ONE STUDENT
AT A TIME

The 5A's



The 5A’s -Assessment, Authenticity, Adult Relationships, Active Learning and Academic Rigor - are the building blocks of a “quality project.” We believe that when students think critically about how they will incorporate each one of the 5A’s into their project, they will achieve a deeper level of thinking and learning.

Imagine that you are a student in the process of designing a project. These are the types of questions that you would be encouraged to ask yourself before, during and even after your project is completed:

Assessment:

How should your work be evaluated? What are the professional and academic standards to which your project will be held? What models will you use to create your project? How often will your work be critiqued? How will you reflect on your work? How many drafts will you do? What will you show at your exhibition?

Authenticity:

How is your project real or important to you, your internship site or the broader community? Describe the products you will be creating as a part of this project. Who will benefit from this work? How will this work be used at your LTI site?

Academic Rigor:

How is your project challenging? What is your investigation? What framing questions or hypotheses do you have around this work? Describe the process you will use to answer your framing questions. What State content standards will you meet in this process? What are the specific skills that you will acquire through completing your project? What personal qualities will you develop in this process?

Active Learning:

How does this project fully engage you in the learning process? How is your project hands-on? What steps will you take to complete the products? How will you document your hands-on learning?

Adult Relationships:

How will you utilize the expertise and guidance of adult resources to complete your project? Who will be your mentor for this project? Who else will serve as a resource for you? How will this project get you involved and active in your community? How often will you meet with these resources?






 
 

Learn More

→ Learning Plans
→ The 5A's
→ Programs
→ Exhibitions
→ Internship
→ Advisory