Strategies for Discovery - Ch. 4 Project Ideas and Design

[Sarah McPherson]

Where do good project ideas come from? The authors suggest several ideas, including reviewing existing projects such as those at iEARN and Global SchoolNet. Of course we need to consider the learning outcomes we need to address, whether students would be engaged in critical thinking as independent learners, the rigor, quality of the experience for the students, etc. Pretty much the same process for reviewing any existing materials and determining whether, and how to use.
The pitfalls listed are excellent and, I know from personal experience, I've fallen into them all too often. I particularly honed in on the suggestions about the thematic units and suggestions to make the themes more akin to Essential Question topics. My interpretation is that themes should be overarching concepts which can then be analyzed from many perspectives. What fun that could turn out to be! The authors use examples of survival, justice, interdependence, etc. I'm thinking about a project on sustainability - energy, forests, jungles, wildlife, infrastructure ... Am I on the right track - this seems to get very unwieldly quickly.

However another point I took away from this chapter is flexibility, ... let students' interests adn curiousity drive the learning experience (p.63). The example is a theme about oceans morphed to a boat project. The learning outcomes were interdisciplinary, authentic, required the research, teamwork, and critical thinking desired in pbl and resulted in product. A framework with flexibility and that deviates from traditional thinking seems to be the formula. More information is at the links http://www.projectapproach.org/ and http://coe.ksu.edu/pbl/

The remaining part of the chapter is a guide for designing a project. I starred all the bullets on page 65 as guiding principles for planning. The Asset Map is a great planning tool to identify the resources - not just materials, but also expertise - to use in a project. It's another layer of the plc that really brings it together with a real-world lens from beyond the classroom.

[Marius Boboc]

Looking at the pitfalls mentioned by Boss and Krauss (pp. 60-61), the need for a set of appropriate pedagogical strategies becomes evident. I remember previous attempts to involve students in the design and implementation of my English lessons either at the middle or high school level. After serious reflection and teacher networking, it dawned on me that it was "shared ownership in curriculum negotiations" (Hyun, 2006) that truly brought me closer to my students. Consequently, project-based learning became a platform for all of us to engage in meaningful, dual learning.

[Sarah McPherson]

Does anyone have experience with an asset map as described in Chapter 4? It could be interesting to expand the planning to creatively use resources available.

[Telannia Norfar]

I have not used an asset map to plan a project however I have used Inspiration software in my class for students to collaborate on what they know. I am investigating the online tool for my current project use.

[Frances Thomas]

Chapter 4 Strategies for Discovery
I am so excited about this chapter, and the title leads to exactly what our students should be doing while they learn: discover. It outlines the overcoming pitfalls, and getting started on designing a fantastic project. It states that one successful project leads to another project just like the answer to one question leads to another question. We must always remember what the outcome of what we want our students to learn. We need to keep in mind that we can develop our own plan by following what is stated in the chapter or we can start out by using what is already developed. I think we just need to get started and feel comfortable about adventuring out and allow our student to create the learning also.
Q 1: I have suggested that our school read this book as our summer reading. In addition, I would like to set up a site so that we can have a book talk weekly on each chapter. How do I set-up a site.

[LindaH]

Setting up a Ning is very easy. Just go to your dashboard (the very top of the page) and you'll find it asks you if you want to create your own social network. It then takes you through some simple choices and you can invite others to join.
Shout if you need more help, I've got a screencast somewhere....
Don't forget you can mix people from here into your school discussion site by inviting us :-) I'm happy to get involved if you want outsiders.

[Telannia Norfar]

I have completed three projects in my three year teaching career. The first project was for a Geometry class. One class had to remodel an existing house and the second class had to design a house for a family of four that had two step sons visiting periodically. One of the stepsons is handicapped. The second project was for all of my math classes where the students had to create a movie that taught a math concept but related to high school students. My last project was this year with students creating a presentation for the school's PTO. They had to show them how to select the best cell phone plan using linear equations.

All of my ideas came from problems I knew people were facing or projects I seen. The movie project came from an idea I saw in a California school district (http://www.ivieawards.org/). I think the best projects are a result of something that really is happening with students.