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The Vermont IDU





Team Extreme: The Vermont IDU


Our journey through a landscape of PBL, Transferable Skills, and Proficiency-Based Grading...








While sitting at my desk today, I took a moment to just watch the activity happening in the room. Students were moving in and out of the classroom. Some grabbed glue guns, popsicle sticks, and cardboard. Others borrowed pens, books, or needed a signature to prove they met a deadline. There is no seating chart, no attendance. The entire team is buzzing with energy. 



This is the IDU, and it’s awesome.

The Project


At the end of every year, Team Extreme comes together for one final, project-based, interdisciplinary unit (IDU). It's an exciting time, and has grown to be my favorite time of year. Each teacher on team comes together to guide a group of students (we call them our "case groups") through completion of a project of the students' design. We mix up our classes, students guide themselves through the project, and teachers become true facilitators for the last few weeks of school.



This year is the Vermont IDU (we swap with a Cities IDU every other year). Students pick their own topics that they believe are central to the heart and soul of our state. Then, they are guided through a multi-step process to create their final projects. These projects will be displayed to parents during Team Extreme's annual open house. 

This post will be the first of several where I will outline how we are using proficiency-based grading, Schoology, and Powerschool to track student progress. Oh, and I'll definitely be posting some pretty awesome work.

Stay tuned...

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