West Bath School students have shown growth over time in the creation of high quality work.

Via early High Quality Work protocols, the West Bath faculty identified that in order to make progress in complexity, authenticity, and craftsmanship, time, energy, and professional development needed to be devoted towards developing a culture of process and reflection. This included building stamina in our students so they were willing to create multiple drafts, working with students regarding how to use peer feedback protocols and give valuable feedback, and supporting all members of crew in understanding how to focus on one aspect of quality at a time. The learning wheel provided us with a visual for what this process of reflection, feedback, and revision looks like.

Fifth Grade Boat Building & Half Models

Throughout West Bath School's relationship with EL Education, a strong focus has been on developing learning expeditions. While High Quality Work protocols over time show that final products have included complexity, authenticity, and craftsmanship, when one views the same expedition topics over time the progression is evident.

K-2 Expeditions - Plants and Pollinators

The second grade has an expedition topic that is focused on Plants and Pollinators. High Quality Work protocols show that in the area of complexity, the products have demonstrated a transfer of understanding and included evidence-based writing. Additionally, the most recent product contained multiple perspectives. From 2014 to 2017, craftsmanship moved from having well-developed penmanship and drawings to having a typed and professional produced book, containing written and voice-recorded poems and symmetrical paintings of pollinators. While the 2014 product demonstrated authenticity with a seed packet and a brochure to share information with the public, the 2017 product increased the level of authenticity with a student designed and built pollinator garden on the school grounds.

3rd Grade Expedition - Immigration

The third grade has an expedition that is focused on Immigration. High Quality Work protocols show that the area of complexity has grown significantly. In 2014, the students made a recipe book entitled, The Melting Pot, which contained both introductory letters and recipes from each child's researched country. The country introductions were formulaic in the way the information was presented. In 2017, the students synthesized their research to write one well crafted, original letter to their homeland based on factual evidence from their research. From 2014 to 2017 the authenticity became more creative and relevant to the students' lives. The Melting Pot contained authentic dishes from each country that the children made and sampled at the Celebration for Learning. It also followed industry standards for book publication and was a beautiful combination of history and art. In 2017, the children researched their own heritage to create I Am poems and a family tree. This product helped the children realize that they too are a part of the melting pot of immigration in America. Craftsmanship has evolved in the execution of the final products. In 2014, the children were given a product descriptor which they used to create their country introductions. They went through a series of drafts to improve upon their illustrations and water colors. In the 2017 products the children had product descriptors, criteria lists, and rubrics to aid in the creation and improvement of their pieces. They created multiple drafts and accessed improvements through the use of feedback and critique protocols. This aided the children in creating high quality acrylic paintings of trees that they labeled with their personal family heritage. They wrote I Am poems with rich vocabulary and descriptive phrases to illustrate their unique individualism as a product of their family and life experiences.

2018 - On the Move: Immigration Past and Present

The 2018 immigration expedition entitled, On the Move: Immigration Past and Present has evolved in craftsmanship by the use of experts to enhance background knowledge and more peer critique at different stages in the writing process. The students built background knowledge through a wealth of fieldwork and expert visits. The focus of the expedition also shifted by increasing complexity through the study of the impact of immigration in Maine both historically as well as in the present. The children visited the Holocaust and Human Rights Center in Augusta, ME, The Franco Center in Lewiston, ME, and The Italian Heritage Center in Portland, ME. They listened to an archeologist speak about the immigration of the Ulster-Scots. They also had speakers share information about people who immigrated from New Sweden, Armenia, and Greece. They had recent immigrants from Burkina Faso and Somalia share their experiences too. All these experiences aided the children in writing stronger, more complex letters to their homelands. The authenticity increased in their final product as the children are creating welcome packets for new U.S. citizens that will be handed out at the Judicial Citizenship Ceremony in Portland, ME on September 17, 2018.

5th Grade Expedition - The Revolutionary War

The fifth grade Revolutionary War expedition has been one of the longest standing topics at a particular grade level and has seen the most significant transformation in the progression of complexity, craftsmanship, and authenticity. Initially, answering the guiding question of How do you know if history is accurate? the 2013 product, The Colonist Columns, was a mock newspaper from the Revolutionary War. In terms of complexity, the newspaper contained one piece of writing per student, written in the format of an article. Craftsmanship was apparent in the high quality drawings and the care taken to attend to all components of a newspaper. Authenticity was seen in the professional format and publication, although the content itself was not authentic.

In 2014, while the topic remained the same, in an effort to make improvements in the area of complexity, the guiding question shifted to What was the human impact of the American Revolution? One of the products of this expedition was an anthology of historical fiction letters, written from different historical perspectives to help to answer the question.

In 2015-2016, the guiding question shifted again to What does it take to plan and survive an 18th century expedition? The case studies in this expedition included studies of primitive skills, boat building, and gardening. Students each created a half model of a bateaux, the boats that Benedict Arnold used for the march to Quebec. The final product of the expedition featured two pieces of writing per student. In addition to the historical fiction letter, students each created a survival plan to answer the guiding question that included what skills, character traits, and mindsets they would need to display, pulling from all that was learned throughout the case studies of the expedition.

In 2016-2017, building on the prior year's expedition success, a full year of working in the Maine Maritime Museum's boat shop to build two Monhegan skiffs was added into the expedition. The final product of the expedition became a 5th grade passage portfolio presentation. Each student wrote an essay proving that he/she could identify and develop the skills needed to survive an 18th century expedition. This essay pulled from all aspects of the case studies, field work, texts, and utilized the school's Code of Character and Habits of Scholarship. Students assembled individual displays and presented their own answer to the guiding question at the Celebration of Learning. Complexity in this product was seen in the quality of the students' writing, as they used multiple sources and experience to write a complex piece to answer the guiding question that showed knowledge of history, skills, and self-growth. Craftsmanship was apparent in the writing pieces, the visual display of the presentation, but also in the woodworking and boat building that students took part in throughout the year. The final products showed authenticity, the passage portfolio presentation was meaningful for each individual. Students made the connection as well that the habits and skills that they needed to develop to survive an 18th century expedition are the similar habits and skills that are needed to be ready to enter middle school.

In the 2017-2018, the expedition remained very much the same in terms of the bones of the topic and final products that were completed. Authenticity, remained similar in that students connected with a historical sense of place as they learned about the significant role their region played in Benedict Arnold's march to Quebec. Students attended and participated in historically accurate reenactments at Old Fort Western and toured the historic landmark home and cemetery belonging to Ruben Colburn, who arranged the building of the expedition's bateaux. Craftsmanship continues to be evident in the high quality wooden boats the students have built to round out the fleet of research vessels that will be available to WBS students for citizen science research. Complexity was ratcheted up as we introduced the EL module covering the American Revolution. Students read a broad variety of text that included spectrum of view points on the American Revolution. The students will continue to compile a passage portfolio regarding their 18th century survival skills and how those skills and attributes shape them as a person and student. In addition to that project, the fifth grade modified the module's final product to be a fishbowl protocol, rather than a writing piece, to serve as a mentor video for other teachers and students in our school. Students researched the point of view of their character and role played that point of view in a conversation addressing one of our guiding question, How did the American Revolution and the events leading up to it affect the people in the Colonies?

As part of fifth grade’s 2017-2018 expedition about the American Revolution, students were asked to answer the guiding question, How did the American Revolution and the events leading up to it affect the people of the colonies? To gain varied perspectives, students read a variety of complex text that included historical fiction, informational text, and fiction. They watched documentaries and event specific movies to gain a multi-angle perspective of the war. The rigor of the expedition was scaffolded with a series of text dependent questions, graphic organizers, brainstorming and writing activities to help students reach the ultimate goal of taking a first person point of view regarding the war. Students created a character and accompanying backstory for participation in a fishbowl protocol that brought together a Patriot, Loyalist, Native American, Slave, and Neutralist. They debated the impact of the war on their lives and held a healthy debate based on their characters’ points of view. The fishbowl was videotaped and will be used as a tool for teachers at WBS as an exemplar to teach this protocol to other students.

Through West Bath School's early expeditions, non-fiction books and field guides were prevalent products. Through High Quality Work protocols, a need to increase the variety of types of authentic products emerged. Students have responded to having the opportunity to develop a variety of products throughout their expeditions as can be in the sample products below.