Well, here we are back in the thick of things at school. It is turning out to be a very good year. Our students are really delightful people and they are, for the most part, engaged in their learning - so far. I have been working on creating the Challenge Based Learning Project that I am doing for my Capstone. It is on Immigration and is a six week project. We introduced it to our students last Thursday and, as of tomorrow, they are setting up their teams and deciding on the focus of their project.
The process of putting the project together has been a real learning experience. There are a great deal of things to keep in mind as we create. It is really important that our students understand what it is they have to do because the last thing I want is for students to become disengaged because they do not get what it is all about.
What it is about is that we are having students choose from 25 different project ideas (or they can come up with their own) and they have to do research on the topic and come up with a challenge after they fully understand what their topic is about. Examples:
These are just three examples out of 25, but you get the idea. Ideally, there is something that will pique the interest of every student and they will engage in it and love it so much that they completely change their attitude towards learning.
The other thing that is attached to this project is that students have to present their final project to a group of community members. I think this will help with buy-in.
I am really excited about this project. I am fortunate to work with a great English teacher who is equally thrilled about "getting out on a limb" with some new ideas for projects. I will be updating this blog weekly with progress and pitfalls.
I am a little nervous about not having class this month. I have started playing with the website and am thinking a great deal about how to make a movie. Next weekend is going to be a push to get lots of things going.
The process of putting the project together has been a real learning experience. There are a great deal of things to keep in mind as we create. It is really important that our students understand what it is they have to do because the last thing I want is for students to become disengaged because they do not get what it is all about.
What it is about is that we are having students choose from 25 different project ideas (or they can come up with their own) and they have to do research on the topic and come up with a challenge after they fully understand what their topic is about. Examples:
- Learn how to contact and interact with our government representatives. Find out what you can do to change immigration laws and start action. Start a political campaign to get your ideas heard by our school, our community. (2 groups)
- Learn about immigrants coming in from Central America. What are the issues they are fleeing and what can you do to help? Many facilities are being shut down that were assisting these immigrants. What are the alternatives?
- Study the migration of African Americans from the Southern States during the 20th century. Why are so many migrating back? Study letters, art,(Jacob Lawrence), music, etc. Read The Warmth from Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.
These are just three examples out of 25, but you get the idea. Ideally, there is something that will pique the interest of every student and they will engage in it and love it so much that they completely change their attitude towards learning.
The other thing that is attached to this project is that students have to present their final project to a group of community members. I think this will help with buy-in.
I am really excited about this project. I am fortunate to work with a great English teacher who is equally thrilled about "getting out on a limb" with some new ideas for projects. I will be updating this blog weekly with progress and pitfalls.
I am a little nervous about not having class this month. I have started playing with the website and am thinking a great deal about how to make a movie. Next weekend is going to be a push to get lots of things going.