This infographic came through my twitter feed just over a week ago highlighting the concept of 'connected learning'. Upon further exploration, it seemed pertinent to see how our educational model successfully integrates connected learning.
Off-campus programs naturally use components of connected learning as a foundation to the educational model they employ. Active, relevant, real-world, effective, hands-on, networked, innovative, personal and transformative are the adjectives used to describe the concept of connected learning at this site. I am very confident students who have taken part in Proctor's off-campus programs would use the same adjectives to describe their experiences.



We have heard early reports from students heading on Ocean Classroom and in Costa Rica and Spain describing both the cultural and academic learning taking place as they become increasingly engaged in their new 'world' abroad, a world centered around equitable, social, and participatory learning.



On campus, this model of learning is taking place each day as well. Whether through classes connecting with local community organizations, classes studying 'real life' challenges facing school administrators, or through more formal connections made during the school's Project Period each spring, it is our goal that students understand how their lives connect to the world around them.



Over the past two years, Adam Jones has worked as the Community Program Coordinator on campus. This winter, a new skills class will be offered to students interested in organizing community service offerings for the school. Students and faculty want to serve, and the greater community in which we live always has plenty of needs. Connecting the two has always been the hurdle standing in our way, but we expect that through the work of students under Adam's leadership, a bridge will span those formerly disconnected parties.

This summer, a group of thirteen students traveled to Guatemala with Jones and former Mountain Classroom instructor, Crescent Sherwonit. The group kept a detailed blog of their adventures that you can read here. Just prior to the start of the school year, two Proctor students were connected with heart surgeon and Proctor alum Hank Marks ('71) as he traveled to Honduras on a service trip. While not school sponsored, the impact of Moriah and Jamie's experiences mirrored those that went to Guatemala in June. As the following video illustrates, the learning that takes place through community service can be directly related to the classroom; the very goal of our developing community program

Connected learning is not just a fad, or a new model of education that will come and go over the course of a few years. Its name may change, as it has in the past, but connected learning is a way of life that can only be truly understood by those who have the opportunity to live it. It is a way of life that makes sense for the Proctor community because it is how we have approached learning for decades and is a different way of phrasing our motto, "Live to Learn, Learn to Live". What better way to ensure our mission statement is fulfilled than to continuously study and engage with the community we call home.

For updates regarding the Community Service program at Proctor, follow @PACommunity on Twitter or "Like" the Proctor Academy Community Program Facebook page. If you are interested in connecting with Proctor's students and classes, please leave a comment and we can help find those opportunities!