Seventh graders at Winamac Middle School are learning some higher-order thinking skills through problem-solving. The Eastern Pulaski School Board learned about the school’s Project Based Learning class last week from teacher Melissa Newman and students Chase Keller, Luke Dickinson, and Josh McCarnan.
They said it’s different from a usual class. For one thing, there’s no textbook. Instead, students are split into groups of two to four and given a specific problem to solve within a certain amount of time.
One project challenged students to research what could be purchased with $1 million, while another had the seventh graders teaching elementary school students how to play various Olympic games. The students said they’ve learned how to work well with others, how to manage their time, and how to communicate better.
The Project Based Learning class is offered in a rotation, so every seventh grader has the class for nine weeks.
