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Elements of projects that encourage creativity: Scenarios - Home - Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog

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Elements of projects that encourage creativity: Scenarios - Home - Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog

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The quality and effectiveness of school projects differ vastly. Consider the last time you visited an elementary school science fair. How many of the projects would be considered high quality using Google's criteria above? I bet the volcano model and the plant nutrient experiment wouldn't pass muster. Does making a volcano out of paper mache demonstrate the scientific method? Did the child who tries different fertilizers on a plant have a passion for horticulture?

I've been thinking and writing about how we can improve the quality of projects for a long time. What separates a project that falls flat, that results too often in plagiarism or paraphrasing, that kids struggle with from those that engage students, that teach important skills and concepts, and that result in real learning? And allow students to create and innovate? That are more likely to be done by students themselves rather than by their parents.

Unfortunately, I've seen too many teachers attend a conference or workshop and hear another teacher describe in exquisite, step-by-step detail, the wonderful project she does with her students. But when the teacher returns and tries the project himself, it's a dud. Was the first teacher a fraud? I doubt it.

What has happened in this type of professional learning about a successful teaching strategy has fallen prey to what I call "the franchise syndrome." Despite the fact there are many, many wonderful independent restaurants doing quite well, very few franchise successfully. And the reason I believe is that while the menu, decor, and recipes can be duplicated, the passion of the individual restaurateur cannot be.

The same holds true for trying to duplicate successful projects. No matter how detailed the recipes for success, unless a teacher is passionate about the topic and pedagogy, it may well not be successful.

So instead of a dozen examples of wonderful projects, let's look at just two projects that have the potential of releasing a creative spark or two as well respect craftsmanship and see if we can extrapolate some of the elements that made them effective. If we can find those elements, we can apply them to any subject about which we're passionate.
Project One: Learning about Shapes
Ms Hanson's math curriculum requires students be able to recognize standard geometric shapes: squares, rectangles, circles, ovals, and triangles. While worksheets and computer games have helped her students do this in the past, she decided that for too many students this knowledge is simply an abstract concept that has little relationship to the real world.

Since she now has a cart of tablet computers available to her, she decides to use the cameras in them to help students relate their math studies to their lives. Over the course of a week, Ms Hanson sends these devices home with her students asking each of them to find and photograph ten shapes they find in nature, in buildings, and in objects in their homes.

Once the photographs have been taken, students import them into a drawing program in which they use the tools to outline the shapes they've found with bold colorful lines. The tech integration specialist was in the lab helping on the days this was done. Student use a short checklist to make sure they have completed all parts of the project. One of the criteria is to find an unusual shape and give it its own name.

When complete, Ms Hanson has a short conference with each student about the assignment - what they learned, where they had problems, and how this information might be useful to them. The short checklist of requirements was used as part of the interview. When students failed to complete any of the requirements, she made arrangements for them to get extra help or practice.

Prints of both the original photograph and modified photographs were displayed in the classroom and online for parents and other students to review.

On reflection, Ms Hanson saw an unusually high level of motivation to complete the project, that higher percentage of students mastered the math concepts, and that both she and her students had fun. She's writing a grant for her own set of five classroom tablets for next year and decides to start looking for a better graphics program for use with the project.

Project Two - Oral Histories of the Civil Rights Movement
Mr. Chaves has a state standard that requires students demonstrate an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. When he has taught it in the past using a textbook and films, he finds that his students are uninterested in this piece of "ancient history," often do poorly on the unit exam, and cannot recall any significant events or lessons only a few weeks after the unit has ended.

So with the help of his librarian, he decides to change the unit up, asking students demonstrate their learning by creating oral histories of local people who remember the 1960s.

Assigning students to groups he believes have a variety of skills, he gives them these guidelines and a rubric on which the project will be assessed:

You and your team must find a relative, friend, or neighbor who remembers life in the 1960s and is willing to share his or her remembrances of that time. While there are no specific questions you need to ask, your goal is to see if they can tell you about how minority groups may have been treated differently during that time compared to today. You may choose to record their recollections as a sound recording, on video, or in writing.

You will also need to select one other secondary source of information about the era - a textbook chapter, a book, or a documentary, and compare and contrast it with the oral history of the person you interviewed. Try to answer the question: Did the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s have a lasting impact? If you feel you have a more significant question about the era, that's great - but talk to me about it first.

You may choose how to present your findings. You may give an oral report accompanied by a computer slideshow, create a video, or write a paper. Exemplary presentations will be original and creative. All reports will be shared online with the school and the interviewees. A short written personal reflection on what you learned is also required. This will not be shared.

Mr. Chavez spent time in class helping students establish group norms, determine job responsibilities, and develop a timeline to organize task completion deadlines. He also encouraged groups to develop their own quality criteria for the completed work - and to think creatively about their conclusion and presentation.

At the end of the unit, Mr. Chavez reviewed each project and his own effort. He observed that students were more engaged, demonstrated high-order thinking, and some students showed creativity both in their conclusions or how they communicated their findings. He determined the rubric needed to be clearer and some students needed extra help from the librarian in creating good videos and finding secondary sources . A short student survey of the project revealed that while students found the project challenging, they liked the personal relationships they formed with interviewees and were proud of their finished product.

While these assignments have different educational objectives and are done with very different age groups, both have some common elements that fall into three categories: Assignments, Activities, and Assessments (which I will share in the blog next weekend).

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Elements of projects that encourage creativity: Scenarios - Home - Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog

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The quality and effectiveness of school projects differ vastly. Consider the last time you visited an elementary school science fair. How many of the projects would be considered high quality using Google's criteria above? I bet the volcano model and the plant nutrient experiment wouldn't pass muster.

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A Must Have Rubric for Effective Implementation of PBL in Your School ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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A Must Have Rubric for Effective Implementation of PBL in Your School ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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May , 2014
Project based learning is a teaching learning methodology that has been widely praised for its efficacy in enhancing learning achievements.The premise underlying PBL revolves around getting students engaged in authentic learning events through the integration of mini-projects in class. These projects can be as short as one day and as long as a year. However, there is a difference between mere projects and project based learning. This table from Teachbytes provides a great illustration of the nuances between the two concepts.

Check out the full graphic from this page.

Applying the concept of project based learning in instruction requires that the education stakeholders especially schools and district leaders understand its core precepts and consequently adopt an informed strategy to support the effective classroom implementation of PBL.To this end, the rubric below from BIE provides schools with a clear roadmap of what it looks like to be a school with a fully developed PBL program. You can download this 2 pages rubric from BIE page ( you need to register to download it, registration is free though).

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A Must Have Rubric for Effective Implementation of PBL in Your School

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May , 2014 Project based learning is a teaching learning methodology that has been widely praised for its efficacy in enhancing learning achievements.The premise underlying PBL revolves around getting students engaged in authentic learning events through the integration of mini-projects in class. These projects can be as short as one day and as long as a year.

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Great resources to help you bring project-based learning into your classroom. #pbl #education

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Take a look at some of the exciting projects students and teachers are doing. Find some resources to help you and your students do them better.

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Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites The internet catalogue for students, teachers, administrators & parents. Over 20,000 relevant links personally selected by an educator/author with over 30 years of experience.

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Talking About Text Structure in the PBL Classroom | Edutopia

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Talking About Text Structure in the PBL Classroom | Edutopia

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Project-based learning is often associated with STEM learning, but PBL is a powerful context for literacy learning as well. Many research-supported practices for developing literacy can be seamlessly embedded into projects. A meaningful and engaging context, as in PBL, can make instruction in research-supported practices even more effective (Guthrie et al., 2004; Guthrie et al., 2008).

Strong readers pay more attention than weaker readers to how texts are structured or organized. Fortunately, paying more attention to text structure is something that we can teach to all readers. Research shows that this practice helps many readers, even young children and those with learning difficulties (Gersten, Fuchs, Williams, & Baker, 2001; Shanahan et al., 2010). Consider the following seven steps to teach informational text structures within a project:

1. Project-Related Texts

Select a text that one or more students are using in a project. Early on, consider using shorter texts, such as articles, that have a single, easy-to-identify structure, such as compare/contrast. In later lessons, you can move to longer texts with multiple and more complex structures.

2. Graphic Organizers

Consider using a graphic organizer, such as a Venn diagram, flow chart, hierarchical diagram, or timeline, to help students learn that structure. While many graphic organizers are available online, you can also develop organizers in most word-processing software or concept-mapping apps. With young children, it may help to make a large graphic organizer and use objects rather than texts at first. For example, you might introduce the idea by sorting classroom objects into a Venn diagram made of hula-hoops.

3. Uncovering the Structure

Begin the lesson by explaining that uncovering the structure of a text can help students understand and gather information for their projects. The more students connect this skill to success in their project, the more motivated they are likely to be as they learn and apply it.

4. Identifying the Structure

Work with students to identify the structure of the text that you selected, explicitly teaching not only about the structure, but also about how to recognize it in a text. Consider using common clue words as in the table below (adapted from Improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade: A practice guide).

5. From Structure to Practice

Encourage students to identify the structure of texts that they'll be reading during that day's project time. Circulate the room as they work so that you can support them in this process. Consider pulling together small groups of the students using the same or similar texts to work together on text structure identification. Many students will find it helpful to draw the structure of the text.

6. Review the Practice

Pull students back together to share the structures they found and how those structures helped them understand and find information for the project. Review key points from your initial lesson, and plan opportunities to follow up in later lessons. Encourage students to let you and their peers know when they uncover particularly interesting or accessible structures, such as information organized into an alphabet book or a question-and-answer format. Just as we create a word-conscious classroom by modeling and encouraging an interest in words, we can create a text-structure-conscious classroom by modeling and encouraging an interest in how authors organize their texts.

7. Extend Text Structure Instruction to Writing

Students are likely to understand text structure more deeply if you also draw their attention to text structure in writing. For example, you might invite students to use the same graphic organizers for project writing that they have been using in their reading.

With all that we need to accomplish not only in STEM, but in literacy development as well, we should take advantage of any opportunity to incorporate practices that research has shown to be effective, and to amplify that effectiveness through a PBL context.

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Talking About Text Structure in the PBL Classroom | Edutopia

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Project-based learning is often associated with STEM learning, but PBL is a powerful context for literacy learning as well. Many research-supported practices for developing literacy can be seamlessly embedded into projects. A meaningful and engaging context, as in PBL, can make instruction in research-supported practices even more effective (Guthrie et al., 2004; Guthrie et al., 2008).

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Doug Johnson Website - dougwri - Designing Research Projects Students (and Teachers) Love

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Doug Johnson Website - dougwri - Designing Research Projects Students (and Teachers) Love

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Designing Research Projects Students (and Teachers) Love
MultiMedia Schools, Nov-Dec 1999

Consider these scenarios:

Michael is a wonderful young man. Handsome, intelligent, caring and sweet, he's better than about 99% of the rest of kids out there. But the one thing he is not is much of is a scholar. He is diligent, but perfunctory, about his school assignments.

On occasion, however, Mike gets very excited about his schoolwork. Science fair is one of those times. He spends weekends conducting experiments, visiting the library, searching websites, making graphs, taking photos, and carefully designing a presentation board illustrating his findings. He is involved, working entire days consumed by his task.

One of his best projects was one he completed in the fifth grade. He wanted to determine what substance, when applied to ice would melt it the most quickly. He drilled holes in the bottoms of four or five aluminum pie plates, taped over the holes, and then filled them with water. After being left outside over night, he removed the tape, carefully balanced them on measuring cups, spread a variety of materials on top of each icy pie plate, and then diligently recorded how much water dripped through the opening each hour during the day. He used his findings to design spreadsheets and graphs. He researched facts about water, ice, and commercial de-icers. He used the information to verify his hypothesis. He practiced answering questions a judge might ask at the science fair itself. Not much here that could not be replicated. Nothing really complex.

Beth's class has chosen an interesting way to examine the impact of World War II. Instead of reading from a textbook, Beth has asked for volunteers from the community to come in and be interviewed by teams of her eight grade students about what impact the war had on them, either as military personnel or as civilians.

After careful interviews, the students wrote a narrative, took digital photographs, and scanned memorabilia from the time. They looked for web-based references to the topics and terms they hear about. And finally, they used all this information to create web pages that allow them to share what they learned about their neighbors. <http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/schools/dakota/war/worldwar.html>Both students and teachers worked "overtime" to interview, write, clarify, re-write and design these pages.

At an open house, the interviewees and their families were invited in to view and comment on their web pages. Over 11,000 visitors have read these pages, including many distant family members of those interviewed.

For the past few years I have been looking at projects like these from the Mankato schools that kids and teachers love. I've been asking students and teachers to describe learning activities they remember being particularly enjoyable. And in doing so, I have found they shared many common characteristics. These characteristics tend to group themselves into three categories. Each category is briefly described below:

Assignments that matter:
1. Motivational research projects have a clarity of purpose and expectations. When Mike started his science fair project, he had a good guide at: <http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/welcome.html>. On this website are also the forms which would be used to judge (assess) his completed project. An understanding of the scientific method including how to form a hypothesis and how to collect supporting data through experimentation and research is clearly stated as the purpose. This is a life-long, usable set of skills. Science fair students undertake projects worth doing, not just busy work.

2. Motivational research projects give students choices. Anyone who has ever attended a science fair has to marvel at the range of topics kids are interested in. Good projects surround every aspect of every branch of science from chemistry to physics to biology. Now here is the important concept: If the purpose of the assignment is to teach the scientific method, it doesn't make any difference what the topic is! Dig down and look at the core concepts your research assignments are trying to teach, and let the students pick a specific subject that interests them.

3. Motivational research projects are relevant to the student's life. For our students, World War Two and the Trojan War both just seem "a long time ago." By asking her students to interview local residents, the teacher added real faces and lives to history. The stories resonate with those doing the interviewing. So many times we ask our students to research important topics - environmental issues, historical issues, health issues - but fail to help them make the vital connection of why the findings are important to the people in town in which they live.

4. Motivational research projects stress higher level thinking skills and creativity. Think how different the results of a science project are than a paper that simply asks an "about" question. Hey, Mike, write a research paper about ice. Boring! Instead brainstorm an original theory, design a means of testing it, and find ways to effectively communicate your findings. Suddenly we've moved up on Bloom's taxonomy from the knowledge and inference levels right to application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. What fun!

5. Motivational research projects answer real questions. Mike didn't know at the beginning of his project what really would melt ice the best. His rather creative guess was the laundry detergent (the kind with blue specks) would do the trick. The teacher may have guessed that there was a reason people paid good money for commercial de-icer, but the fact was, he probably did not know. It was interesting to watch as the experiment's data grew. Beth had no way of knowing the stories the World War II vets would be telling. Their lives were as fresh and exciting to her as they were to her students. Unfortunately, teachers rarely ask questions to which they do not believe they know the answer. Sort of sad, really. Diminishing to the student; boring for the teacher.

Activities that involve the researcher:
6. Motivational research projects involve a variety of information finding activities. As media specialists we are comfortable with our familiar old primary sources of reference books, magazine indexes, and trade books. Yet the answers to many of the personal, local, and timely questions cannot be found in them. They can provide excellent background information of important facts, but often we need to talk to experts, conduct surveys, design experiments, or look at other kinds of primary sources to get precise information. The learners in these examples spent time with secondary sources too, but the generation of new knowledge through hands-on experimentation and primary sources was motivating.

7. Motivational learning tends to be hands-on. Mike's experiment involved using a hammer to pound nails, a camera to document his progress, a computer to generate charts, and scissors and paste to complete the poster board. Beth's student used tape recorders , scanners, digital cameras, and a web page construction program. Students are learning by doing, not just listening. Notice too, how many corollary skills were practiced in these "research" projects: writing skills, interviewing skills, photography skills, layout and design skills, and speaking skills.

8. The use of technology can be exciting for many students. Whether for planning, for research, or for communication, many students find the use of technology motivating. Neither Mike nor Beth's students used computer programs that were purposely designed to be "motivational." Ironically, the built-in attention getters to many programs - cute animations, sounds, etc. - can actually distract the student from the purpose at hand. It is the challenge of designing containers that make good productivity tools like graphic programs, desktop publishers, and web page construction kits - the virtual equivalent of a set of LEGOs.

9. Good projects often use formats that use multiple senses. Beth's students were asked to communicate their finds not only with words, but through sound and sight as well. Scanned artifacts like ration coupons, medals, and old photographs stimulated those students who may not be verbal learners. Our ability to digitize and present information is no longer restricted to the written word but now can include drawings, photos, sounds, music, animations and even movies. All are formats that carry important and often unique information.

10. Interesting projects are often complex, but are broken into manageable steps. Mike's science fair project took him over 60 hours to complete and involved dozens of tasks. But early in the project, he and his dad outlined the tasks to be done and established a timeline for their completion. Checking off completed tasks in itself is satisfying and motivational, and Mike learned some corollary planning and time management skills in the process. Large projects can be overwhelming even for adults, but planning smaller steps, building timelines, creating frequent deadlines, and scheduling multiple conferences turn complexity into manageability. It's also clear that some tasks in effective research projects often require sustained periods of time to complete, the regular 50 minute block of "library time" doesn't always work Flexibly scheduled library/media time is important when implementing large projects.

11. Collaborative learning is often stimulating and results in better products than individual work. Beth asked her students to work in pairs. Joint problem solving, assigning and accepting responsibility, and discovering and honoring individual talents helped create a synergy that resulted in better, more satisfying web pages than students working alone would have produced. Not every project needs to be a joint effort, but real-world work environments increasingly stress teamwork. Teamwork in school is not only more enjoyable, but leads to the application of practical interpersonal skills as well.

Assessments that Help by Promoting Growth and Showing Care
12. Motivational research projects have results that are shared with people who care and respond. Science fair participants don't get grades. In Mike's school they don't even get any academic credit. Beth's kids got the same credit as those who took a multiple choice test on World War II. So why do kids go to all the extra work? I believe kids get hooked because big people take the time to really look at the work they have done and comment on it. Lots of other students all gather on science fair day and share their findings. People take science fair seriously. The community, both physically and virtually, visited the student's World War II web pages. Assessments and reviews by peers, experts, and neighbors (any audience beyond the teacher) are common in scouting, athletics, dramatics, 4-H, and music organizations.

13. Learning that is assessed by an authentic tool is more meaningful that a paper and pencil test. Mike was evaluated on his science fair project using a rubric like the one at <http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/rubric.htm>. This more closely resembles the criteria used in assessing a person's performance in the real world. Mike and his dad had the rubric at the beginning of the project and used it several times to check his progress during completion of the project. It was easy to recognize both what was good as well as what needed improvement. Quality indicators like rubrics and checklists that are given to students when assignment is made can help guide learning and keep guesswork to a minimum. As students become more sophisticated in the research process, they should be expected to choose or design their own "rules of quality," one of the indicators of a genuinely intrinsically motivated person.

14. Samples and examples give the learner a clear idea of what quality work looks like. Mike had a sample project to look at on the web at < http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/batteries.html>. Beth's class next year can use the World War II site as an exemplar of a quality project. Assignments need to change enough from year to year so that copying is not possible.

15. Well-designed projects allow the learner to reflect, revisit, revise, and improve their final projects. While Beth's class had a completion date, students continued to edit and revise their work as they received feedback from those they interviewed and web site visitors. There is satisfaction to be gained from observed growth. Good projects, like gardens, musical repertoires, and relationships, are probably always works in progress.

So if we know all this about good research projects, why don't all teachers design them with some or all of these elements.

Well, a 4th "A" sneaks in. (Teacher) Attitude is Everything
16. Teachers and media specialists who enjoy authentic, project-based learning are comfortable with a loss of control over time, the final product, and "correct" answers. If some parts of the curriculum don't get "covered," if conflicting evidence causes confusion, or a controversial solution to a problem is suggested, these educators roll with the punches. They have the intellectual confidence to handle ambiguity.

17. These teachers and media specialists accept active students rather than passive students. They have developed new rules of behavior that stress student responsibility, and have trained their principals to differentiate between active learning and a classroom out of control.

18. The professional's belief that given enough time, resources, and motivation, all students are capable of high performance is critical. It's not just the talented and gifted student who can make choices, solve problems creatively, and complete complex tasks. These teachers and media specialists know that most students rise to the level of performance expected of them, and that great ideas can come from anyone in the class.

19. Like media specialists, teachers who do exciting projects recognize that their expertise in the learning and research process rather than in any particular subject area. No longer are these folks information dispensers, but guides for information builders. The happiest teachers are co-learners in the classroom, especially when learning new technology tools. And students get the satisfaction that comes from teaching as well.

20. Teacher enthusiasm becomes more important than ever. The best projects I have seen have always designed by teachers who are enthusiastic about what they are doing and how they are doing it. The downside to this is that it is very difficult to create recipes for specific projects that can be easily adopted by other teachers. We can all use principles and guidelines like the ones in this article, but to say a project, no matter how well designed, is going to work for every teacher and every group of students is impossible.

21. Teachers and media specialists who work on these kinds of project know that they don't always work the first time. But they keep trying.

Conclusion
Research must matter. The research needs to be important to the researcher. If it isn't, students will go through the motions. And Johnson's First Law of School Work will kick in: A job not worth doing is not worth doing well. One of the best things we as teachers and media specialists can do is work very hard to make sure research projects are well designed and intrinsically motivating. Compare your next assignment to the rubric in Table One. Aim for level three in all your projects, and hope your students are lucky enough to get to do a few number 4 level tasks sometime during their school years.

Table One

A Research Question Rubric: not all research questions are created equal.

Level One: My research is about a broad topic. I can complete the assignment by using a general reference source such as an encyclopedia. I have no personal questions about the topic.
Primary example: My research is about an animal.
Secondary example: My research is about the economy of Minnesota.

Level Two: My research answers a question that helps me narrow the focus of my search. This question may mean that I need to go to various sources to gather enough information to get a reliable answer. The conclusion of the research will ask me to give a supported answer to the question.
Primary example: What methods has my animal developed to help it survive?
Secondary example: What role has manufacturing played in Minnesota's economic development?

Level Three: My research answers a question of personal relevance. To answer this question I may need to consult not just secondary sources such as magazines, newspapers, books or the Internet, but use primary sources of information such as original surveys, interviews, or source documents.
Primary example: What animal would be best for my family to adopt as a pet?
Secondary example: How can one best prepare for a career in manufacturing in the Twin Cities area?

Level Four: My research answers a personal question about the topic, and contains information that may be of use to decision-makers as they make policy or distribute funds. The result of my research is a well support conclusion that contains a call for action on the part of an organization or government body. There will be a plan to distribute this information.
Primary example: How can our school help stop the growth in unwanted and abandoned animals in our community?
Secondary example: How might high schools change their curricula to meet the needs of students wanting a career in manufacturing in Minnesota?

Enjoyable learning experiences that are both motivating and meaningful don't just happen. They require thoughtful preparation and the conscious use of lessons learned from previous successful projects. All of us who work with students on research projects need to keep asking ourselves questions like:

1. What are the barriers to better research?

2. How do we create meaningful assessment tools that can help us become more comfortable with ambiguity?

3. How do I make sure every student is intrinsically motivated to keep learning throughout his life by finding, evaluating and using information?

Hey, it sounds like life-long learning is a reality all of us, student and teacher alike!

Products and Possibilities:
No matter what your subject area, break out of the ordinary and do something EXTRAORDINARY!

advertisements
debate
job applications
poems slogans advice
columns
definitions
jokes
policy papers
soap operas allegories
demonstrations
journals
political campaigns
society news
anecdotes
descriptions
labels
post cards
songs announcements
dialogues
laws
posters speeches
anthems
diaries
legends
prayers
spoofs apologies
dictionaries
letters (personal)
problem solutions spooky stories
appendices
diets
reactions,
problems
sport accounts
applications
dioramas
observations
profiles and portraits
stitchery
assumptions
directions
profound sayings
stories
autobiographies
directories
imaginary people
proposals
awards
displays
protest letters
ballads
do's and don'ts
proverbs writing beauty tips
documents
lies
puns
superstitions
bedtime stories
documentaries
lists
puppet shows
surveys
beginnings
dramas
love notes
puzzles symbols billboards
editorials
lyrics
questionnaires
table of contents
biographies
encyclopedia entries
machines
quotations
talk shows blurbs
epilogues
magazines
radio program /play
tall tales book jackets
essays
maps
ransom notes
telegrams book reviews
evaluations
melodramas
reactions
tests booklets
exaggerations
memories
recipes
thank-you notes
books
exclamations
memos
record covers
theater programs
brochures
excuses
menus
recording
theories
bulletin boards
experiments
metaphors
remedies
tongue twisters
bulletins
explanations
models
reminiscences
traffic rules
bumper stickers
fables
monuments
memoirs transparencies businesses
fairy tales
movie reviews
reports
travel folders calorie charts
fantasies
movie scripts
research travel posters campaign speeches
films
music video
something learned tributes cartoons
flyers
musicals
resumes
trivia charts
folklore
mysteries
reviews (books, TV commercials children's stories fortunes myths concerts, football TV guides collages game rules newscasts games, dates, etc.) TV programs collections game show newsletters riddles underground comic book games newspapers rules newspaper commercials ghost stories nursery rhymes sales pitches used car descriptions community bulletin good news-bad news obituaries satires videos comparisons gossip operas scrapbooks wantads complaints graffiti opinions sculptures wanted posters computer simulations graphs painting secrets warnings confessions greeting cards palindromes self - descriptions weather forecasts constitutions grocery lists pamphlets sequels web sites contracts headlines pane I discussions serialized stories wills conversation horoscopes pantomimes silly sayings wise sayings stoppers how-to guides parables simulations wishes conversations illustrations parodies sketches of famous yellow pages costumes imitations persuasive letters people, places, couplets impromptu speeches petitions ideas, events court trials insults photo album sketchings: critiques interviews photo essay notebooks, jottings, dance introductions picture books gleanings data sheets invitations plays slide show /scripts C Oftedahl & Olson 1996

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Doug Johnson Website - dougwri - Designing Research Projects Students (and Teachers) Love

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Designing Research Projects Students (and Teachers) Love MultiMedia Schools, Nov-Dec 1999 Consider these scenarios: Michael is a wonderful young man. Handsome, intelligent, caring and sweet, he's better than about 99% of the rest of kids out there. But the one thing he is not is much of is a scholar.

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Creativity and project-based learning 2 - Home - Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog

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Creativity and project-based learning 2 - Home - Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog

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Saturday, June 20, 2015 at 05:10AM
I am not very good at self-promotion. Minnesota modest, I guess. Yet I also think my new book Teaching Outside the Lines: Developing Creativity in Every Learner may improve kids' lives. With that hope, I will be putting short excerpts from the book in a blog post each weekend for a bit. Good thing I don't have to make my living as a salesman.
This is the second part of a post begun here. References in this post to Chavez and Hanson are to the earlier part.
From: Chapter Five: A Job Not Worth Doing is Not Worth Doing Well: What are the attributes of projects that help instill creativity? Assignments that matter to the student:

1. Projects that allow creativity give students choices. If the purpose of the assignment is to teach a basic understanding (how past events impact our lives today) or a set of skills (being able to recognize a geometric shape), it doesn't make any difference what the example might be. If a student takes a picture of a toy with a circular design or a tree stump, does it matter? Dig down and look at the core concepts that projects are trying to teach, and let the students pick specific subjects that interest them.

2. Projects that allow creativity are relevant to the student's life. For today's students, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marching on Washington is about as real as George Washington crossing the Delaware. But by asking his students to interview their families or members of the community, Mr. Chavez added real faces and lives to these events. The stories resonated with those doing the interviewing. By taking photos of their environment, students learn geometric shapes exist in their own lives. So many times we ask our students to research important topics - environmental, historical, or social issues - but fail to help them make the vital connection of why the findings are important to today. Strive for projects that are relevant because they are timely, local, or personal.

Activities that involve the student:

Projects that allow creativity use technology in productive ways. Whether for planning, for research, or for communication, most students find the use of technology motivating. The students in the examples used computer programs that were not purposely designed to be "motivational." It is the challenge of creating original content and designing containers for that content that give good productivity tools like cameras, recording equipment, graphic programs, slideshow creators, and web page construction kits - the virtual equivalent of a set of LEGOs - their motivating qualities. And of course, open doors for original uses.

Assessments that help the learner:
Why don't all teachers design projects with some or all of these elements. Well, a 4 th "A" sneaks in. Attitude is Everything Teachers who work on these kinds of project know that they don't always work the first time. But they keep trying. These teachers display grit as well.

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Creativity and project-based learning 2 - Home - Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog

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Saturday, June 20, 2015 at 05:10AM I am not very good at self-promotion. Minnesota modest, I guess. Yet I also think my new book Teaching Outside the Lines: Developing Creativity in Every Learner may improve kids' lives. With that hope, I will be putting short excerpts from the book in a blog post each weekend for a bit.

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10 Practical Ideas For Better Project-Based Learning In Your Classroom

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10 Practical Ideas For Better Project-Based Learning In Your Classroom

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By Jennifer Rita Nichols

Teachers are incorporating more and more projects into their curriculum, allowing for much greater levels of collaboration and responsibility for students at all levels. Project- based learning is a popular trend, and even teachers who don't necessarily follow that approach still see the benefit to using projects to advance their students' learning.

Projects can be wonderful teaching tools. They can allow for a more student-centred environment, where teachers can guide students in their learning instead of using lectures to provide them with information.

The increase in classroom technology also makes projects more accessible to students. Research no longer requires a trip to the library, and displaying information no longer requires a poster board. Instead, students can access endless amounts of information with a few clicks, and create all kinds of creative final products (such as slides, videos, cartoons, ebooks, blogs, websites, graphics, and much more).

Despite general agreement about the benefits of using projects and project-based learning in general, it must be noted that all projects are not created equal! It is quite possible to create projects that remove creative ability and control from the students and places all the power of decision with the teacher.

This may happen fairly often because teachers are wary about being able to assign grades to the final assignments handed in to them by students. If all students aren't given the same components to work on, with similar topics, and the same final layout to create, then how can the projects be accurately compared by the teacher? In short, they can't - but also, they shouldn't!

Students do not need to be compared against each other, but to the standards they need to achieve for their level. How each skill is demonstrated can differ from one student to another, yet each student can succeed nevertheless. A teacher who knows the program will know what skills each student needs to acquire, and present them with situations to help develop those skills. A teacher can also gauge whether a student has developed each skill regardless of the way they choose to create and present their project.

When students are engaged and interested in the work they are completing, the final product will be much better than when they feel forced to complete a task.
...but how can you make sure that the project you assign is engaging to as many students as possible - if not to all of them?
Here are some great tips to keep in mind when putting together your next project.

1) Have students work in small groups or pairs whenever possible.

Don't underestimate the power of collaboration. Working alone can be great at times to place a student's level of ability on their own, but it can be frustrating to a student when they run into parts that they are less adept at. Peer support can help keep things running smoothly, and also help students to build the skills that they are lacking by learning from each other.

If groups are too large, students are given the opportunity to shrink back and leave the work to others, but pairs or groups of three allows everyone to share input and really take on a role within the project. Don't be afraid of assessment from projects, you will be able to tell how each of your students are developing by maintaining a constant presence in your classroom and observing/interacting with your groups.

Being able to work together will definitely keep students more engaged in the work, especially since they become responsible to each other and to themselves for the completion of the project. There is less chance of students giving up or giving in mediocre work when they are being counted on by peers and are having fun.
2) Choose skills to be worked on instead of specific topics.
The goals of education focus on helping students to build the skills that they will need for their future. These skills involve being able to collaborate, write well, read between the lines, infer meaning, organize information, find solutions to problems, research effectively, and learn about their place in the world.

When forced into specific topics, students are limited in their ability to be creative and to focus on learning information that they find relevant to their lives. Instead of asking students to all complete projects on an animal, for example, why not decide on a few target skills and build a project guideline that can be used for many different topics instead? That way, students can focus in on something they would like to learn more about, while following your guidelines to make sure that the skills you are targeting are being developed.

If you want students to define a set of problems associated with something and work together to try to find plausible solutions to those problems, there is no need for every group to be working on exactly the same topic. This will also make things much more interesting when it comes time to present the projects, instead of listening to each student's version of the same thing!
3) Give students guidelines that allows for individuality.
After choosing the skills or content that you would like to be the focus of your project, build guidelines that support student individuality and creativity. Instead of making a list of specific questions with specific answers (such as 'what is the habitat of the grizzly bear' questions), lead students towards more open-ended answers in your guideline.

Using questions such as 'list three facts that you found surprising while researching the topic and explain why they surprised you', 'based on the information that you gathered, explain why you think ____ happens', and 'explain what the top ten things people need to know about your topic are in order to understand it well' can really lend themselves to multiple subjects.

Your guideline should list the skills that students are working on, so they are aware of them and can actively work on developing them. If you want students to learn about democracy and how the government works, as well as to develop their problem solving skills, then telling them to build their own country - similar to the USA or Canada in structure and government - but with their own flair added in, can be an engaging way to do it. Allow for some crazy bits included in their constitution, or even elections where voters submit to X-rays instead of bringing ID.

In order to complete the project, they will need to research the government you want, and take it even further by using the information as a basis for their own creations.
4) Encourage students to take on different roles while collaborating.
In order to get all students involved in a project, don't allow them to simply break it up and then put it back together after each student has individually covered a section of it. Collaboration in the real world involves being able to work together on each part of a task, while learning to compromise and solve problems as they arise.

We rob our students of some great practice when we split tasks! Depending on the needs of the project, you can have graphic designers, managers, organizers, researchers, etc. While one student would be named 'in charge' of graphics, for example, they would still be working with the input of the rest of the team - much like how adults collaborate on projects in the 'real world'.

Encourage them to switch roles as needed, based on the strengths of their team, or on the skills each student needs to develop. No one student should always be 'in charge' or 'approving' all the work.
5) Allow students creative choice when it comes to the final result.
Do you really need that project to be presented on a piece of cardboard? If so, then make sure you have a good reason for it! There are so many ways for students to demonstrate learning, especially with the integration of technology, that it seems rather ridiculous to rob them of the chance to decide for themselves how to showcase their work.

What you really want is found in the content of the project, not in a piece of paper or cardboard. When students take ownership of the method of presentation, you are sure to be blown away with some extremely creative and innovative presentations. Allow them to make eBooks, videos, movies, animations, mind maps, skits, game shows, talk shows, newscasts, magazines, podcasts, blogs, or anything else they can come up with!
6) Change the way that projects are presented/displayed.
Even if every group in your class presents in a different way, you will be able to assess each and every one of the projects, based on the skills/content that students need to show you. Students will also look forward to presenting their project, and seeing the presentations made by others!

Also, instead of just pinning projects up on a board, or sending them right home after being presented, consider displaying them in more creative ways. Ebooks, articles, videos, and other media can be incorporated into a class website or blog, where other members of the community can access and appreciate the work.

If students know that their work will be shared online or in the school/community, they will likely be more excited about putting their best foot forward. When you know your work goes directly into the recycling bin once it's finished... well, less effort tends to go into it!
7) Grade projects based on the targeted concepts and skills.
Create grading rubrics or charts for yourself that help you to focus in on the specific skills that you are looking for in each project. Since each group may have a different final format, you won't be able to compare them with each other very well (which we shouldn't really do in general when assigning grades). Students are supposed to be graded on their level of development when compared to curricular goals, not based on comparisons with each other.

Try to avoid assigning grades based on how great one group's video was when compared with another group's poster board. While one might stand out more, the other may just have better content!

Letting students know exactly what you will be looking for beforehand will make it much easier for you to see what you need, as they will usually make sure to show it to you!

Besides, let's face it, if a university professor didn't explain exactly what was required of an assignment, but graded you based on what they were mysteriously looking for, you would be frustrated and have a hard time doing as well as you could in that class. Our younger students appreciate the guidance too!
8) Consider cross-curricular activities and/or work with another class.
Projects tend to be more engaging if students have the chance to immerse themselves in them as much as possible. Seeing similar content appear in multiple subject areas helps to reinforce what students are learning, as well as make the learning more relevant to them.

In many cases, mathematical or scientific learning can be added to English projects. History is another subject that lends itself well to cross-curricular projects.

Working with another class can also be fun for students. With today's technology, it is even possible for students to collaborate on projects with classes in other schools - or even in other countries. Doing this definitely helps to prepare students for their futures, as we often find ourselves working/collaborating with coworkers in other departments or cities. It can add an extra challenge to organizing work and getting things done efficiently!
9) Give the project a purpose beyond the classroom.
If possible, try to build connections to the outside world into projects. If students can work on something that will directly benefit the school or community (such as planning and implementing a fundraiser, or creating books/movies for a community centre or home, or even planning a special lesson for younger students) it can really help to build engagement in the class.

Knowing that your work will do more than get you grades - that it will actually be used to help people - can be a powerful motivator. Students will also help to motivate each other when they know that their work is important and useful.
10) Incorporate the project into the students' digital portfolios.
While not all projects can directly impact the community, they can at least be used as evidence of learning in students' working digital portfolios. The great thing about digital portfolios is that they follow a student as they advance through the grades and paint a picture of progress over time.

Once again, doing this can help curb the de-motivation of knowing that work will just be thrown away once completed. Incorporating student reflections and teacher/peer/parental/community feedback can also be a nice way to follow up on the learning that has taken place, as well as provide some future goals to work on in order to improve on skill development.

Beyond just tracking learning, the allure of being able to go and watch a video project you created years ago seems too good to pass up; I can remember a few of my own projects I wish I could see again!
Image attribution flickr user flickeringbrad and woodleywonderworks

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10 Practical Ideas For Better Project-Based Learning In Your Classroom

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By Jennifer Rita Nichols Teachers are incorporating more and more projects into their curriculum, allowing for much greater levels of collaboration and responsibility for students at all levels. Project- based learning is a popular trend, and even teachers who don't necessarily follow that approach still see the benefit to using projects to advance their students' learning.

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4 Ways to Promote Growth Mindset in PBL | Blog | Project Based Learning | BIE

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4 Ways to Promote Growth Mindset in PBL | Blog | Project Based Learning | BIE

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Originally posted on GettingSmart.com. "I can't do this! I hate geometry! I'm too dumb for this!" In our classroom, the word "can't" was the worst four-letter word a student could use; after all, even the last three letters of "geometry" insist that you T-R-Y....TRY! The student's outburst is a classic example of fixed mindset.