Putney+School+Field+House

What organization developed the curriculum module you are evaluating? The Putney School in coordination with an unnamed architecture firm. The Putney school is a very exclusive school in Vermont. What is the mission of the organization? The Putney School’s mission is as follows: The Putney School stands for a way of life. Putney is committed to developing each student's full intellectual, artistic and physical potential. Putney students are encouraged to challenge themselves intellectually, to pursue rigorous learning for its own sake, to actively participate in and appreciate the arts, to contribute meaningfully to the work program that sustains the School community and the farm on which it is located, to engage in vigorous athletics, and to develop a social consciousness and world view that will provide the foundation for life-long moral and intellectual growth. What is the educational mission and philosophy of the organization? The philosophy of the Putney School is one that promotes the creation of productive, happy, respectful people that are important parts of their communities. It also stresses the importance of helping others as well as appreciating and enjoying life. In practice, this has meant a very heavy emphasis on sustainability in the lives of the students. What does the curriculum module aim to teach? In other words: what are the learning outcomes supposed to be? This module taught the students about green buildings. The architecture firm, in addition to building a new LEED certified fieldhouse for the school, was required to use forty hours of teaching time to educate the students on the subject of green buildings. At each stage of building, the students were assembled for a lecture on the building’s progress, then broken into groups to formulate solutions to relevant design problems. The point of the lectures was to introduce students to green design and the challenges the architects faced. Do you think the curriculum is appropriately designed to produce the intended learning outcomes? There is probably no better way to work towards those learning outcomes. Does this curriculum teach the kind of literacies the EcoEd Research Group advocates? Yes, this module taught the students and showed them the sustainable work in action. It also forced them to be creative and think of problem solving skills. What could be layered into this curriculum so that it addresses more of the learning outcomes that the EcoEd Group advocates? I was unable to find specific details as to what the students were taught during the building of their field house, so I cannot say for sure what could be added, but I can say that it could probably be made to include more hands-on work that the assemblies of several hundred could not have done. [] []