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The Clarity Series: Community-Based Learning

Awakening the Mission of Public Schools

By: Holly A. Prast, Donald J. Viegut

Create a vibrant community-based learning program that promotes achievement and develops K-12 students’ future career skills, while forging a rewarding network of local partnerships with employers.

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781483344515
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2014
Page Count: 160
Publication date: November 06, 2014

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Description

To fully prepare K-12 students for life and career, connect with your community!

A successful community-based learning program is a triple win—for students, schools, and the entire community. Curriculum becomes more meaningful and relevant, students are more engaged, and schools and districts benefit from new advocates.

Authors Prast and Viegut show how to move beyond guest speakers and field trips to creating a vibrant program that promotes academic achievement and future career skills. In this second acclaimed book in The Clarity Series, readers will learn how to

Forge rewarding partnerships with local partners, from major employers to small businesses and community groups
Implement a high-quality, sustainable initiative that bridges disciplines
Recognize and overcome barriers to effectiveness
Apply best practices from today’s most-effective programs

Turn to this helpful guide to tap the limitless opportunities and potential offered by community-based learning.

"Community-based learning, as described in this series, just might be the missing piece we are looking for on our competency-based, personalized learning quest for our students. If we can bring this work together—if we can connect them to their passion (personalize), move them along when they are ready (competency-based) and ground them in real life experience (community-based), perhaps we can truly give them the roots and the wings we have only been theorizing about for fifty years.”

—Dr. Sandra Dop, Program Consultant

Iowa Department of Education

Key features

(1) A practical guide to designing, implementing, and sustaining community-based learning in schools and districts that results in a win-win for educators, community stakeholders, and -- most of all -- students.
(2) Addresses the common barriers that practitioners of community-based learning encounter and proven methods to overcome them.
(3) Includes detailed examples of community-based learning in-action, based on the authors' own experiences and successful programs across the U.S.
(4) Provides an array of strategies and tools for various stages of design and implementation.

Author(s)

Holly A. Prast

Donald J. Viegut

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

1. An Introduction to Community-Based Learning

Increase student engagement

Make the curriculum relevant and experiential

Strengthen the connection between the community and schools

The foundation for community-based learning

The levels of community-based learning

Changing the work

2. The Foundation for Community-Based Learning

Learning theory

Learning processes

The social nature of instruction

A vital connection

A new solution to a new problem

3. A Framework for Community-Based Learning

The CBL framework

4. Case Study: Community-Based Learning School

The beginning of community-based learning school

Making progress

Challenges arise

Creating a curriculum

Setback

Exceeding expectations

5. Essential Practices in Community-Based Learning

Drinking the good wine first

Get the right people on the bus

Source your champions

Increase intentionality

Seek transfer

Customization and individualization

Evaluate current partnerships

6. Professional Development for Community-Based Learning

Establish student learning goals

Determine the best practices to achieve those goals

Identify the necessary resources

Decide what teachers need to know and be able to do

Gain the knowledge and skills

CBL needs development

7. Leading Community-Based Learning

Responding to the need for high quality

A tolerance for risk

Situational leadership

Distributive leadership

Mindful leadership

Systems implementation

8. Overcoming Barriers

Time

Large-scale tests

Risk aversion

Partnership peril

Waiting for the right time

Toxic leaders

Facing down detractors

Good to great

Existing structures

Wants over needs

9. Starting Community-Based Learning—Today

For teachers

For principals

For superintendents

For boards of education

For everyone

Appendix: Sample community-based learning unit

References

Index

Reviews

"Community-based learning, as described in this series, just might be the missing piece we are looking for on our competency-based, personalized learning quest for our students. If we can bring this work together—if we can connect them to their passion (personalize), move them along when they are ready (competency-based) and ground them in real life experience (community-based), perhaps we can truly give them the roots and the wings we have only been theorizing about for fifty years. "

Dr. Sandra Dop, Education Program Consultant
Iowa Department of Education

Other Titles in: School Change, Reform, & Restructuring

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