Engaging students begin with

 intrinsic motivation and valued results

It begins with effort,put forth by teachers, to engage students in the learning process creating  learning environments that touch students intrinsically to want to succeed.  If students  visualize, embrace and value what they have accomplished, then this goes a long way toward reforming the course of education in our schools.

Projects-based learning is a pedagogy, if employed in the classroom, would help create such learned environments and provide needed academic catalyst for greater academic achievement.

Presented below is an introduction to a project that can provide the means to reach the goal of teaching to a classroom of self-motivated learners solving problems and sharing their solutions with the community.  This is the essence of being of service to family, friends and neighbors!

The Climate Change Project

The Climate Change Project is an educational initiative that addresses the problem caused by the steady relentless heating of the atmosphere of the planet because of human-society carbon dioxide pollution.

Utilizing knowledge and understanding of the chemistry and physics of climate change is an essential first step to bring forth solutions necessary to make our community more sustainable and more resilient into the future.

Students become immersed in a project-based and design thinking effort to address problems such as energy conservation, clean energy production, growing food locally and living a lifestyle that is less environmentally destructive.

Students referencing both the Streamwood 2018 Comprehensive Development Plan and The Climate Realty Project 100% Emissions Campaign will begin to develop innovative prototypes and action-plans to contribute to increasing the sustainability and resilience of our community into the 21^st century.

Projects, like this one, are built upon a sense of urgency to solve problems.  Students gain a feeling that what they have achieved in the classroom has real meaning.  This sense of being valued by what you accomplish, as a person, can only lead to greater self-efficacy and resilience to persevere and achieve no matter what challenges lie ahead.  

Projects related to progressive changes in the community to increase the quality of our lives into this century would be the standard and framework from which to build upon into the future. Students become more engaged in this learning process and increases in student academic achievement would follow.