Project-based Learning
Project-based learning (PBL) is an approach to learning that allows students to create and design projects based on standards. Research suggests that it has a positive impact on minority student achievement. This is due to the relationships, higher-order thinking skills, and relevance that these projects can have to the students and their communities.
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At Dominion Purpose Academy, relationships are developed with PBL through collaborative design thinking Purpose Projects that are developed in Design Labs. Designers will work together to design and implement problem solving passion projects.
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PBL is rigorous based on the interdisciplinary nature of projects and the need to use higher order Bloom’s Taxonomy coupled with Webb’s Depth of Knowledge.
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PBL will speak to relevance because students will engage with solutions that are relevant to their communities while working directly with community members.
Relationships
DPA will utilize Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Restorative Practices, and Servant Leadership to build relationships throughout the school community. This will promote school-wide collaboration in how students’ social, emotional, and behavioral needs are supported. Servant leadership will also allow students to build relationships within the community to impact their understanding of connecting knowledge, skills, and dispositions to the real world.
Rigor
DPA will use Design Thinking in both core and elective courses to allow for engaging and rigorous academics. Design Thinking is the instructional method that will undergird the project-based learning that students engage with as it requires higher order thinking skills and a greater depth of knowledge while providing various solutions to real-world challenges.
Purpose Projects (grounded in Design Thinking and 21st Century Skills) will be a special characteristic at DPA. We incorporate 21st century skills into our school-wide program based on the data from community engagement surveys, focus groups, and listening sessions. Also, including this in our program will prepare students for rigorous high schools that focus on college and career readiness.
Relevance
While servant leadership helps students to build relationships with the community, it also connects them to the relevance of their Design Thinking Purpose Projects that seek to provide current solutions to challenges within the community. Students will design a project that allows them to explore their purpose, see their place in the world and help others by using 21st century skills. Servant Leadership allows students to take their ideas from Design Thinking and implement them in the community. Students will work alongside their guides and community leaders who will evaluate and provide feedback on their ideas. Collaboration with the community will be paramount as the students work to solve real-world problems related to their lives.
Grades 4-8
Grades 4-8
Dominion Purpose Academy is designed in an developmentally appropriate way based on the standards from the Association of Middle Level Education.