<p>My 10th grade d does much better when working in groups on projects. On her own, procrastination wins, but getting together to work on stuff works well. Do co-op schools just have internship opportunities, or are they project-based? She’s thinking bio and then med school, but photography is an interest, too (remember the 10th grade part, ha ha)</p>
<p>Do the block schedule schools end up with lots of group work?
Thanks for any ideas.</p>
<p>My S is a first-year student at a “block plan” school (Colorado College). It does appear to me that team projects are encouraged there. The block plan creates opportunities to organize students into field work and other projects without concern for schedule conflicts between classes. For the entire 3.5 week block, each course has a classroom, lab, or workshop allocated only to it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So, discussions and other activities can and do spill over past the scheduled meeting times. It’s also easy to hold classes in the mountains or elsewhere off-campus. Then there is a system of “Venture Grants” (up to $1K, I think) to support the costs of independent projects. </p>
<p>Classes at this school are small, and the campus culture seems to foster cooperation. If you put any stock in rankings, note that Princeton Rev ranks it #12 for “class discussions encouraged”, #10 for “happiest students”, and #9 for “everyone plays intramural sports”. Take the precise numbers with a grain of salt but I think the characterizations are pretty accurate. The Rocky Mountain location also lends a sense of adventure to the place. The following article discusses how the school’s programs and atmosphere might play out for a pre-med student:
[Colorado</a> College | Bulletin](<a href=“http://www.coloradocollege.edu/bulletin/march2005/healing.asp]Colorado”>http://www.coloradocollege.edu/bulletin/march2005/healing.asp)</p>
<p>I’m not too familiar with the other block plan schools. If you are interested in them, consider not only the block plan but also how other aspects of campus culture affect the atmosphere and potential fit for your kid.</p>
<p>In co-op programs a student will typically alternate a semester of school with a full-time co-op job working for a company outside the school; co-ops usually last 6 months. Often, this means that it may take 5 yrs to graduate instead of 4, to allow time for 1-3 co-ops (students do not take classes during their co-op). The hands on learning results more from their work experiences outside the classroom than from the actual classroom environment which may not necessarily be group or project-based. My S is studying engineering at Northeastern where he will do 3 co-ops; at the same time, many of his engineering courses also involve group and team projects so those opportunities exist but they are not specifically related to the co-ops.</p>
<p>All of them.</p>