There are several things to consider when planning your project. This chapter is about choosing and designing a project. Basically where and how to come up with ideas. You can come up with your own project or use one someone else has used. As you explore/brainstorm you should look at other projects online to see what other teachers are doing. They can come from the news, contemporary issues, student questions, and interests, collaboration with other teachers, etc.
The most important thing is to examine the quality of the student's experience. Things to watch out for include:
1. Fit, good outcomes and good amount of activities.
2. technology should be used to connect people to people and people to information.
3. boring repetitive seasonally themed units.
4. be aware of inquiry versus scripted projects. Let them think a bit on their own.
self discovery!
Great projects have some flexibility, and they let student's interests and curiosity steer the learning experience. I think this goes along with really knowing and listening to your students. I liked the idea of setting up situations in which students ask questions, want and need to know and believe it's important to them and the community to discover the answers. We need to look at projects as investigations.
The best ones are loosely designed, realistic, cross multiple disciplines, reach beyond school to involve others, use primary sources, design includes students learning with and from each others, and include 21st centurey skills and liertacies including communication, project management and tecnology. And students learn by doing.
Designing the project should include making a list of learning objectives and deciding what 21st centruy skills you may include, identify what you want to foster in students (i.e. reflection or persistance) (Boss, Krauss), evidence of understanding, the project's theme, and planning for the experience. You can also use a project sketch to get ideas flowing. Asset maps are also good and help you with organization and "turn to" people. It's good in any project to know your strengths and weaknesses. And who on your team is good at what. Tracking assets online is also a good strategy.
I like that this chapter discussed all the great sources that projects can come from - even disruptions in the classroom! I think if students generate their own ideas, they're more likely to put more effort into the work.
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