Introduction

Project Wherry is a student centered, technology based, classroom at Sanborn Regional High School in Kingston, NH. Students enrolled in the class, spend two periods a day developing independent research, and building two Piscataqua River Wherries, which are flat bottomed boats, indigenous to the Piscataqua River area along the Seacoast of Portsmouth , NH. The Project began in 1995 under the instruction of E.J. Gaudet and Dave Taylor. The goal of Project Wherry is to offer students a new model of instruction which will enable them to become life-long learners. The purpose of the book is two fold. We have realized that there is no information on the Wherry in publication. There are actual wherries out there, however, there are no written articles to be found on them. Part of our aim with this class is to publish documentation on the wherry so that the art of building wherry boats will not be lost. The other aim of this publication is as a teaching tool for the members of ths class, so that we can learn the tedious process of publishing a book. We, the students of Project Wherry, feel that it is important for us to know the history of the area in which we live.

Description of class

This class started as a Whaleboat class where a group of students and interns got together and decided to build a whaleboat. This class was actually a experiment for a new learning process which had great success It took two years to complete the Whaleboat. Not every student could get scheduled for this class; you had to go and get two teacher recommendations, as well write and essay on the best process for you to learn. This process was the same for trying to get into Wherry. Basically Mr. Gaudet, one of the teachers, was just looking for a good work effort and basic honesty in a student. In a way this class is a preparation for life. Even though many of us will not chose boat building for a career, it teaches us to go out and research without just having the information handed to us. We learn team work with our peers, whether in boat or academic time. Over the year, we have all learned to work with each other.

Who We Are

Mr. Gaudet and Mr. Taylor are the teachers of the class. To many of the interns and students, their role in the classroom is essential to the class. They are the ones who can crack the whip when a student starts to wander away from the class whether physically or figuratively. Mr. Gaudet has the knowledge of the computers which we need for our academic work. He is a great help to many of us as a computer teacher and a boat shop teacher. Mr. Gaudet holds a great amount of knowledge is always trying to find a way to share it with everyone. Mr. Taylor is in the classroom as a mentor teacher and as the shop teacher. His reasoning for being there is to teach the uses for the tools and also the safety precautions. Mr. Taylor takes great pride in every piece of work he completes, and he shows that pride every day he shows up in the class. By joking around with every one in the class, he always finds a way to shine some humor on our days. The interns in this program benefit the class and themselves. As students, our benefit is that we have the assistance of another teacher to answer questions. Therefor the interns are there to be able to bounce questions off of and help guide students into the right direction. They also learn to pick up ideas from a project based classroom to use in their own class. The students are in this program to add energy to the classroom. They also have a different way of looking at a question bordering the whole picture with the different questions they ask.

What We Are About

At Sanborn we support a learning model which was produced by a group of teachers based on student needs. What is greatabout this model is it gives you choice. The choice to choose your own projects, and not have one handed to you. There is no beginning but we tend to start with wonders. First you have to wonder about a topic and ask questions. Wondering is a form of learning, you can't learn if at first you don't wonder. Then we move on to forming an essential question that can not be easily answered then, find out, which means researching your topic. Sometimes you need to expand your research skills and use of computer technology more and venture to other places such as museums and other libraries. You next make a presentable project to show to other people. This is way to show your success and your failures. After your presentation you learn to accept student assessments critically and use them to your advantage. This plays a big role in the learning model because, all through our life you need to learn how to accept your peers criticism and complements. After that you assess your self and grade your self accordingly to what you believe the kind of effort you put into your project and what you think you could change. Through out life your not going to have someone grade you on your progress, that1s why you need to learn how to assess yourself. For example, every Monday we go through a routine where we have to fill out weekly assessments and goals that we would like to achieve. That1s very helpful to your self so that you have an understanding of what1s going on for the week. Later on in the week many students will meet with their intern and teacher to discuss their successes and their failures for the week. This adds a great deal of direction in your project and gives you a comfortable feeling that lets you know you are doing something right.

The students learn a great deal from this class, you learn how to use computer technology in your presentation, something that many of us never realized until we enrolled in this class. The students also learn wood working skills which many of the students would not have learned if it wasn1t for this class. How to control heavy machinery without injuring your self.. Shop work fits into the learning model also. You first wonder how to build an oar, then find out about it, make a presentable project, and then get assessed by your peers through the whole project.

The class gets along very well. At the beginning of this class we took a trip to Camp Lincoln a recreation camp. At this camp we1re taught to bounce ideas off of people, and we also learned to work as a group. During academic time in class we work alone and not many people know about your project. This is just one of the reasons for the publishing of the book. This way other students can read about your project. In the boat time we have to work together, otherwise the project just would not get done. We learned that at times you just need team work to get through things, and the other times you need to learn to work by yourself

Why We Chose The Wherry

We choose the Wherry mainly so we can continue the self based learning idea. Also because of the relevancy to home. What was so great about the Wherry was that it was relevant to home which allowed the students to not only learn how to build a boat but to also learn a bit history on the state of New Hampshire. With the boat being used on the Piscataqua river found in Portsmouth it was easily accessible being only 45 minutes away from Kingston NH, this allowed for some first hand on research like interviews, field trips to museums, and field trips to other boat builders in the area. The Piscataqua River Wherry is not well known and that is the reason for us writing a book on the boat and the history surrounding it. Within the one year limit, we hope to accomplish building two authentic boats and publishing a book about our learning. This book would be used as a life long learning model for other students and teachers.