Teachers at the Marblehead Charter School developed The FUEL Project in the Spring of 2009. The purpose of the project was to capture and share units of study that exemplified the best practices in education. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education funded the FUEL project to highlight the work of educators across the state. This work is an important step in the ongoing effort to fuel student achievement.
Too often pressures outside the classroom can affect the learning that happens within it. With the advent of the Massachusetts State Frameworks and MCAS, it is tempting for educators to focus on individual standards at the expense of rich, complex assessments that require mastery of multiple standards. Teachers across the state successfully create authentic, engaging units and lessons where students participate in the completion of a performance rich project that addresses standards from several different content areas. These projects have enhanced student achievement at every level including performance on MCAS. Not only does it elevate performance, but also promotes student engagement.
21st Century employers are seeking workers who can manage complex tasks involving a myriad of skills and concepts. We have seen several charter schools and local districts focus on individual skills and standards to help boost student achievement. While this approach may help with individual tasks and discrete skills, it fails to recognize the complex demands of the 21st Century workplace. While this is a fine starting point, in order to prepare our students to achieve, we must teach them how to negotiate a task that requires multiple skills and standards. The performance-driven, project-based units developed by the FUEL project address that very need.
While the need for educators to share these practices is real, it is important that it doesn't lay an extra burden on educators. The lack of funding, time, and accessibility hampers many efforts to collaborate. The FUEL (Forming Units to Elevate Learning) The FUEL staff designed this website and workshop to lower those barriers of entry for educators. The accessible nature of the site promotes collaboration, sharing, and thoughtful planning based on the state standards. It will is tool that enables teacher to access tested and proven resources within minutes. Instead of recreating units, lessons, and assessments from scratch, educators can use and/or adapt one to fit the needs of their students.
