In a Project Academy four week mission, students are project managers in charge of selecting, planning, revising and reflecting upon their plan of work. In week one, students jump into action selecting a problem from a range of inquiry options. Once selected, students make a plan of work, join an interest group, and add to the class-wide discussion about overarching issues. After four weeks of researching their problem and crafting a product, students use group and instructor feedback to prepare their project to be displayed in the school-wide showcase. Throughout the experience, instructors provide regular, personalized feedback focused on documenting growth. Schools and parents receive a final report which includes interaction and writing grades as well as a detailed description of student growth.
At a Glance: Project Academy
- Tier Two, Extension Curriculum
- A Community Passionate about Your Students’ Interests
- 20 hours of Online Instruction
- Students spend four to five hours per week completing activities
- Cost: Schools & Parents ($125)
PROJECT A COURSES
Matching Programming to Student Need
Project A is designed for students passionate about the topic and interested in testing the waters of online learning. As a Tier Two option, Project A missions are meant to extend the learning happening in core curriculum areas.
Successful Students
- Balance Time and Challenge: Self-motivation, follow-through, and time management are key. Activities are designed to require 3-6 hours each week.
- Dig Deeply: Courses delve deeply into a theme, use higher-level thinking skills as learning targets, and highlight multidisciplinary connections.
- Understand Their Own Process: Retention of content is a happy side effect of our process-driven approach. Successful students openly articulate their learning process, recognize they are not always correct, and continue to respectfully and constructively question.
- Consume Text and Media Wisely: Reading is thought of as a meaning driven process, which changes depending on the purpose. A balanced approach to student-chosen and class-wide readings culminates in contemplative conversations. Success requires the sifting and winnowing of large amounts of resources. Reading several books while also doing research is very common.
- Effectively Communicate: In an online setting, written communication expands beyond the realm of formal papers and becomes the tool through which students articulate their position, share personal stories, build consensus, and deviate from the norm. Successful students write continuously incorporating logic, research or personal stories as support.