User:Theonlytruemathnerd/sandbox
The Soundings Program is an educational curriculum approach developed for American middle school students that allows the students themselves to define a curriculum based on a theme that they themselves choose, and using metrics that they themselves devise.[1]
Description
Springer describes the program as "an integrative and democratic curriculum", referring to its cross-disciplinary approach to topics, and its student-selected themes and metrics. A visitor to the classroom in 2007, Professor Mike Muir, says that "Rarely, had (he) worked with students who were so articulate, involved with their learning, and so clear about what they were learning! It was amazing."[2]
Work
Soundings students do a large variety of thought-inducting activeties. Soundings time is split up into several areas. Every day, two students present the Class Log from the day before, which includes the summary for the day, who was absent, who visited the classroom, the Quote for the week, and the Log Question. The Log Question is a question that is put on the chalkboard every day, and can range from questions such as How do you know when you've learned something? What does it mean to be left- or right-brained? and What is the nervous system? Every day all of the students are expected to answer the Log Question, which is then discussed the next day. Twice a week two other students put a quote up on the chalkboard, and all of the students have two days to write a response. The main part of Soundings time is split up into Individual and Group Work Time. During Individual Work time students can work on a variety of projects, such as Focus Papers, Current Events, Self-Assessments, Individual Research Projects (IRPs), Lab Reports, and Log Questions and Quotes. During Group Work Time students work on Unit Work, the main group-related project, with IRPs as the individual counterpart, or Coffeehouses, where students present different genres of literature throughout the year.
Development
The program was developed by middle school educator Mark Springer at his school in Radnor, Pennsylvania beginning in 1998.[3] In 2006, he published a text on the program,[4] and in 2010, he retired from teaching to pursue full-time development and promotion of the program.[3] The program is currently being implemented by Dave Mercurio and Danielle Bajus.
Results
In reviewing various integrated curriculum approaches, the National Middle School Association's Susan Drake noted that Soundings students show no marked difference in standardized test scores,[5] but "Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the program, and high school teachers report that Soundings graduates appear to discuss topics at a more sophisticated level than students who have not been in the program."[5] In addition, students who have gone through the Soundings Program have gotten a higher GPA than non-Soundings students.
References
- ^ "Welcome to Soundings". Radnor Middle School. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ "A Visitor's View of Soundings". Radnor Middle School. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
- ^ a b "ASCD Presenter Bio: Mark Springer". ASCD. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ Springer, Mark (2006). Soundings: A Democratic, Student-Centered Education. National Middle School Association. ISBN 9781560902003.
- ^ a b Drake, Susan M; Burns, Rebecca C. (2004). Meeting Standards through Integrated Curriculum. National Middle School Association. p. 15. ISBN 9780871208408.