Five years ago, Fort Pitt Elementary School was the largest and most dreaded school in the Pittsburgh Public School District. In an African-American neighborhood with a high rate of poverty, Fort Pitt had more students enrolled in the free lunch program and more chronic underachievers than any other school in the district. Teachers and students alike loathed coming to school.
But Fort Pitt has been changing. Exhibit 1: the writing scores on the Metropolitan Achievement Test. In 1993, only 1 percent of 4th graders and 3 percent of 5th graders scored at or above the national norm; by 1994, those figures soared to 30 percent of 4th graders and 50 percent of 5th graders. Further, discipline referrals this past year dropped a full 71 percent from the year before. And we have witnessed dramatic changes in the students' investment in school and their relationships. Fort Pitt has become a model for teacher training and research, and it is an official I Have A Dream Foundation school.
What's Going On?
At the heart of this transformation is the Independent Research Project for 4th and 5th grade students, an approach best characterized as guided inquiry. One week each month for four months, intermediate teachers dispense with their normal routine and lead groups of 10 students each in an in-depth look at one topic.
Like college students perusing a catalogue, the children get to select their research team from a changing menu. The choices are just as eclectic: Architecture, Astronomy, Recycling, Rocketry, Oceanography, Electricity, Transportation, Forests, Cooking, and Mexico. All incorporate targeted performance areas—science, math, writing, and research—but teachers remain flexible, adjusting the curriculum to the children's evolving interests.
Students settle in for the week in one place (no disruptive class changes every 40 minutes), yet there is variety. Each day they get to work alone or with one or two classmates, to work as part of the project team, and to engage in community outreach activities—going on field trips, hearing guest speakers, or making presentations to peers or parents.
In an Electricity Independent Research Project, students went to Pittsburgh's Science Center on Tuesday afternoon and the electric company on Wednesday afternoon, then helped teach 3rd graders about electricity on Thursday. In other projects, students have met with the mayor, watched a newspaper being printed, cooked in a high school nutrition class, and worked in the computer and robotics laboratories at Carnegie Mellon University.
As their group activity, children in the Electricity project constructed a model city of cardboard (Dunlap 1994), then lighted it up with battery powered light bulbs and some circuitry. On Friday, they gave a culminating presentation on their work to their peers, parents, and community members. In the early mornings that week, they had read about electricity, filled in “What I Learned” sheets, or simply kept a personal journal. Children can select from a variety of supplemental materials during their individual time; they know it's devoted to them alone.
Students benefit from a low teacher/student ratio because of the collaboration with Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Student teachers from the university assume full-time responsibilities—planning, teaching, and evaluating the projects. They are assigned to their own classrooms, and each implements the same project three times (for example, in October, November, and December). Their supervisor is involved as well, coaching them and working with the students. The principal, too, interacts with the students as she circulates through the groups.
Guiding Principles
- All children are capable of learning at high levels.
- In-depth study of concepts enhances learning.
- Children learn most rapidly in a community of learners.
- Children do not have to learn basic skills before they think critically.
- Learning is more meaningful when it is integrated.
- Children can truly demonstrate their capabilities when adults have their best interests in mind.
- Families and community are an indispensable part of learning.
Results
Most important, Fort Pitt's 4th and 5th graders have become more engaged and cooperative; the projects satisfy many of their intellectual and social needs, and they consider the material relevant. As a result, says one teacher, “I don't have to constantly control the kids; the kids control themselves.” Or, as one student sees it, “The teacher isn't yelling at us all the time; we're expected to talk.”
Because inquiry learning requires students to rely on one another much more than they do in a regular classroom, they have learned to work together. And teachers have more time to work with them to solve problems before they escalate.
Overall grade point averages continue to increase, as do scores on district-mandated achievement tests. Because creative expression has been encouraged, it has exposed students' strengths. Moreover, achievement now carries status; inquiry learning appears to be more socially acceptable than traditional learning among peers. Under the guise of “mucking around,” students are more willing to participate in group research.
Becoming experts has fostered intellectual growth. Students now see how persistence can help them learn concepts and skills. They have shown a marked interest in various professions. And they apply their research skills in their regular classes.
As students have become more engaged with their school, their families have as well. As one parent said, “I can see why my child is really excited about learning now.”
The whole school has been positively affected. Teachers now incorporate some project strategies into regular instruction. And the role of the teacher has changed from dispenser of knowledge to resource person.
Student teachers are being better prepared to work in urban settings. They have become more closely attuned to student needs and have expanded their repertoire of teaching skills. “The traditional classroom is like trying to teach tennis by watching a videotape,” said one young teacher, but “with the research projects, we are playing tennis.” Said another: “Now I believe I can hit any ball that comes my way—a curve ball, a fast ball, a drop ball—anything!”
Overcoming Obstacles
- Convinced teachers that students will learn with the Independent Research Project approach—our biggest obstacle was their resistance. Small-group interaction helped them see the potential of each student.
- Helped dispel the perception among teachers (and students themselves) that inner-city children cannot make appropriate choices.
- Challenged the notion that quality urban education is expensive. By redirecting finances, involving local businesses, and, ultimately, relying on students' own ingenuity, the Independent Research Project did not incur unusual expenses. (Each semester, teachers and student teachers were allotted three field trips and a small budget of $100.)
In the end, the reward of making a difference in children's lives has overshadowed any frustrations.
