LAAAE 2008-2009 Student Accountability Report Card (SARC)
Student Demographics
- 91% Latino
- 6% African American
- 3% Asian
Design-Based Learning
- focuses on challenging, multidisciplinary curriculum
- engages students in complex, real-world projects through which students develop and apply skills and knowledge
- Requires students to draw from many disciplines in order to solve problems
- encourages student decision-making
- problems are presented without a predetermined solution
- students are in charge of accessing and managing the information that they gather
- reflection and evaluation take place continuously
- classroom has an atmosphere that tokrates error and change
- links curriculum and projects to standards
- results in academic excellence
The 6th grade participates in Civilization Building, a curriculum of standards-based lessons and activities encouraging creative design and problem-solving for the young adolescent. An open-ended, three dimensional, physical simulation provides a context for authentic activities that are mapped to the CA content area standards. The curriculum is presented in stages encompassing the school year. Each stage represents a logical progression in the evolution of civilization. Focusing on higher level thinking skills, lessons encourage insight and creative solutions for problems posed.
LAAAE sixth graders design movement, shelter, and protection to meet a criteria list brainstormed to determine needs and don't wants of a never-before-seen civilization.
Designing Polyhedraville requires measuring edges, counting vertices, calculating surface area, and performing a cost analysis on structures built for the civilization.
Designing, presenting, and evaluating never-before-seen shelters provides a context
for comparing and contrasting their own ideas to Ancient Roman villas prior to visiting the Getty Villa in Malibu.