A new course at Needham High School that combines group projects, historical research and field trips to study the story of Greater Boston has found new life.
The Interdisciplinary Learning Initiative, which funds the class, received $115,000 from the Needham Education Foundation this fall. Most of those funds go toward allowing “The Greater Boston Project” to continue through to the 2014-15 year.
Members of the Needham Education Foundation told the School Committee at its Nov. 19 meeting that the course’s “clear and innovative vision” has changed the way students and teachers approach learning.
“It has been enthusiastically received,” said NEF board member Anne Weinstein.
The course consists of 50 Needham High School seniors and combines history, English and other subjects into one overall learning arc. Students in the class use iPads—a device that Needham officials are considering expanding in middle and high school.
Needham High School Principal Jonathan Pizzi said the course helps break down the walls between the various subjects taught at school and allows students to look at what they study in a different light.
“We’re looking at history holistically. We don’t study history one day and math one day. This is how the world works,” he said. “They are learning about themselves as collaborators and workers.”
Pizzi said the pilot program could help other parts of Needham High School evaluate new teaching practices, including the use of the iPads. He said the course seamlessly integrates the devices into day-to-day activities.
“They’re not tools, they’re not toys, it’s just the way the students do business. It’s in the environment of the program,” he said.
School Committee member Susan B. Neckes lauded the NEF for awarding such a large grant to an experimental program, while noting that the grant is a risk.
“This is really big for NEF to take on and it’s definitely a risk,” she said. “But it’s great to see the collaboration that could really make a difference.”
Around $20,000 of the funds granted to the Interdisciplinary Learning Initiative will be used to seed new ideas like “The Greater Boston Project.” The members of the initiative will review new concepts and decide which ideas to turn into real classes.