The major vehicle of instruction at Da Vinci is Project Based Learning (PBL). The primacy of PBL as the vehicle for instruction is based on a firm conviction that students learn better when they see the relevance of skills and content. This is backed by a variety of research that demonstrates students retain knowledge better, gain deeper knowledge, show better test scores, and are more highly motivated when engaged in PBL than in traditional instruction (source, George Lucas Educational Foundation, www.glef.org)
Units of PBL instruction at Da Vinci will consist of the following:
A project or problem assignment based upon California Academic Content Standards
A selection of resources, experts, and necessary skills
Scaffolding assignments to assist students in accessing content and learning skills
Public demonstrations of solutions or products
Performance based assessments by teacher, student, peers, and guests using a system of Standards Based Rubrics
Student Assessment of self, their process and their product
A process which encourages student driven inquiry
PBL is a curricular approach that is a real world, hands on approach to solving problems: first learning and then applying subject matter content. Rather than relying solely on rote assignments from texts, quizzes and tests, students are issued challenging questions or problems to solve in which they must then apply the concepts they have learned. California academic content standards form the basis for the major requirements or components of the projects and are reflected in the standards-based rubrics students use to guide the construction and quality of their final project.
