Middle School Project-Based Learning & The Greenway Institute - Guest Post by EMS Instructional Coach, Brent Truchon

EMS Teacher, Mark Nigolian, in partnership with Rebecca Holcombe and Rashad Brown-Mitchell from the Greenway Institute, provided an unforgettable project based learning experience to ten of our 6th grade MLL students this month. The project was a modification of a high school challenge that asked students to use sustainable energy (solar power) to address a clean water issue somewhere in the world.

Mr. Nigolian’s students did a modified version of this, choosing countries with communities that lack clean water. They chose to focus on communities in Pakistan, Nepal, The Republic of Congo and Kenya.  The students researched communities and designed homes in the spirit of those communities that people might live in. 

Students shared their sketch designs with Mr. Schoembs, the Design Tech educator, who laser cut the designs  on the C&C machine. With those deconstructed pieces , they then spent constructing their homes and villages for the learning activity.  From there, Rashad and Ms.
Holcolmbe visited EMS with solar panels, pumps, LED lights, and switches. They shared lessons and activities that allowed students to experiment with and learn about renewable energy, electricity, circuits, and solar panels. 

After that introduction,  the students engaged in a problem solving activity that required them to use solar power to power their homes, light and cool their dwelling, and access clean water from their lake using a pump.

The day-long activity was one that these students will never forget- and had several asking what the next step might be to become an engineer.  Thank you Mr. Mark, Rashad and Ms. Holcombe for providing such a rich learning opportunity for our students. To learn more about the project, click on the video below.