Raising the 2011-2012 Tent Pole

The count down until the first day of school for teachers has entered the single digits.  And we are thrilled to once again be providing the “Integrated Exploratory” lens to students and parents who believe that investigation and authentic problem solving promote enhanced engagement in learning.  We will do a lot of both - investigation and authentic problem solving - this year.

Design thinking, the ‘crown jewel’ of this “Integrated Exploratory” class will once again figure prominently as it provides a synergistic process for problem solving across the curriculum as well as within social relationships.  We will kick-off our year with a design thinking workshop hosted by the Hasso Plattner Institute for Design on September 1^st.  Students will be immersed in the process as they engage with real problem solving situations in real time.  We are grateful to Rich Crandall and his colleagues at the d.school for once again making this opportunity possible.  Studios no longer can claim proprietary ownership of “design.”  Our program brings it into the classroom where it truly belongs.  Parents will be invited to experience a bit of this same process during Back to School Night on Tuesday, September 13^th.

The year will be broken into 5 integrated segments of approximately 7 weeks.  Each segment will feature a single Big Question into which 5^th grade curriculum standards and learning objectives have been woven.  In this way, we are able to promote retention and transfer of knowledge as students draw connections between disparate pieces of curriculum.  The idea here is to allow students to construct meaning by broadening and interrelating what they are learning.  At the end of each of the 5 segments, we will invite you to join us as we present findings at a Big Question Symposium.

Efforts have been made to include anecdotal assessment of the 7 Cs of 21^st Century learning in each activity.  These Cs (i.e. collaboration, creativity, communication, curiosity, cultivation citizenship, critical thinking) will be assessed in each Big Question product and all class projects.  And all products and projects, with the exception of mandatory participation in the annual CMS Science Fair, will be undertaken in class.  Students should not need or plan to work on classroom projects at home.

Thanks to an anonymous benefactor, we are pleased to have Lisa Dettloff (Passion for Inquiry) with us again this year.  She will provide a full array of science related investigations geared to 5^th grade curriculum topics and big questions.  We have tentatively scheduled her weekly visits on Monday afternoon.


For in depth information about the new school year, please visit our classroom website.

There are some important scheduling changes this year.  Please refer to Corte Madera's updated bell schedules for new recess and lunch times.   Some of these scheduling changes could possibly affect Integrated Exploratory programming.  If they do, I will be certain to alert parents right away.

So, the tent that was folded in June has now been raised over a new school year.  I look forward to a positive and productive year.