Caledonia Argus

Creative Learning Lab challenges students

Posted: 2/19/03

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

Itís not rocket science, unless a student wants it to be.

With students allowed to pursue their own areas of interest, teachers serving as advisers rather than instructors, and a grading system based on a studentís fulfillment of the goals he or she sets, Creative Learning Smartlab (CLS) brings the future of secondary education to present day Caledonia.

ìIím clearly sold on it,î said Brian Doty, principal at Caledonia middle/high school. ìThis might be the most exciting piece in the building. The kids arenít looking at this as a sterile environment, theyíre looking at this as a place to get excited.î

A sterile environment it is not. Comprised of five work islands, over a dozen computers, and enough technological gadgets and gizmos to sate a mad scientist, the 1215 square foot classroom has all the trimmings of an interdisciplinary college science lab.

Here the possibilities for educationñ for developing academic passions, for stimulating creative thought, for encouraging outside-the-box approaches to problem solvingñ are beyond the scope of most middle school curricula. Students can choose from programs on digital media, info systems, and manufacturing technology, to name a few, and opportunities for the independent pursuit of personal interests aboundñ

A wind tunnel allows students to test the durability of cars theyíve designed. A computer program assists with the construction of historical timelines, another with the design of geometric tesselations. A sound production system allows for experimentation with sound waves. For the budding botanist, hydroponics equipment lets the student get a feel for space-age gardening, and an aspiring hacker can get a head start with a Microsoft Windows tutorial and image processing software.

ìThe reason for the richness, the variety, and the diversity is so kids can get a little smattering of everything,î Doty said. ìThe studentís the initiator, as opposed to the teacher being the initiator of learning, and learning varies based upon skill, rather than everybody getting the same thing.î

The decision to implement CLS at Caledonia Middle/High School came last spring, after Doty had visited other schools around the state in hopes of finding an educational tool that challenges students of all ability levels. It was at Centennial High School in Lino Lakes that Doty hit pay dirt. There he found students eager to engage in the hands-on approach to learning that is the hallmark of CLS.

ìI saw the difference in the kids, and it was pretty obvious they were motivated,î he said. ìThey were thinking, they were collaborating. It was a neat thing to watch kids that fired up about learning.î

Since its inception in Caledonia last fall, CLS has been met with similar excitement. Sections of sixth graders began coursework in the lab this winter, and shifts in the studentsí attitude toward class time became readily apparent to teachers.

ìBy the third or fourth day theyíre lined up at the door and canít wait to get in; itís a fairly drastic transition from day one to the end,î said Caledonia middle school teacher Roger Knutson, who along with Cathy Klug and Amy Wild facilitates activities in CLS.

Call them what you willñ mentors, moderators, facilitatorsñ but donít call them instructors. Staff members working in CLS pride themselves on the non-traditional teaching role they assume in the lab, offering students strategies for overcoming roadblocks in their coursework, but eschewing the Master-Pupil interactions typical of the modern classroom.

ìWhen they do have questions, we donít necessarily show them how to do something,î Knutson said. ìWe ask them what different things theyíve tried and we let the kids figure things out for themselves. They have questions and we just kick those questions back into play. Itís certainly different from the traditional classroom, but for me itís no less enjoyable.î

Assigning grades has for teachers in CLS also taken on a non-traditional slant. There are no fill-in-the-dot exams to grade, no bell curves by which to rank a studentís performance. Students are required to set goals for themselves, undertake a project to meet that goal, and record in a journal what they learn in the process.

ìFinal evaluation is based more on goal setting and attaining the goals they set,î Knutson noted.

ìTheyíre not graded in competition with each other. Our biggest job is to help them set a goal within reach.î

The overwhelming response from students whoíve worked in CLS as of yetñ each sixth grader will spend two weeks in the lab third quarter, and two more weeks fourth quarterñ has school administrators considering expanding access to the program to accommodate more students. Plans have been made to incorporate both sixth and seventh graders into the program next year, and the option of opening the lab up to high school students at some future date is on the table.

ìIf we do what I hope we would do, weíd make it available to a broader section of students,î Doty said, ìbecause the motivation piece is implicit, the kids come in and theyíre with you, and this will become a place where a lot of those kids see success.î

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