Curriculum Highlights
Growing with BIA Through Continuous Improvement
We follow Georgia’s Standards of Excellence to drive our instruction. Click here to view our standards.
Our efforts to continuously improve and grow BIA for our students always remains our foremost priority. Our goal is to prepare our students for success in a technology and information driven 21st Century Economy. Our curriculum centers on three primary areas:
- Personalized Learning
- Project-Based Learning
- Coding
Personalized Learning
BIA uses a number of developmentally appropriate strategies and tools to personalize the learning of instruction. The term personalized learning refers to a diverse variety of educational programs, learning experiences, instructional approaches, and academic supported strategies that are intended to address the distinct learning needs, interests, aspirations, or cultural backgrounds of individual students. Adopted from: http://edglossary.org/personalized-learning/
How does BIA personalize learning?
BIA uses a number of developmentally appropriate strategies and tools to personalize the learning of instruction, which will vary across grade levels.
Examples of various strategies and tools used across different grade levels may include, but are not limited to: small group instruction, allowing for student voice and choice, conferencing, flexible learning groups, graphic organizers, online learning platforms, jigsaws, blended learning, Socratic teaching, and literature circles.
BIA uses a series of research-based and teacher-developed assessment tools to guide instructional practices throughout each school year. Assessments include: NWEA MAP, Georgia Milestones, Guided reading/Lexile information, and classroom formative/summative assessments.
We also leverage academic platforms that supplement our students personalized learning profiles.
Project Based Learning
Project Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. The project-based learning framework allows students to acquire concept knowledge in all areas while they master the 21st-century skills of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity. PBL allows our students to better understand their place in our world, different perspectives, and how we as individuals connect to each other and our world. Through purposeful integration, students will be able to apply what they have learned to demonstrate a meaningful conceptual understanding and will be able to answer these two simple questions:
- Why am I learning this?
- What am I going to do with this learning?
View some of the actual projects our teachers use to engage our students.
We encourage all stakeholders to actively participate in PBL (Project Based Learning), including attending PBL Project Exhibition Nights, which are held quarterly and utilizing the I like, I Wish, I Wonder Protocol to reflect about project based learning.
Coding
Children, starting as early as Kindergarten, begin experimenting with visual blocks of code.