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Theme Based Learning Circles
Most new curriculum frameworks, guides or plans are
focussed on the connections or bridges between disciplines. Themes
are often used to as these bridges to emphasize critical thinking
and problem-solving approaches. Theme based projects help students
to make the transition from subject-area curriculum to an issue-centered
learning.
There are six Learning Circle themes that have been
developed at this time, half of them have been converted into web
documents, the other three will be added as they are finished.
This list is not exhaustive by any means. More themes
will be developed with time and groups will often want to organized
around their own selected themes.
Learning Circle Themes
Places
and Perspectives (History, Geography, Culture, Government)
Computer
Chronicles (Journalism, Computer Publishing, English, Creative Writing)
Society's
Problems (Social Science, Writing, History, Statistics/math)
Energy
and the Environment (Science, Social Science)
Mind Works (Creative Writing, Literature, Social Science)
Global
Issues (Writing, Social Science, Science, Government, Economics)
Learning Circle Themes:
Places
and Perspectives
Places and Perspectives encourages students to explore
regional history, culture, government, and geography by sharing their
knowledge with people from different locations. Often students assume
that their lifestyles and thinking patterns are universal; they are
unaware of differences. The goal of the Places and Perspectives theme
is to expose students to places beyond their own schools and communities
in order to expand their outlook on life and broaden their views.
This helps students understand how historical events and geographic
conditions interact to help shape their lives and gives them a deeper
understanding of themselves, their families and their communities.
Each classroom sponsors a project for a section in the
Places and Perspectives Review . For instance, a classroom
studying history may sponsor a section on local legends, interview
native inhabitants or the elderly, or describe the historical attractions
of the area. A classroom studying government might sponsor one of
these sections: Examining local constitutions, Monitoring Elections,
or Issues in Local Politics. A geography class may sponsor projects
such as location descriptions, travel guides, comparisons of weather
patterns, map studies, or studies on how geographic locations affect
social patterns.
More on Places and Perspectives
Return
to Introduction to Learning Circles
Computer Chronicles
The Computer Chronicles theme connects a geographically
diverse team of student reporters and editors working together to
publish the Computer Chronicles Newspaper. The students reporters
research, draft and submit articles for all the sections of the newspaper.
As editors, they read, evaluate, edit and select the work to publish
in their sponsored section of the paper. Sections of the newspaper
often include world news, local news, school news, opinions, lifestyles,
fun travel, science, sports, and special features.
Journalism experience helps students develop composition
skills, understand language mechanics, and extend their vocabulary.
Writing for Computer Chronicles also can be used to help students
gain knowledge in other subject areas. For example, a social studies
class could sponsor a section on local news, focusing on local dimensions
of global problems such as hunger, poverty, drugs, or AIDS. A science
class may want to sponsor a section featuring recent scientific breakthroughs,
waste disposal, or acid rain. Sections such as lifestyles, opinions,
and travel are a perfect opportunities to share similarities and differences
between the classrooms partners, taking advantage of the cultural
and geographic diversity which exists among the participating classes.
Return to Introduction to Learning Circles
Global Issues
The Global Issues theme focuses discussion on
a broad range of environmental social, political, and economic issues
with concern and affect the Earth's entire population. Considering
the countless issues that face the Earth's inhabitants, this curriculum
encompasses many subject areas including sociology, science, government,
history, and economics.
The final publication for this theme is the Global Issues
Review. Students may choose to study sociological issues such as worldwide
starvation and poverty, harmful and persuasive media, racism, or terrorism.
Some science-related issues include nuclear weapons, protection of
natural resources, pollution, changing weather patterns, and genetic
engineering.
Possible government issues include: national conflict
and cooperation, the role of the United Nations, and the development
of emerging democracies. Examining world reactions to current events
such as the change in Cold War politics, the rapid developments in
Eastern Europe, China, and the Middle East are excellent historical
and current applications. Economic issues include government responses
to oil spills and supply disruption of natural resources such as oil.
Return
to Introduction to Learning Circles
Society's Problems
The Society's Problems theme provides students
the opportunity to explore problems that confront their communities
and to work together as teams to propose effective solutions. The
students research issues and discuss the impact of similar problems
in diverse local communities. By comparing problems across different
communities, students gain a deeper understanding of the complexity
of these issues, and work together to propose solutions to them.
Learning Circle participants produce a final publication
called Investigating Society's Problems covering a broad range
of topics. The students may want to investigate teenager-related problems
such as drugs, alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, abortion, school
dropouts, runaways, academic pressure, gangs, suicide, or cheating.
Other Learning Circle participants may want to sponsor
research on local governmental responses to problems such as unemployment
welfare, crime and punishment, death penalties, gun control, minimum
wage, or illegal immigration. The students may also choose to study
certain social groups such as the elderly, the family, the homeless,
the hungry, AIDS victims, ethnic groups or the handicapped.
Return
to Introduction to Learning Circles
Energy and the Environment
Energy and the Environment focuses students'
attention on how our energy needs interact with the stability of our
environment. Student are encouraged to explore the fragile balance
between the economics of modern technology and the health and future
of our planet. Student explore issues from energy consumption to environmental
ethics. Working in teams, students explore the basic forces of nature
by sharing local information, experimental observations, and insights
into problems that face us as we move into the next millennium.
Students work together to publish an issue of the Energy
and Environment Newsletter describing their Learning Circle projects.
The goal of the Learning Circle is to extend the learning that takes
place in the curriculum of each class by exchanging data, analysis
and information. Student are encouraged to sponsor projects that are
likely to be affected by differences in local environmental conditions
such as identifying particles in lakes and streams, measuring the
amount of sunlight, and comparing fuel efficiency and water usage.
Student can also offer ideas for experiments, use of materials or
discuss explanations or interpretations of the findings reported by
one of the Leaning Circle classes. Student can work together to explore
nuclear energy, problems of toxic waste, contamination of ground water,
degradability of different materials, benefits and problems associated
with the use of plastics, and problems caused by agricultural pests
and pesticides.
Return
to Introduction to Learning Circles
Mind Works
Mind Works is an writing theme designed to enhance
creative and expository writing as well as develop different forms
of self-expression. Student work in this Circle involves reading,
writing, editing, and evaluating the work of other students. These
critical language skills are developed in the context of meaningful
writing activities.
Mind Works promotes creative problem solving as a part
of writing. The potential projects for this theme are diverse but
there is a similar goal to all of them: to help student learn how
to communication their thoughts and feelings in writing, then share
and compare them with other students from distant places.
The Circle publication for Mind Works is Creative Mind
Works. The sponsored projects could be a specific form of writing
such as: personal narratives, place poetry, city dialogues, school
fables, local myths or personifications of local products. Or students
can select a topic to sponsor and request different forms of expression
on subjects like the family, jobs, schools or cities. A popular project
is "circle" stories or poems. In these projects, one school begins
a story or poem and each group adds to it. This theme allows for a
wide range of writing projects.
Return
to Introduction to Learning Circles
Copyright © 1997, 2002,
Margaret
Riel
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