Measures

MEASURES keys to success in place-based learning by James Lewicki (Adapted)

Measurable lifelong-learning skills are embedded in an academic core. These include the skills to:

- follow an interest with a passion
- be able to precisely observe, record, and analyze data
- be a tenacious learner
- demonstrate effective collaborative skills
- recognize and utilize dynamic systems
- develop an intellectual balance of skepticism and openness
- use the power of intuition along with the discipline of deduction
- be able to cooperate through a shared dilemma
- draw conclusions independent of authority
- tolerate ambiguity
- select problem-solving strategies appropriate to a complex task

Effort is obvious and public.
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." Mark Twain

Aligned with clear academic standards.
Open inquiry is active learning, and clear academic standards can keep a student focused.

Student opportunity for initiative, simply put, is endless.
"Practice precedes the possibility of observation and formulation; the results of practice must accumulate before mind has anything to observe." John Dewey

Understood by parents and the community.
Constantly bridging the gaps between school, home, and community is an active ingredient of a worthy place-based project. Parents, besides wanting to know what is learned, will often contribute to the learning itself.

Reflection time for establishment of meaning is built-in; preparatory project understanding is critical. Hands-on learning is only as powerful as the meaningfulness derived from all that activity. To be able to step back and ask, "What worked?" and "What didn't work?" can make all the difference.

Evidence is clear, credible, and compelling, leading to future endeavors. How can you prove to me that you know something? Show me, demonstrate, explain so that I can learn, and -- above all -- convince me that what you accomplished with that place-based project moved you forward in your understanding of the world. Finally, a completed project, in the end, will bring up more questions than it answers.

Sustainable learning beyond the expectations of adults, for learning's sake itself.
Sandi's poem ->
Have You Ever . . . ?
Have you ever stopped to look
to see what you could see?
Have you ever really wondered,
what maybe could be?
Have you ever sneaked a glance,
at wild birds in the sky?
Have you ever seen a stand of oaks
and stopped to wonder why?
Have you ever seen a river,
a-winding off afar?
Have you ever walked upon a ridge,
and wondered where you are?
Have you ever counted colors,
as you strolled along the way?
Have you ever witnessed fall,
and its colorful array?
Have you ever stopped to look,
to see what you could see?
Have you ever really wondered,
how it changes you and me?

"Desire is creation, is the magical element in that process. If there were an instrument by which to measure desire, one could foretell achievement." Willa Cather