School+Design+(learning,+memory,+development)

====In order to demonstrate your understanding of learning, memory, and concepts of development, you and your team will be designing a school that is based on research about these topics where students look forward to learning and going to school.====

====Please read this short article about a school designed by students in our own commonwealth of Mass nytimes====

====Things that you can't change in your school as federal or state funding mandates these: Minimum 180 days a school year, 6 hours a day minimum of classroom instruction (this does not include passing time or lunch), 4 years of English, 3 years of math, 3 years of health/physical education, history 3, science 3, foreign language 2, and a minimum of 8 other semesters of something. DOE requirements Like all assignments, you must turn in a bibliography of any resources used for the project to be accepted.====

====The project details will be collected into a shared presentation, done by hand, or any combination, it just has to be a collaboration (if you aren't going to do any work let me and your group know immediately so they won't be held back by your lack of interest). A group project space has been created for your group on this wiki. Only one person can type per page so multiple pages are useful.====

**Physical 25%**
====What will your school look like on the inside? classroom size, seating/desks, physical layout, windows, water, bathrooms, is space dedicated to different subjects or are all classrooms used for all things? Technology? will there be bells for class changes, how long will students have to walk? Mostly, how will the structure of the school help learning? How can handicapped/differently-abled students get around? How can all students feel respected? read this!====

Explain in writing how each of your decisions answers the three guiding questions. ======== No matter how you render your school, you must turn in your drawing/floorplan with an explanation of how the school will physically meet the learning needs of the students. ====Interesting article on feng shui in the classroom that might help: [|edutopia]====

**Schedule 25%**
====Based on what you learned about sleep and the brain: How will the schedule operate? How long will classes be, how many a day, do they overlap, how much choice do students get? How long is lunch, what is it? How many days a week? What vacations are there? Back yourself up as much as you can with the research we discussed in class and that you read in articles/the text. Can you combine classes? English/history for one long bloc? Science/Math? What classes would you be excited to take? If you are not a fan of BHS's schedule, then don't inflict it on your hypothetical students. Think outside the box, or consider how research says that you learn best and design based on that. Again, answering the three guiding questions in writing is the assignment here.====

====You will be creating a mock up of a course catalog: you should list most of the courses offered, do create a daily/weekly schedule and a hypothetical full 9-12 schedule for a random student. Explain some ideas about how your school will create a positive learning environment that is based on the research you have been learning about in the sleep and brain units. This section will have the heading "Structural" for your project.====

**Intellectual &** **Developmental 25%**
====How will your school meet the needs of the different multiple intelligences of students? MI==== ====Based on what you learned about learning and memory, what techniques should teachers use? How and what types of homework should be assigned?==== ====How to meet male and female's different learning needs -males maturing later (more applicable to middle schools, but still a good question to tackle).==== How does your school meet the special needs of the teenage brain? ====You will be writing down how your school will respond to these above listed needs and turning them all in under the heading "Intellectual and Developmental"====

====The final presentation will be a museum walk. This means that one or two members of the group will sit with the project explaining your school to one or two of your classmates while the other members go around and hear about the other schools. Then we will switch so that everyone will both present and go around listening and evaluating the other schools.====

As all of you have integrity, this is purely a formality, but if any piece of your writing is plagiarized, you will have earned no points on the assignment and your poor decision making (stealing, lying, cheating) will be reported to the assistant principals, your guidance counselor, Mr. Whitten, Mr. Larkin, Dr. Conti, and your parents. Of course no assignment that used outside resources will be accepted without a bibliography in MLA format.