What is the context of the project?
Who put this portfolio together?
What is the instructional context and purpose of the project?
Who participated in the project and what occurred?
What can be learned from student work?
What are the next steps?
Exhibits
Self-Assessment

The Community ^[1]
The Burke community lies in the northeast corner of Vermont, forty miles south of Quebec, Canada and twenty-five miles west of New Hampshire. The town’s total resident population is less than 1,000 people. The town of Burke is actually made up of three smaller communities: East Burke, West Burke and Burke Hollow, which is situated between the two. East and West Burke each have separate post offices and volunteer fire departments.

West Burke village has a restaurant, two mini-mart gas stations, a small grocery store and an auto-body shop. West Burke also has many low-income rental units and a senior housing complex. The village has a playground which is frequented by many more teens than young children. West Burke is the home of the Town Clerk’s Office, the Burke Recycling Center and the Town Garage.

East Burke’s main feature is Burke Mountain. Burke Mountain has a developed ski resort, dozens of condominiums and Burke Mountain Academy (an 8th-12th grade ski school, which owns the ski resort). ^[2] The village has two grocery stores, two restaurants, a realty office, a sport shop and several bed and breakfasts/inns. The village also has a park and miles of recreational trails for mountain biking, hiking, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. The village center is home to the White School Museum, which will be discussed later in this document.

In between East and West Burke lies Burke Hollow. In the early 1800's, Burke Hollow was the thriving center of the three communities, boasting several mills along the river. Now, it is only a residential area with a meeting house (built and formerly used by three religious denominations) and three cemeteries. ^[3] Burke Hollow is home to the Burke Town School and the Burke Town Hall.

The School
Burke Town School was consolidated in 1995. It houses all Burke students from Kindergarten through 8th Grade. In 1924 Burke had eleven schools, but after Westward Expansion and the coming of the railroads, East and West Burke had one elementary school each. High School students attended (and continue to attend) Lyndon Institute, a private school a few miles away. (District towns pay tuition instead of funding a public high school.) By consolidating both elementary schools into one Burke school, the town hoped to unite two diverse communities, a goal we are still striving for today. ^[4]

The Students ^[5]
The student population of Burke is approximately 170, with about 50% qualifying for free or reduced lunch (based on parent income). The ethnic background of the students is approximately 95% Caucasian. The remaining 5% come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

I. Who put this portfolio together?

The Burke Town School is a partner in the Vermont Rural Partnership VRP). Margaret Maclean is working with the Rural School and Community Trust to develop portfolio assessments that evaluate the integrity of place-based learning and asked for volunteers to do this work. Fourth grade teachers Jessica Simpson and Tracie Surridge and principal Sonja Davis prepared this entry. Jessica and Tracie were the classroom co-teachers during the project implementation. They were the primary players in implementing this project. Sonja gave support. As the narrative was developed, all three discussed and reflected together. Although the actual participants in preparing this narrative are limited, many individuals gave their input and expertise during the project. Jessica Masten is a member of this portfolio study as a parent and community member. She volunteered hoping to learn more about the project.^[6]

II. What is the instructional context and purpose of the project?

a. Who developed the project? How did students contribute to planning the project?
During the school years 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, Jessica and Tracie developed a Vermont study for their students. The study included: personal timelines, family stories, oral history interviews with senior citizens, Vermont town reports, Geography of Vermont, Vermont Geology, Vermont Habitats and Mammals and Native Americans in Vermont. At the same time through the VRP, Jessica and Tracie were given grant monies to develop an 1800's Vermont Schoolhouse unit with their students. A kit ^[7] from the Vermont Historical Society on early one-room schools enriched this study. Several students who participated in the project the first year met to reflect on the work. Students from both years listened to their peers and gave ideas for future implementation. (Exhibit B) After the class studied Vermont Geology, they participated in a local cemetery trip with Peggy Pearl, curator of the Fairbanks Museum. (Exhibit C) The trip was focused on unique Vermont stones and symbols, which are especially evident in cemeteries. The students enjoyed this activity but had many questions. The students’ interest soared as they inquired who these people were, how they died and what life was like back then. The result of these activities was an integrated project developed by student input and enthusiasm, area experts, and Jessica and Tracie’s initial desire to do a unit on schooling in the 1800’s. (Exhibit A ^[8], link to Exhibit A) In the second year of the project, the teachers applied for and received a grant from Agriculture in the Classroom to develop a unit on local farming that would connect and deepen the 1800's study that began with the schoolhouse unit. The two units flowed easily together, becoming "That Was Then, This Is Now" in the second year. ^[9]

b. What community need, interest or issue does this project address?
In Vermont, the 4th grade has long been a time for focus on our home state. The Caledonia-North Supervisory Union (Burke’s school district) is in the process of developing a new Social Studies and Science curriculum (the Science curriculum has already been implemented, but is currently being revised). Because of this transition period, the fourth grade is developing a strong integrated Social Studies (or "Humanities") curriculum that may become part of the district curriculum ^[10]. All of the 4th grade Social Studies (and most of the Science) units have a Vermont focus. We feel it is vital for students to become familiar with their state: its history, industry, culture and physical and political characteristics. As members of the Vermont Rural Partnership, we also feel that students need to become familiar with their own community in order to appreciate it and later sustain it. ^[11] We saw a disconnect between our students and their community: They did not know where their food came from, they did not know the farmers in their area, and they didn’t connect their families’ history to the history of the town. Through the unit, "That Was Then, This Is Now," we felt it was vital for the students to understand Burke’s past in order to feel more deeply rooted to its present and future. ^[12]

c. What are the appropriate learning goals and state standards for this project?
The main goal of the project was for students to understand early agriculture and schooling and be able to compare and contrast the past with the present. The students wanted to learn more about life in the 1800's, and the teachers wanted the students to recognize change over time (especially with regard to technology). ^[13] Here are the specific learning goals as outlined in "Vermont’s Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities" (The specific evidence for each standard is broken down into K-4, 5-8, 9-12 grade levels):

Agriculture Unit: ^[14]

• 1.19 Research - "Students use organizational systems to obtain information from various sources."
  
• 2.1 Types of Questions - "Students ask a variety of questions."
  
• 2.14 Planning/Organization - "Students plan and organize an activity."
  
• 3.9 Sustainability - "Students make decisions that demonstrate understanding of natural and human communities, the ecological, economic, political or social systems within them, and awareness of how their personal and collective actions affect the sustainability of these interrelated systems."
  
• 3.10 Teamwork - "Students perform effectively on teams that set and achieve goals, conduct investigations, solve problems, and create solutions."
  
• 3.15 Career Choices - "Students know about various careers"
  
• 4.6 Understanding Place - "Students demonstrate understanding of the relationship between their local environment and community heritage and how each shapes their lives."
  
• 6.4 Historical Connections - "Students identify major historical eras and analyze periods of transition in various times in their local community, in Vermont (...) to understand the past, the present, and the relationship between the two."
  
• 6.6 Being a Historian - "Students use historical methodology to make interpretations concerning history, change, and continuity."
  
• 7.9 Statistics and Probability Concepts - "Students use statistics and probability concepts."

Schoolhouse Unit:

• 1.12 Personal Essays - "In personal essays, students make connections between experiences and ideas."
  
• 6.4 Historical Connections (see above)
  
• 6.5 Traditional and Social Histories - "Students investigate both the traditional and the social histories of the people, places, and cultures under study..."
  
• 6.6 Being a Historian (see above)

d. Artifacts and assessments and how they support the project’s goals
As we piloted the Agriculture unit (in the second year of the project), we made our expectations clear for behavior during field trips, guest speakers and other activities with a "Rubric for Class Work ^[15]." (Exhibit D) Students were asked often to self-evaluate their behavior based on the rubric, giving themselves a grade. ^[16] (The numbered grades on exhibits of student work are based on this 1-4 rubric.) Between field trips, guest speakers and activities, we engaged students with integrated activities that connected with the content they were learning, as in the math problem, "Mrs. Kane’s Wooly Dilemma."(Exhibits E1 & F1) This also connected with the Vermont Math Problem Solving Portfolio required in the 4th grade (a state-wide assessment). As students gained more content information about agricultural industries, we added more cross-curriculum assignments, like the Logger Letter. (Exhibits E3 & F3) This narrative writing task was given after a presentation on past and present logging technologies. Students chose an aspect of local agriculture they were most interested in researching, in order to compare past and present technologies and methods. Pairs of students completed "That Was Then, This Is Now" Research Journals. (Exhibits E4 & F4) After finishing the research and writing a Compare/Contrast essay, each pair designed a presentation to share at a community dinner they planned and organized. ^[17] (Exhibit G) Each pair self-evaluated their project based on the "Agriculture Project Rubric." (Exhibit H) The pairs were also evaluated by the teachers. ^[18] (Exhibit H) After each field trip or guest speaker, students reflected on the experience, responding to questions like: "What did you enjoy most about the activity?," "What did you enjoy the least?," "What were you surprised to learn?," "Reflect on your behavior" and "How did the experience make you feel and why?" (Exhibits E5 & F5)

In the second year of the Schoolhouse unit, students gave prior knowledge and shared questions they wanted answered in the unit. ^[19] This was done in the form of a "K-W-L Chart," which was completed with a section on what we learned at the conclusion of the unit. (Exhibit I) The students used information from their study of early Vermont maps to choose a last name from a Vermont town. They used previous information from cemetery stones to think of first names.
(Exhibit C) They then created a fictitious student who might have attended the White School in East Burke. (Exhibits E6 & F6) During the remainder of the unit they "became" this student, experiencing the past as fully as possible. After extensive study, students participated in a day-long simulation of a school day in 1820, which took place at the White School Museum and grounds. (Exhibit J) After the simulation, students completed the written assessment, "A Child’s Life in the 1800's" (Exhibits E7 & F7) At the conclusion of the unit, students wrote a "Personal Reflection" essay about their experience. (Exhibits E8 & F8) This genre of writing is evaluated by the state in the 5th grade Writing Portfolio. Students used a writing rubric to revise and score their essay before finally being scored by the teachers.

III. Who participated in the project and what occurred?

a. Participants and their role in the project ^[20]
The students in Jessica Simpson and Tracie Surridge’s class participated in the project. They were fourth graders ranging in ages 9-11. In year one of the project, there were 12 boys and 8 girls. In year two there were 14 boys and 12 girls. The students represented a variety of socio-economic levels and had a wide range of academic skills and learning styles.

1. Five local senior citizens visited the class and shared stories of their childhood (Year 1) (Exhibit K).
   
2. Peggy Pearl from the Fairbanks Museum gave historical background on a local cemetery by guiding the class in a study of dates, symbols and other information found on gravestones.
   
3. Goodrich’s Sugarhouse and Cabot Creamery gave tours of their agriculture-based businesses.
   
4. Local farmers Anne-Marie Bickford, Elizabeth Hubbard, Wilder Simpson, Leland Simpson, Preston "Jack" Smith, Linda Kane, Todd Vendituoli, John and Daniele Simpson and Cheryl Kennedy invited students to visit farms or came and spoke to the class.
   
5. Community members and parents, Walter Bandy II, Bradley Deth and Jay Mello, demonstrated logging and sawmill equipment for the students.
   
6. Lisa Blake, a student teacher from Lyndon State College, gave a presentation on logging.
   
7. Cabot School Heritage Club invited students to their refurbished one-room schoolhouse. Ninth graders presented stories from their local cemetery and research about one-room schools. Cabot is a member of the Vermont Rural Partnership.
   
8. Local educator Beverly Lawson shared memories of teaching in a one-room school.
   
9. Dewey Seeger is the caretaker of the Burke Mountain Clubhouse and White School Museum. He worked with the students and was the expert on artifacts and schooling during the White School’s existence.
   
10. Thetford Academy’s Cultural Geography students, Sara and Margaret shared their video project about one-room schools in Thetford, Vermont. Thetford Academy is a member of the Vermont Rural Partnership. ^[21]
    
11. Members of the Rural Schools & Communities Trust from Louisiana joined us in our cemetery trip, asking students questions about their studies.

b. Project activities ^[22]
Year Two: 2001-2002 (Exhibit A)

March, 2002

• Cemetery Visit
  
• Maple Sugaring video and activities (Late March was the height of the maple sugaring season.)
  

April, 2002: Agriculture Unit

• Background: K-W-L Chart, (Exhibit L) Scavenger Hunt, Guided Reading, VT Farming video
  
• Inquiry: Brainstorm topics, choose topic of interest, form teams, ask questions
  
• Content: Dairy activities, videos, guest speakers, field trips
  

May 1-22, 2002: Agriculture Unit

• Content: Logging/Sawmill activities, videos, more guest speakers and field trips on sheep, horses, gardening and dairy
  
• Assessment: Research Journals complete, Compare/Contrast essays written in pairs, Community Dinner planned, presentations planned and implemented (Exhibit O)
  
• Sharing our Learning: Students present at Community Dinner
  

May 22, 2002: Schoolhouse Unit

• Background: K-W-L Chart, early transportation, video with interviews of VT seniors
  
• Content: "Schooling in Early Vermont" kit with activities and artifacts
  
• Assessment: Students create 1800's persona, simulation of a day in an 1800's one-room school, written assessment, Personal Reflection essay
  
• Sharing our Learning: Students brainstorm and vote on a service learning project based on this unit that will be completed in the 5th grade.

June, 2002

• Celebrating our Learning: Class visit to the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington, Vermont

c. Constraints and/or opportunities that influenced the project
In the second year of the project, Jessica and Tracie applied for and received a grant from Vermont Agriculture in the Classroom to develop a unit on local agriculture. ^[23] We received the grant and went to work developing the unit. When we outlined our budget, we knew there would not be enough money to implement all of our plans. We put on a bingo night as a fund-raiser, and were very encouraged by the support we received from parents and community members. Also, the grant for this portfolio project allowed us to "think big" when putting together the unit. We were able to pay for field trips and materials, as well as pay stipends to the farmers. This was important because we wanted to farmers to know how vital their participation was to the learning goals of the project. ^[24] Through this unit we definitely discovered an untapped human resource in the Burke community. Farmers and community members who attended the Community Dinner were thrilled that they were asked to participate in teaching local children about the farming heritage of their community.
(Exhibit M) They can definitely be counted on to support this project in the future. ^[25]

IV. What can be learned from student work?

a. Who are the students featured? What are their strengths, interests and learning styles? ^[26]

Student #1-Megan
Megan was a 4th grader during Year Two of the project. She is a strong student who performs at the middle to high range when compared to her classmates. Megan is generally shy and does not like to speak or present in front of the class. At the start of the year, Megan expressed being scared about starting a new grade with new teachers. During her 4th grade year she struggled quite a bit in math, but always tried her best and persevered with a positive attitude. Megan is kind and friendly with her peers, but not especially outgoing. She can read material above grade level and enjoys writing and school in general. She is interested and skilled in sports and plays on several teams outside of school. She is a very well-rounded student, but does not shine in any one area.

Student #2-Brittany
Brittany was also a 4th grader during Year Two of the project. She is a quiet, friendly student who wants to do her best in school. Brittany reads approximately two years below grade level. She also struggles with math and spelling. She does not currently receive any support services, but has been placed in small groups for both reading and math. Brittany likes school but struggles with her homework. Near the end of 4th grade she was receiving after-school homework support. In many ways, Brittany seems younger than her peers and has had some trouble connecting socially. Even so, Brittany shows a great deal of compassion and kindness toward her classmates. She expresses a positive attitude towards school and the challenges it brings. When Brittany is interested in something, especially family history and the history of her community, she is much more engaged and focused. Outside of school Brittany is involved in a service club and enjoys helping at her mother’s daycare. By the end of the year Brittany was deeply committed to her school projects, despite being worried about the birth of a new sibling.

b. What work was chosen as evidence? What is its purpose and importance?
Exhibits E1 & F1 ^[27] (link to Exhibit E1 & F1): "Mrs. Kane’s Wooly Dilemma" was a math problem solving assignment given after we had studied sheep in our Agriculture unit and statistics in math. Because the Math Problem Solving Portfolio is a state assessment for 4th grade, we wanted to connect our Social Studies and Science content to math as much as we could. Students were able to bring prior knowledge and engagement about sheep into their math problem solving process. Being familiar with the subject of a math problem helps students focus on the mathematical aspects because they can visualize the problem more easily.

Exhibits E2 & F2: Thank you letters were written to farmers and community members who helped with the project. Both of the letters in this exhibit were written to a dairy farmer who welcomed the class into her family’s large-scale farm. The students got to talk with a visiting veterinarian and milk truck driver. They saw the milking machinery, milk cows, pregnant cows and dozens of calves. One calf was sick and near death. Some students helped feed and bed calves. Students chose which farmer to write to, based on their engagement in the field trip.

Exhibits E3 & F3: The Logger Letter was a narrative writing assignment developed by our student teacher, Lisa Blake, after she gave a presentation about past and present logging technologies and methods. The students were asked to pretend to be a logger/river driver in the early 1900's and write a letter home. They were expected to add details about the tools, methods, technologies and general living conditions of a logging camp. They were also expected to write in letter format. This task assessed what content they had learned from the presentation. ^[28]

Exhibits E4 & F4: Each pair of students completed a "That Was Then, This Is Now" Research Journal based on questions they had about their chosen area of study. ^[29] When pairs chose a general topic (dairy, sheep, horses, etc.), they were asked to be more specific-focusing on just one aspect of that kind of farming that they could use to compare past and present. For example, Brittany and her partner chose "Dairy" as a topic, but their specific area of study was "Milking" and how it has changed over the last 200 years. Each pair recorded prior knowledge (from field trip and guest speakers), wrote questions and began researching. Some pairs did internet research, but the main sources of information were books, field trip notes and primary sources. The pairs recorded information comparing past and present technologies and methods. Finally, they chose a format for their presentation, made a plan and collected materials. ^[30]

Exhibits E5 & F5: When the project was completed, each student was asked to reflect on the entire Agriculture unit. Students used their five senses, simile and metaphor and the Thesaurus to add detail to the reflection. These were the questions they responded to: ^[31]

1. What activities in this unit did you enjoy most? Why?
   
2. What activities in this unit did you enjoy least? Why?
   
3. How important were the field trips? How could we improve this unit for next year’s students?
   
4. Describe your work with your partner(s)? Could it have been improved? How?
   
5. Describe your presentation at the dinner. How did it go? What could have been improved?
   
6. What will you remember from this unit? Will you use what you have learned in the future? How?

Exhibits E6 & F6 ^[32] (link to Exhibit E6 & F6): A "One-Room Schoolhouse Student" worksheet was filled out by each student. They drew on the knowledge they had learned from the cemetery about dates and common names from Burke’s past. They were asked to create a profile of a typical child in 1820. Drawing out of a hat, each student picked a last name from an 1825 Burke map. They then decided on a first name and an age for themselves. Based on their age, they had to subtract from 1820 to find the year they were born. To find the location of their house (East Burke, West Burke or Burke Hollow), they had to find their last name on the 1825 Burke map. Drawing on historical information learned about Vermont’s agriculture, industry and transportation, they chose their father’s occupation and how they traveled to school. Students used the character profile to describe a typical day in the life of this child. The characters they created became the personas they used during the one-room schoolhouse simulations, both in the classroom and at the White School Museum. ^[33]

Exhibits E7 & F7: "A Child’s Life in the 1800's Assessment" was a written task at the end of the Schoolhouse unit. Students were assessed on several aspect of life in the 1800's: chores, transportation, teacher’s pay, school subjects, punishments, etc. ^[34] Students were also asked what they would like or dislike most if they lived in the 1800's.

Exhibits E8 & F8: The "Personal Reflection" essay was assigned after the 1800's school day simulation. Using the writing process and writing rubric, students wrote a detailed description of their experience at the White School Museum and explained what they learned from the experience. This assignment allowed students to practice a genre of writing (The Personal Essay) as well as assessing what they gained from the experience. They scored themselves with the rubric to guide their revision. The final draft was scored by a teacher.

c. What aspects of students’ work suggests growth in the project’s learning goals?
Student #1-Megan ^[35]
In Megan’s thank you letter to a farmer, she expresses herself ^[36] well as she describes her visit to the farm. She also states that, "I felt like I wanted (to) be a farmer when I grow up..." (Exhibit E2) In the Logger Letter (Exhibit E3), Megan describes how difficult it was to be a logger in the 1900's. She adds detailed information learned from the logging activities, like the existence of mills, floating logs in the river and the need for more sophisticated tools. Megan revised the letter based on teacher comments. The Research Journal
(Exhibit E4) was completed by Megan and two other students (we had a new student, Nicole, who joined Megan and Walter’s team in late April). Their work was collaborative, which makes it difficult to see specific growth with regard to Megan, but based on observation and the group’s final presentation (Exhibit G), the team members tried to divide the work evenly and share equally in planning the project. At times this group struggled to get along, but they were also very honest and reflective about their performance as a team. In question #4 of Megan’s final reflection on the Agriculture unit (Exhibit E5), she acknowledges that they struggled to work together. Her reflection also highlights her enthusiasm about the Community Dinner (question #5) and the overall worth of the project.

In the final assessment of the Schoolhouse unit (Exhibit E7), Megan scored 91% out of a possible 100%. She easily answered factual questions about children’s lives in 1800's Vermont. In her Personal Reflection about the one-room schoolhouse experience (Exhibit E8), Megan gives detailed information comparing 21st century school punishments with those used in the 1800's. She also states the opinion that she is grateful to live in the present as opposed to the 1800's. ^[37] The element of "voice" becomes stronger in her writing as the project nears its end.

Student #2-Brittany
In Brittany’s letter to a farmer (Exhibit F2), she tells about going back to the farm in a small group (the students who studied Dairy) to see the cows being milked. She states, "I had fun...when I got to put a milk machine on a cow." In her Logger Letter (Exhibit F3), Brittany describes several tools used to log in the 1900's. Even though she has difficulty spelling the names of the tools ("peevy," "cross-cut saw," "sled"), she shows a clear understanding of their uses. Evidence in Brittany’s Research Journal (Exhibit F4) shows us that over the year, Brittany had become invested in the unit but had also taken a leadership role in their presentation. ^[38] Brittany writes "I will bring all" on the materials needed list. Brittany had thought up the idea of her presentation at home and presented it to her partner who gladly said lets do it. Brittany’s final reflection (Exhibit F5) shows that she felt confident about answering questions at the final presentation dinner. This was significant to us as she had not demonstrated overall confidence in her abilities throughout the year.

Brittany’s schoolhouse assessment (Exhibit F7) shows that she had internalized much of the content but her depth of understanding was at a lower developmental level than her peers. In her personal reflection (Exhibit F8) Brittany again shows knowledge of content but is unable to reflect with any depth on her experience ^[39] (Exhibit F8). Statements like "it was fun...it was (weird).... it was (hard)" show an immature understanding when compared to her peers. Even so she knew that life was different and more difficult then than now and this is what we were looking for in our assessment. ^[40] Brittany was also able to share her expertise with a local news reporter, earning her a spot in the next issue of the paper (Exhibit N).

d. How has student learning been assessed? What feedback did students receive?
The assessments used for this project have all been documented and described in sections #3b and #4b. In general, we used rubrics to score classroom performance, writing pieces, worksheets and presentations. For the one-room schoolhouse simulation (Exhibit J), students were graded on their performance in several different areas: manners, recitation, outdoor games and behavior. ^[41] There were a couple of written assignments/tests that were given percent grades (with a possible 100%). As stated in the earlier sections, students saw the rubrics before they began the assignment, understanding what was expected in order to improve their grade. In several cases, they were able to revise their work based on the rubric score. Students were able to score themselves, thus making the teacher’s score carry less weight because the student already had a good idea of their score would be.

e. What does the work show about student’s challenges and/or frustrations?
Teamwork was often a challenge, but most teams strived to meet the expectation that they share the work equally. The entire project was liberating for several students who openly disliked school. Every child was actively engaged at least half the time, which had not been the case during other units and subjects. ^[42] The hands-on learning, field work and community connections were vital to many of the students, showing a clear need for more of this kind of work in our school. During the schoolhouse simulation, activities had to be modified for the diversity of the learners in the class (recitation, reading aloud, spelling bees, etc.). ^[43]

f. What are the comparisons between student involvement and the project’s impact on students?
The students enjoyed the project, especially since they helped design it and had a lot of choice in what they studied and how they shared their learning. Teachers were impressed by the independence that was shown by 95% of the students that had not been witnessed throughout the year. Many students who didn’t normally take leadership roles became leaders in their teams. At some level every student was able to compare/contrast several aspects of Vermont’s history, which was the main goal of the project. ^[44] We feel that this was a direct result of taking the children into their community and giving them ownership over their own learning. ^[45]

a. How has this project challenged student academically and helped them contribute to the community? ^[47]
As we developed this narrative and reviewed student work, we were pleased to see that the main goals of the project were met. After rereading student reflections on what they had learned, we could see that students were stretched intellectually. ^[48] The students did learn new roles in this project both historical roles (simulated) and as owners of their learning. Besides the presentations at the community dinner, there has yet to be a sustainable service learning aspect to this unit. We were surprised and pleased with the diverse community involvement in both the field work and the final dinner. This project has shown that there are many people in the community that are interested in being involved with the school which is a goal in our school’s Action Plan. ^[49]

b. What does student work suggest about next steps for instruction and assessment? ^[50]
The project review has led us to know that we need to be more deliberate with our goals and assessing the standards that they represent. We will continue to integrate other subjects like math and reading into the project. We will keep comparing and contrasting the past and the present and change over time. We will add a service learning project that carries over into the fifth grade based on a list brainstormed by the students at the end of the project. (Exhibit P) We will add an extracurricular Heritage Club to continue this work with interested 5th & 6th Graders.

c. What does the work suggest about next steps for community collaboration?
The students will present their agriculture projects at the Small School’s conference and the Vermont Rural Partnership Fall Retreat in order to share ideas with other area schools. ^[51] We hope to join forces with the local Historical Society to work with town artifacts that are currently not displayed or other projects driven by student interest. We will develop a survey for the community at large asking for their input on what the students should be learning about Burke. ^[52] We will also be looking for people interested in sharing their skills, knowledge and talents with the students in our class. We will distribute these surveys at Town Meeting Day, the Town Clerk’s office and the post offices.

d. What has been difficult about the project and how can the barriers be overcome?
The greatest roadblocks have revolved around funding for field trips and coordinating community interaction within the school day and calendar. With an VT Agriculture in the Classroom Grant and monies from this Portfolio Project, short term funding will make implementing this project easier in the near future. Beyond this year and next we will continue to face this dilemma. We also plan to continue our school fund-raising efforts.

Another issue for us is the time it takes to implement an authentic project like this and being able to justify the time. ^[53] We need to be very deliberate in creating a project that is truly integrated through all the subject areas and that no subject, such as specific math instruction is neglected. We need to make sure parents understand the nature and benefits of doing this kind of teaching and learning. ^[54] We know we can do it!!

e. What has been learned from completing the entry?
As we put this narrative together and collected artifacts and interviewed students who participated in this project, the major thought that kept surfacing is the lack of purpose our young people have these days. Simple responsibilities such as home chores, interaction with elders, and being a contributing member of the community were vital roles for children in the past. ^[55] We seemed to have enabled our children to be too dependent on having things done for them without a lot of effort or commitment. We hope to some way let students get a glimpse of what they CAN do even as fourth graders to make a real difference. We need to give them back what we’ve taken away without realizing it: purpose and recognition.

During the project, the students felt a sense of purpose and empowerment when given a simple notebook to record questions and answers. ^[56] Never in a million years could we have predicted how important this little tool could be. Shy children seem to bloom into investigative reporters that didn’t stop asking until all their questions were answered.

As they were learning about how much children in the past contributed to their families and their communities, we saw evidence that our students were becoming contributing members themselves. ^[57] They took on leadership roles in their projects, immersed themselves in learning about their town’s heritage and began a dialogue with community members that we hope continues throughout their lives.