New Program at Nobleboro Central School Lets Students Have a Say

A new student program at Nobleboro Central School lets students in grades six through eight have “voice and choice” in what they’re learning as part of the implementation of

proficiency-based education, according to Principal Ann Hassett.

In Be A Learner, a program new this school year, students make use of a dedicated period each school day to investigate, research, and create in areas of their own

choosing within certain broad, staff-set guidelines.

As part of Be A Learner, the students no longer have music class separated by grade level and instead focus on a subject of their choice – voice, music history, or

learning an instrument, Hassett said.

During the Be A Learner period, students can also take an additional art class in a certain area of focus and on Fridays students can participate in an additional

period of physical education, Hassett said.

The time also allows students to receive interventions and support in subjects they are struggling with without taking away from direct instruction, according to

Hassett.

Because students leave their classrooms at different times throughout the Be A Learner period, it becomes impossible for teachers to provide direct instruction

during that period, Hassett said.

“Students have to be independent learners working on their own projects, and the teachers, during this period, have become coaches,” she said.

With the students’ projects, teachers provide the overall assignment, explain certain standards the students must meet in writing, reading, social studies, and

science, and provide assessment and feedback, Hassett said.

“Be A Learner is an individual investigation of a topic and an essential question, and the [sixth-grade] students, last trimester, their focus was the continent of

Africa. This trimester we’ve moved to Asia,” said sixth-grade teacher Cindy Sabina.

“I propose an essential question, mostly to do with human rights or the human condition – what are some of the issues in the culture and how could they be improved

upon – and then the students begin their investigation,” Sabina said. “They choose a country or an issue and they begin investigating what is happening there and how they can

propose a way to improve it.”

Each student is required to make a presentation of their project incorporating technology – such as using Keynote, a slideshow program – defend their point of view,

and answer questions asked by fellow students, Hassett said.

According to Hassett, the Be A Learner program came about due to the new state requirement that students must graduate with a proficiency-based diploma.

“We really started to think about what is that going to look like at Nobleboro Central School – how are we going to implement that?” Hassett said. “This is a way of

trying that out and introducing ourselves, as educators and students, to this is what proficiency-based education looks like.”

The program also reflects the importance of “voice and choice” in the learning process, she said.

“Students have to have an interest in what they’re learning,” Hassett said. “If they do, and they know exactly what they have to show to be proficient, they will go

much further.”

According to sixth-grader Scott Petersen, students did work harder on their presentations due to their interest in the subject matter.

“Being able to do something you want to do, it just makes everything so much better,” Petersen said.

“Since we’re doing something that we enjoy, and learning about it, it gets us … to drive further, to know more than with everything else we’re given, like with the

worksheets and the tests that we’re given just in a regular other class,” said eight-grader Isabelle Sawyer. “We don’t really have the drive, because some of us might not enjoy

what we’re being taught.”

The availability of choice itself ended up being a learning experience for the students.

Rachael Schuster, an eighth-grade student who took an additional music class as well as extra physical education, said she had a lot of loose ends to tie up by the

end of the last trimester.

Nobleboro Central School students practice archery Jan. 9 as part of Be A Learner, a new program which, among other things, allows students in grades 6-8 to take additional physical education and art classes each week. (D. Lobkowicz photo)

Taking the extra classes “left us kind of pressed for time because we weren’t in the actual Be A Learner class where we were working on our presentation or doing research, and

that’s something that I kind of had to scramble for in the end,” Schuster said.

The program also provided a chance for the students to learn about themselves.

“Teaching yourself to learn, it partly helps in just regular learning like when a teacher is telling you something or you are given a worksheet,” Petersen said.

“Sometimes it shows you what you can learn, and how your best way to learn it is, and how you research best, and how you memorize something – which way that’s easy for you.”

For seventh-grader Nathan Theroux, working on his project led to introspective evaluations of his confidence, as well as his preference for the structured guidance

of a specifically assigned project.

Theroux chose to investigate “the Affordable Care Act’s impact on citizens’ ability to maintain health insurance within the middle and lower classes.”

“I thought it was going to be easy. I thought I could do this on my own, with no help from anybody, and I picked a topic that I thought was going to be a breeze.

Then I got halfway through and realized I had no idea what I was doing,” Theroux said. “I instantly went to my peers and teachers and kids above me, as far as education and

experience-wise, and that ended up being somewhat successful.”

Theroux said he learned he can be biased, and he needs his peers and his teachers “way more than I first thought.”

“Most importantly I’ve learned that I just want to get straight down to the point, like what am I doing, when does it need to be done, and how do you want me to do

it. And that was kind of the opposite of what I needed to do in this presentation,” he said.

“But that’s why we have Be a Learner, to find out what we need to work on, and what we already know how to do,” eighth-grader Bryce York said. “And there’s always

more things that we can learn, and there’s always more things that we can improve.”

“And we don’t always have the guidance that we need to do that, and we have to self-guide ourselves,” Schuster said.

Schuster believes students teaching themselves will be a critical skill as they grow older.

“I think that’s something that’s going to carry on with us as we go through high school and college and beyond,” she said.

Principal Hassett is a participant in Be A Learner herself, and for her project is using her research and experiences related to the program to create an e-book –

something Hassett admits she doesn’t know how to do.

Part of the program is adults modeling for the students, and everyone needs to be learners together, Hassett said.

“Instead of teaching being the central focus of education, learning has to be the central focus of education. And there’s quite a lot of research to show that the

best teachers are also strong learners,” Hassett said.

Hassett does not believe programs like Be A Learner will ever replace direct instruction in schools, and said young people will always need a guide or teacher.

“Independent, student-focused projects, in my opinion, will never replace direct instruction, but it’s a really important component in education,” she said.