This summer we launched our inaugural Summer Design Lab. This three-day virtual workshop is for teachers already engaging in place-based learning in their classrooms. Teachers came to the workshop ready to plan projects for the upcoming school year, arriving with experience and momentum already in hand. Each morning, participants engaged in a structured design studio alongside two mentor teachers–current educators in our network of schools who are experts in implementing place-based projects in their classrooms. They shared successes and challenges from their own place-based projects, along with strategies they use to support place-based learning in their classrooms. In the afternoon, participants received one-on-one coaching from mentors.
Participants left with a working project plan built around their students, their standards, and their community. Teachers used a structured planning template to clarify driving questions, identify community partners, design public-facing products, and map out formative and summative assessment opportunities. The single-point rubric format, a tool that names clear criteria without prescribing a single “right” answer, became a touchstone for both project design and honest self-assessment throughout the lab. One participant, for example, left with a project rooted in forest erosion at her school site, where students will use the Question Formulation Technique to generate inquiry questions, work in small groups to investigate erosion control methods, and ultimately produce persuasive proposals presented to their school board and principal. The project connects to both science and ELA standards, with student choice built into nearly every phase.
As teachers head into the school year with drafts in hand and commitments to launch their projects, we are excited to see this work come to life in classrooms and communities across our network. We hope you’ll join us next summer for direct support and dedicated time to develop high-quality project plans for your school year.