Starting from scratch (sort of): bringing old ideas of inquiry and project based learning to life in a new building.

Session 3

Simon Hauger, Michael Clapper — The Workshop School

Lab D

Two co-founders of The Workshop School, a new public high school in Philadelphia, will lead a conversation about what project based learning looks and feels like when you have a chance to start a school. Simon Hauger, principal and co-founder, will talk briefly about the thrills and tensions of being a teacher at heart while working as a school district administrator in a new school; Michael Clapper, teacher and co-founder, will talk briefly about the thrills and tensions of trying to start a new school from within a classroom.
There are multiple areas where we’re making progress but would like to discuss with this audience: Simon Hauger 1. Great – I’ve made it as a teacher. Now I’m a principal. Sigh. What are the ways in which I’ve tried to bring my teaching practice to my new staff? How do I support teachers teaching within a brand new model?
2. One of the joys of the project based approach is the unexpected places the students travel to. But planning is critical, right? As a leader, how do I help teachers as they plan new projects and units? How do I balance the need for planning with the freedom necessary for projects to develop in unique ways?
Michael Clapper 3. Great – I’ve made it as a teacher. Now I get to teach in the way I’ve always wanted. Hooray! What are some of the new discoveries I’ve made alongside my students about the rewards and struggles of project based learning?
4. One major tension any school feels around project based learning is where the academics come from? What are the new ways we’ve found as a school to demonstrate the efficacy of this approach? How have we succeeded and where do we need help?

Conversational Practice

We are going to present two ideas each. We’re going to talk briefly about our experiences of starting the school by describing a tension we’ve felt in our past experiences and how we’ve attempted to resolve it this year. Once we’ve presented, audience members will have the option to offer advice or feedback, or to relay a story from their own experiences (we will ask them to identify which strand they wish to address). We will try to alternate types of comments from the audience, with a goal of generating two texts: one, a list of advice/feedback to be shared later, and two, a list of the common stories that emerge from starting a school.