בס״ד

Dear Jewish Academy Parents,

 

Project Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects.

 

The Jewish Academy curriculum is built upon the principle that students learn best when they are actively engaged in their learning. Though our students and parents may find our projects challenging in that it places great emphasis on independent learning and "ownership", projects are shown to have long term positive effects on student outcomes. Studies comparing learning outcomes for students taught via project-based learning versus traditional instruction show that PBL increases long-term retention of content, helps students perform as well as or better than traditional learners in high-stakes tests, improves problem-solving and collaboration skills, and improves students’ attitudes toward learning (Strobel & van Barneveld, 2009; Walker & Leary, 2009). 

 

We are very excited about our next fair of the school year, the Math to Life Fair on March 30th. All student in kindergarten through 8th Grade are required to participate. 

 

Students are to choose one project from the list of projects. A copy of guidelines can also be found on the school website and below (but a hard copy was sent home for students in K-3rd Grade). The theme of the fair is “Math to Life”. Through engaging in the projects, students will be asked to demonstrate how math can be used to solve real world situations/questions/problems.

 

Projects are due on March 30th.

 

Please download and read the requirements for the fair for each grade

 

Requirements may vary by grade level. However, students must complete the following: 

• Elementary School: 1) Create a poster demonstrating completion of the topics covered in the project guidelines. See the Poster Board Rubric for how Boards are graded.

• Middle School (5th-8th Grade): 

  • 1) Create a poster demonstrating completion of the topics covered in the project guidelines. See the Poster Board Rubric for how Boards are graded. 

  • 2) Write a 1-to-3-page report, typed, times new roman answering the following questions: 

    • 1) Describe your real-world situation/question/problem 

    • 2) What are the math concepts that you can use to solve the real-world situation/question/problem 

    • 3) How did using these math concepts you approach/solve the real-world situation/question/problem?