Introduction:
Hello! [Introduce Names – each person
records short clip saying their name]. Together, we are the Local History
group. In our project, our students will be putting on a live history museum at
our school on a historical person of their choosing from Kalamazoo, Michigan. In
this podcast, we will discuss why we have chosen to use project-based learning,
what we have done so far in our project, and what we will be doing in the
future.
Amanda (Why we use PBL)
As we begin the journey through Project Based Learning (PBL), we need to remember that children are more capable than we want to give them credit for and they are most definitely up to the challenge. This is made most apparent in the ease, with which children today, move through today’s world and technology. Students not only live, but learn in the real world. Completing projects which speak to them, and working on something with real world context, gives their work an authentic feel. The students feel they are working toward a “greater good", a goal impactful on not just a classroom grade, but the world around them. Giving students a chance to guide their own learning and truly understand the concept with which they are working, as opposed to memorizing information for test performance, is why we use Project Based Learning. Many benefits exist in regards to the PBL approach, such as, a deeper understanding of the content. This stems from the hands-on methods, used in Project Based Learning. Instead of memorizing content and forgetting the information after it has outlived its usefulness, students are interested in the content and want make their own discoveries its regard. Because PBL is learner driven, the students must work to solve their own problems which, may arise during the project, instead of being influenced by someone else’s opinion or following another’s instruction in solving the problem. The projects are the centerpiece and not the final piece of a unit, meant to tie everything together and demonstrate all that has been learned. Instead the students truly learn by working through the project, developing and using the skills necessary to succeed in today's society. One such skill is collaboration. PBL teaches students to work collaboratively, using technology and the web as a tool of discovery, collaboration, and communication. In a world where individuals are absorbed by their technological devices, and personal interaction is significantly limited, it is important students learn to work collaboratively with others, as interaction is a necessary part of the work force and life. Authenticity, true learning and understanding, and the life skills students acquire, is why we use Project Based Learning.
Amanda (Why we use PBL)
As we begin the journey through Project Based Learning (PBL), we need to remember that children are more capable than we want to give them credit for and they are most definitely up to the challenge. This is made most apparent in the ease, with which children today, move through today’s world and technology. Students not only live, but learn in the real world. Completing projects which speak to them, and working on something with real world context, gives their work an authentic feel. The students feel they are working toward a “greater good", a goal impactful on not just a classroom grade, but the world around them. Giving students a chance to guide their own learning and truly understand the concept with which they are working, as opposed to memorizing information for test performance, is why we use Project Based Learning. Many benefits exist in regards to the PBL approach, such as, a deeper understanding of the content. This stems from the hands-on methods, used in Project Based Learning. Instead of memorizing content and forgetting the information after it has outlived its usefulness, students are interested in the content and want make their own discoveries its regard. Because PBL is learner driven, the students must work to solve their own problems which, may arise during the project, instead of being influenced by someone else’s opinion or following another’s instruction in solving the problem. The projects are the centerpiece and not the final piece of a unit, meant to tie everything together and demonstrate all that has been learned. Instead the students truly learn by working through the project, developing and using the skills necessary to succeed in today's society. One such skill is collaboration. PBL teaches students to work collaboratively, using technology and the web as a tool of discovery, collaboration, and communication. In a world where individuals are absorbed by their technological devices, and personal interaction is significantly limited, it is important students learn to work collaboratively with others, as interaction is a necessary part of the work force and life. Authenticity, true learning and understanding, and the life skills students acquire, is why we use Project Based Learning.
One of the very first things we
did after choosing our project was create a concept map using a program called
bubble.us. This tool helped us to use our Big Project – a live history museum –
to develop ideas. Some of the main ideas that surfaced were where it would take
place, how to research and what to research, giving and writing a speech, audience,
and clothing and props. These main ideas helped us to each create a lesson plan
for our classroom. Each of the lessons involved the use of a hot list, a set
list of sources provided by the teacher, that the students used to research a
particular topic. Taylor’s lesson focused primarily on the idea of speech
writing and giving. In this lesson, students researched a presidential speech
and made a brochure on a Microsoft World template that informs others about the
speech and what they can learn from the speech when giving their own speeches. Bethany’s
lesson emphasized clothing trends that were prevalent in the era that Kalamazoo
was founded, the 1820s to the 1830s. Students chose an article of clothing,
created an advertisement for it by writing a script, made a PowerPoint
presentation about the major selling points of their clothing, and presented it
in front of the class. Amanda’s lesson was about the venue at which the living
history museum would take place. The students were each assigned a venue after
which they had to write a letter of intent for the reservation to the venue.
Students peer reviewed their letters in groups and wrote final drafts. Lastly,
the students created YouTube videos that provided instruction on how to
research, identify, and reserve a venue. Each of these individual lessons
prioritized the need for setting milestones when planning for formative
assessment. Each lesson was broken down into manageable chunks which allowed
the teacher to check in on the students, correct or redirect, and reteach when
needed. One last important piece to our project we have done so far is create a
virtual pen pal assignment. In this assignment, our students from Kalamazoo,
Michigan connected with students from Marquette, Michigan who are also involved
in a living history museum. The purpose of this assignment was for students to
compare various components between their own city and the city from which their
ePal is from via email. Students also asked questions about their ePal’s chosen
historical figure. The information that the students gathered was then
organized in the form of a Venn Diagram, displayed in a PowerPoint
Presentation, and presented orally. The virtual pen pal assignment addresses
the third essential learning function: collaboration. Students in our classroom
collaborated with students from a different area via tools that supported
collaboration, such as Google Drive. Collaboration using digital-age technology
enabled students to gain a cultural understanding as well as global awareness.
Bethany (What we will be doing)
Features of our project are designed to have qualities that only “the best projects” share. The project is meant to be realistic as it will be crossing multiple disciplines. This project has a realistic nature, so capturing student interest is absolutely key. The project will have students involved in every component, and they will be involved in every part of the planning process. This will make way for learning dispositions to be strengthened. As this is meant to be an authentic experience, students will also be presenting their final projects to a carefully selected authentic audience. Students will choose who they believe should be invited to their Live History event. This idea encapsulates yet another important feature of the best projects – it is reaching beyond the scope of the school to involve others. Additionally, this taps into the idea of how students’ learning will be assessed. Students will be getting rich data from primary sources from the Kalamazoo community, interacting with experts in local history, and all the while, learning from their peers and gaining digital-age skills. Periodic, scheduled check-ins to monitor student progress will occur throughout the project cycle. And at the conclusion of the Live History Museum project, students will be putting on an event for community members, teachers, parents, and their peers where they portray their figure from Kalamazoo’s history. Even though each student’s project will be unique, the summative assessment will be based on the predetermined learning objectives. With these ends in mind, we must fine tune what exactly we are expecting of students, and how it relates to their overall learning objectives. Students will be creating something new, which is their costume and artifact based on their research. Also, students will be put in a position where they will receive real-world assessment. In all, the project assignments are carefully selected to make sure knowledge and skills across multiple content standards are addressed, and that assessment measures their capacity of research skills and require student-initiated planning, management, and ideas.
