Presentation by: Paul Romani
Session: A | Time: 9:00 AM-9:40 AM | Location: Room 203
Pear Tree Elementary is the first K-7 school in Vancouver to teach using theme-based and project-based learning. Subject are blended together around themes connected to the BC curriculum, so that learning is deep, meaningful, and hands-on; with project-based learning treated as an extension from each theme. This session will focus on what theme and project-based learning look like in action in a real-life Vancouver school. It will challenge educators to radically change their paradigms of how knowledge should be learned and what is possible.
Children and the world outside of school are expecting educators to foster a form of learning that promotes critical thinking skills; the application of knowledge to meaningful, complex tasks; and to engage all learners. The recent changes in the BC curriculum reflect this goal. Without radical changes within schools and classrooms, such goals will never be achieved. It requires an shift in paradigms in how students should learn, what the role of teachers is, and how assessment methods should complement these changes.
In this presentation, Paul Romani M.Ed., the co-founder and director of Pear Tree Elementary, will demonstrate what theme and project-based learning look like in action at his K-7 school in Kitsilano. Educators will learn the process of how themes are created and implemented, and what the role of project-based learning is within the context of a theme.
Abstract: 605