Erie Staff Summer Institute
by Rose Fry
June 10, 2008
Thirty-eight staff and administrators attended the CUSD#101 Summer Institute last week which was held June 2-6 at the PBL building at 4th & Main. This year’s week-long teacher training was entitled “Facilitating Project-Based Learning and Developing a Productive Advisory”. The presenters from EdVisions were James Lewicki, national coach for EdVisions from Henderson, MN and Maria Martini, literacy consultant of Madison, Wisconsin. Representatives from Greenbush and ESSDACK also attended. Teachers worked to design a productive school culture that would promote student creativity, provide students with a sense of belonging and self-worth and foster 21st century skills. The training helped teachers to better understand the project learning model, design of advisories and place-based learning. Six groups of teachers went out into the community to gather information about places in Erie and had to develop a project and present their findings. Teachers divided into groups and went to Richey’s, East Hill Cemetery, the detention center, the bridge south of town, and the library. This experience allowed them to better understand the concept of place-based learning and the rich resources we have right here in our city. The training culminated on Friday afternoon with ice cream at Richey’s soda fountain.
