The goal of the Odyssey Project is develop and implement an innovative middle school program which replaces the traditional departmentalized approach to learning with a challenging, hands-on, interdisciplinary and technologically rich curriculum. The anticipated outcome is that students will develop critical thinking skills and problem solving techniques in an active, cooperative learning environment which extends beyond the walls of the classroom to the greater community, both locally and globally. The new goal of middle school education is student-centered learning achieved through interdisciplinary teaching and cooperative learning. The Odyssey Project includes a core team of middle school teachers committed to the development and implementation of a sixth and seventh grade curriculum which integrates all the disciplines through thematic units of approximately four weeks. The schedule itself at times is altered to include larger and more flexible blocks of time to allow for in depth investigations, discussions, and interdisciplinary projects.
Students have access to approprite technology to use throughout the school day and at home.
Via the Internet, seventh grade science students studying the Greenhouse Effect retrieve data concerning the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere over the last 20 years. Their findings are recorded on laptop computers in a spreadsheet program and then taken to math where the students learn statistical analysis. In history, students invite local politicians to debate the need for legislation mandating stiffer regulations for automobile emissions. Notes are taken on the laptops during a discussion which follows. Using discussion notes as a guideline in English class, students word process the first draft of a persuasive argument on the best way to reduce carbon dioxide production in their local community.