The Department has published 30 lesson plans that support hands-on, applied learning for Maine’s middle school students.
Creation of the lesson plans, which have been delivered in classrooms across the state and are now additionally available on the Department’s website, was led by Jobs for Maine’s Graduates. Each lesson has been aligned with the Maine Career and Technical Education (CTE) Career Clusters to allow for a relevant connection to the applied learning opportunity.
These lessons plans were created per LD 370. The resolve directed a workgroup to “consider applied learning options that are learner-centered, that focus on the needs of disaffected elementary and middle school students who may be at risk of dropping out of school before they obtain a high school diploma and that provide equitable educational opportunity for all kindergarten to grade 8 public school students. The working group shall develop an applied learning instruction template that business and trade association volunteers can use to prepare presentations and hands-on, applied learning activities for kindergarten to grade 8 students.”
For more information or technical assistance, please contact Maine DOE CTE Director Meg Harvey at margaret.harvey@maine.gov or Dwight Littlefield of Jobs for Maine’s Graduates at dlittlefield@jmg.org.
Thanks for your perspective. We’ve received great feedback on these lesson plans, which were developed by JMG and other partners, and encourage you to review them. I suspect you’ll find they are very engaging and interactive.
I find it hard to believe that these lesson plans are for applied learning. Where are the “hands on”? It appears to me to be the old show and tell of the past The teacher talks and the students watch and listen. Are we ever going to have doing, thinking and being creative?