Fifth-grade students at Will Rogers Elementary opened their classrooms last week to showcase the culmination of their annual learning projects, presenting research findings to the school and broader community after spending the year investigating topics of their choosing.
The student presentations marked the completion of the Exhibition, the culminating project of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme that allows students to take a stand on issues they are passionate about.
"The Exhibition is a true celebration of this journey, highlighting students' ability to think critically, explore complex issues, and take meaningful action," said Courtney Hayes, IB Coordinator and STEM Coach at Will Rogers.
Will Rogers became an authorized International Baccalaureate World School in May 2021 after beginning the candidacy process in 2019. During the two-year journey, staff engaged in extensive professional development focused on inquiry-based and concept-driven learning while grade-level teams designed six transdisciplinary units of inquiry that now form the foundation of the school's curriculum.
Students worked with mentors and conducted interviews with subject experts throughout the year before presenting their research findings. The projects covered diverse topics, from environmental issues to bullying prevention to women's sports participation.
Several students worked collaboratively on and environmental project that included working with Heal the Bay and organizing cleanup of the school.
"Something that was surprising to me while we were working on this is how many people actually wanted to sign up for the school cleanup," said Valery De Los Santos.
Kate Rooney found the collaborative approach both rewarding and challenging.
"It was really fun because you get to work with your friends, but I think it was also kind of challenging with your friends, because then you get distracted," she said.
For Evangeline Alvarado, the research revealed unexpected connections.
"What I learned, which was surprising, was that humans are actually affected by litter as much as aquatic animals," she said. "Now that I did this project, I understand why it's really important."
The project also provided students with insights about themselves.
"We learned a lot of things about ourselves along the way," said Alice Roberts who worked on an anti-bullying project. "Before I started this project, I thought of myself as a really independent worker, but when I started working right now, I realized that I actually worked pretty well with the group and teamwork."
While working with Roberts, Gabe Paguio discovered that "it doesn't start on the outside the majority of the time, but most of the time it starts with the environment at home and the way that the parents behave.”
His teammate Georgie Dixon-Harvey found interesting patterns in their survey data saying they could see a point in time where bullying began to impact students.
"When we asked fifth grade, most people were saying yes to have been a bully or been bullied. But then once we asked fourth graders, then more people started saying no," she said.
Chelsea Stalker focused on encouraging girls in sports.
"We just want to tell them to keep going, no matter what the boys say," she said. "If you believe in yourself and you want to do sports, that there's a career out there for you to do, and that if you push harder, you can always make a space for yourself in the sports world."
Stalker’s teammate Camilla Athanasiou said she was interested in discovering that "the Women's History experience began in ancient Greece, where women participated in a few sports and then kept going, but there was a lot of discrimination."
According to Hayes, the long-term impacts of this work include increased student engagement and the development of key skills such as research, data analysis and formulating open-ended questions. The project also builds resilience and confidence, helping students see themselves as capable individuals who can positively impact their communities.
"Students leave Will Rogers seeing themselves not just as learners, but as capable, empowered individuals who can positively impact their communities and the world around them," Hayes said.
