthetic hand in the FabLab@BCS

The fifth and eighth grade students at BCI were eager to share what they were working on with members of the group.  Fifth graders were engaged in designing and prototyping a prosthetic hand in the FabLab@BCS, as part of their fully integrated unit about the human body. While in the FabLab@BCS, the educators from Singapore were also able to use the zSpace module to experience how being able take apart and assemble a mechanic hand and arm in 3D will help deepen the students’ understanding of the workings of those parts of the body as well as assist them in their own prosthetic hand designs. In art, the visitors watched our students add muscle groups to their wire and clay replicas of the human body - the same muscle group they were learning how to exercise and tone in Physical Education class.

A member from the Singapore Ministry of Education marvels at the detail of a student's clay sculpture replicating the human muscular system

Eighth graders were nearing the end of their 3-week Architectural Engineering Design Intersession. Members of the delegation observed as students worked in groups to design an environmentally responsive school for the national CEFPI School of the Future Design Competition.  The delegation members were extremely impressed with the students’ 3-D models and were especially interested in listening to students who shared about how they utilized the design-thinking process to create their aspirational school sites.

 

A student shares her architecture designs with members of the delegation from Singapore

The visiting members from the Ministry of Education asked students questions in each class we visited. Our students articulately responded to the inquiries about what they were learning and also discussed the habits of mind, character traits, and skills they develop as a result of the educational program at Bullis. They made quite an impression on the officials from Singapore who were inspired by our students, our teachers, and the world-class educational program that we provide.

8th graders answer questions during the about BCS and design thinking

I felt so much pride in Bullis and hope that you do too. It’s not always easy being a member of the Bullis community. Parents, staff, and students all work together and all work hard to ensure every child at Bullis has access to an incredible program. In watching our visitors marvel at what our kids can do, I was reminded of how special Bullis really is for redefining what’s possible in public education worldwide.

Wanny's Words - Math and the Common Core State Standards

By Wanny Hersey

Superintendent/Principal at Bullis Charter School

Schools across the country are shifting their instructional practices to align with the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) that have been widely adopted by 45 states in the U.S.  In California, districts have begun in earnest to modify their programs to better align with the English Language Arts and Math standards that aim to narrow the scope of skills taught in each grade level while providing a deeper understanding that promotes critical thinking to better prepare students for the 21st century.

As you know, this type of rigorous, in-depth understanding in all subjects has always been an expectation for our students at BCS, and we are thrilled to see a national movement that is also aligned to that end.

The BBC recently hosted a parent education forum with Philip Gonsalves, Director of Mathematics Curriculum and Instruction at West Contra Costa Unified School District, who talks to educators and parents throughout the state about math and the CCSS.

During his presentation, Philip highlighted the main shifts in mathematics instruction and the “8 Standards to Mathematical Practices,” which are the underpinnings for all math instruction in grades K-12:

1.     Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them

2.     Reason abstractly and quantitatively

3.     Construct valuable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

4.     Model with mathematics

5.     Use appropriate tools strategically

6.     Attend to precision

7.     Look for and use structure

8.     Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

As you can see, these practices are aimed at taking math instruction and learning from lower-level thinking (multiple choice answers, “drill and kill” instruction) to higher-level thinking (solving problems in multiple ways, requires non-algorithmic thinking).

At BCS, students use Everyday Math (EDM) in grades K-5 and progress to College Preparatory Math (CPM) in grades 6-8. Both programs are closely aligned with the CCSS, emphasizing deeper, conceptual understanding of mathematics and allow students to develop mastery through direct instruction, group problem-solving, and hands-on application.

Math instruction at BCS focuses on conceptual understanding to provide deeper learning opportunities at all grade levels

Our Leadership Team has been working with the Curriculum Leadership Council at the Santa Clara County Office of Education for the last 2 years to help lead the implementation of CCSS.  The team leaders have been providing workshops and teacher-to-teacher training to support our staff as they work to design lessons and assessments that are further aligned with the CCSS.  As you may have noticed, report cards for every grade level have also been re-written to reflect the CCSS this year.

Our team leaders noted early on that much of what we are doing at BCS, especially with our Project Based Learning (PBL) units, already integrate the CCSS.  Because we have teachers who are familiar with creating lessons that promote higher-level thinking, we have been asked to participate in local and statewide consortiums as educators in California work to update their curriculum instruction.  For example, we have teachers participating in the Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative (SVMI) to work with researchers and school leaders to provide the most effective math instruction.  And a small group of BCS teachers are collaborating with teachers from Portola Valley School District in a lesson study – an opportunity to design a lesson together, observe the other teachers deliver the lesson, and then provide feedback for their peers.

If you would like to learn more about what BCS has been doing in the area of CCSS, please attend our board meeting on Monday, January 6, 2014. 

Wanny's Words - Growth Mindset at BCS

By Wanny Hersey

Superintendent/Principal at Bullis Charter School

A recent article in Education Week explains the importance of what Carol Dweck, a Stanford University psychologist, calls growth mindset.  At BCS, growth mindset is part of our fundamental teaching philosophy which asserts that student ability can be developed through hard work and a commitment to learning.  The opposite of this - a fixed mindset - is the belief that a child’s ability is already set.  Individuals with a fixed mindset are far less likely to develop new skills and talents, or even improve the ones they have.

Last spring, our teachers worked together over the course of several staff meetings to read some of Dweck’s landmark research and to collaborate about how this can be further incorporated into our teaching methods, most notably in our Focused Learning Goals (FLGs).  An example of how a teacher might use the growth mindset is by emphasizing how a student worked toward a goal, rather than on the achievement of the goal itself:

(Reading Goal, 2nd Grade): STUDENT is making significant improvements in her verbal retells during guided reading groups, and as evidenced by her increased DRA level.  She is able to include most of the important characters, events and details in her summaries.  To challenge her further in coming months, she will communicate retells in written form.

Of course, the teachers are only one part of the equation - it is important for students and parents to adopt a growth mindset as well in order to instill a “love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment” (from Dweck’s website).  In the coming week, try using a growth mindset perspective with your child (if you don’t already), and see what happens!

A growth mindset can help your child develop a lifelong love of learning

Wanny's Words - Developing the Whole Child

By Wanny Hersey

Superintendent/Principal at Bullis Charter School

As many of you know, one of my favorite writers on child development is Madeline Levine, Ph. D. Dr. Levine is a child psychologist and co-founder of Challenge Success, a project of the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Her recent blog post “Six Things That Matter More Than Perfect Grades” (posted 9/3/13) succinctly captures the reasons why education should be about so much more than grades.

Since the inception of our charter school, we have emphasized and woven into our curriculum all six components that Dr. Levine includes in her list of things “that matter if we want our kids to have meaningful, productive, and moral lives:”

• Having Friends
• Character
• Resilience
• Interests/Passions
• Collaboration
• Self-Reflection

So many things our teachers do - from regularly reflecting with students on Focused Learning Goals to sharing their passions with students through co and extra-curricular classes - are designed to develop the whole child, or as Dr. Levine writes “a good person with a sense of purpose and meaning in the world.”

Focused Learning Goals (FLGs) are developed annually to identify specific outcomes in the academic, social/emotional, and passion for every student throughout his/her educational career at BCS. By implementing FLGs for all students, no matter what the grade or learning need, we are delivering on the mission for our school that is grounded in research and best practices.

The FLG process is unique to BCS, and is designed to do exactly what Dr. Levine believes to be important in a child’s development - provide opportunities to build resilience, develop specific interests and passions, and practice self-reflection. 

Teachers and students work together to develop the whole child at BCS