BSM plans strategically for the year 2020
After the recent additions of Wellness classes and the 1:1 laptop program, change has become a constant at BSM, and in order to continue to advance, BSM sets its sights on the future, trying to design a new and more progressive curriculum for 2020.
Knowing that the world perpetually continues to develop, BSM wants to keep up with the ever-changing advancements in learning and technology. “Things are going to change exponentially, and one of the things that’s becoming more and more apparent is that education will have to transform along with it,” said Mr. Stephen Pohlen, Director of Technology and Learning at BSM.
The new curriculum will try to be more inclusive and use real-life applications to solve real world problems. “Certainly you’re going to learn knowledge, you’re going to learn content…but it’s more important that you know what to do with that stuff, how to analyze this, and how to apply it to another situation,” said Mr. Pohlen.
Mr. Pohlen strongly believes that aspects of this this more inclusive curriculum already exist within our school, putting BSM one step ahead technologically. “One of the places you would find [technological advancement] is the Advanced Competitive Science program where you’re taking some knowledge and applying it to a situation, and it’s requiring you to solve problems that the teacher isn’t going to tell you the answer to,” said Mr. Pohlen.
The Journalism program at BSM also belongs in this progressive category, incorporating learning that involves application of concepts for practical use—the production of a newspaper and news website. “There’s a real product that’s going to be consumed publicly, not just within the walls of the school, but outside of school as well. It changes the importance of how meaningful it is, how relevant it is, for the kids,” said Mr. Pohlen.
However, between all these changes, Mr. Pohlen recognize that some points in the curriculum need to stay the same. “We already have a lot of things going on in terms of critical thinking and problem solving…we don’t want to lose the best of what we have already,” said Mr. Pohlen.
This process continues, as Mr. Pohlen is meeting with teachers, the school board, and students, asking them what they want in this new program. “It’s just been a lot of researching the best practices, talking about the best practices, brainstorming ideas, trying to dream big, and trying to think outside the box,” said Mr. Pohlen.
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