Delivering essential standards-based curriculum in a way that connects with students

Over the summer, River Grove’s Teaching Team has collaborated in depth to expand Project-Based Learning (“PBL”) at our K-6 charter school, located just outside Marine on St. Croix, MN. The enhanced educational platform is built around the concept that students learn by engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects. 

How is this PBL Program Perfectly Suited for River Grove? 
Building on existing plans, our teachers have designed a program for 2022-23 in which all students will take part in two large scale, age-appropriate group projects — one per semester. The projects will be centered around the concept of “Seasons of River Grove,” covering topics such as “The Winter Forest,” “The Sky Above,” “Growing Things,” “Our Town,” “Our River Grove Home,” and “Rivers and Dams.” Standards-based core curricula — earth and physical sciences, local history, math, reading and writing, music, and art — and are all incorporated into answering the “Big Questions” that are posed at the start of each project.

Frequently during the school year, local community organizations and experts will come to campus to talk with students, or students will venture out on field trips to informative, pertinent sites such as the St. Croix River, museums, farms, or wildlife centers. Friday afternoons will be focused, uninterrupted blocks of time for students to focus on current projects.

Each student will work in groups, learning 21st century skills of collaboration, using important roles such as researcher, recorder, timekeeper, or materials manager. Students will also find time to work independently, bringing their contributions back to the group. River Grove’s philosophy of “PRIDE” will play center stage during the whole process:

• Perseverance (have a growth mindset and don’t give up);
• Respect (treat yourself, others, and your environment with kindness);
• Integrity (do the right thing even when no one’s there);
• Discovery (be curious!);
• Excellence (always do YOUR best).

Ta-Da! Presenting a Showcase of Learning
Two River Grove school-wide celebrations will be held during the academic year for students to show products, share a publication, give performances, or do demonstrations.  We look forward to sharing our students’ successes with parents, families, and our community! Showcase dates will be announced after the start of the school year.

Led by a team of researchers, teacher educators, scientists, and education advocates (representing Hamline University’s School of Education and Leadership, Freshwater, and the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment), River Grove’s K-6 teachers will join other educators from around the region in a professional development opportunity that will benefit students, teachers, and administrations.

Beginning in late summer 2022, the three immersive “teacher field school” retreats will be held at Warner Nature Center in Marine on St. Croix, MN. Nature right outside our doors gives educators opportunities that are not found inside a classroom. It is well documented that outdoor education for children leads to approaching topics with more curiosity, helping students advance as learners with life-long skill sets. Working as a team during the seminars, teachers and school leaders will investigate how to align existing curriculum to nature-based teaching practices.

Specific topics will include:

• Meeting academic standards
• Deepening an understanding of multidisciplinary teaching
• Grounding work in equity-oriented approaches
• Gaining practice in creating high-impact, nature-based lessons and activities

At the retreats, teachers will draw from existing curriculum and lessons. They will learn strategies for using nature as a context to deepen engagement, fully explore any content subject, and gain practice in multidisciplinary instruction to increase academic engagement to improve student outcomes. The teachers will set individual and team goals, and they will make plans to share their learning with colleagues.

The goal is to equip teachers with tools, skills, and the confidence to use whatever context and natural setting available to them to deepen students’ engagement in any subject. This work will rejuvenate and revitalize the teachers’ passion for teaching by providing professional development based in River Grove’s mission and vision.

Since the school’s inception, River Grove has been making use of the many 900-acre Wilder Forest amenities to take kids outside for learning. Our teachers are excited to put the retreat’s innovations into practice and continue to lead the local outdoor project-based education movement.