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. |
