There
are many other exemplary projects that you can do with
your students - science and invention, media arts, competitions,
family and community oral history, performing arts -
just to name a few. We have listed some of our favorites
here, and invite you to send us your favorites so we
may add them to this list and share them with other
teachers. Some of the projects listed below require
having access to multiple computers and applications
programs. Others may require subscribing to a commercial
online service or other payments for access to curriculum
resources. And still others listed here show great promise,
but do not yet have the online or other documentation
that would make them accessible to most novice PBL teachers.
For
The Human Disease Project, students choose a disease
specific to humans. ? They research their disease
topic using carefully selected web resources, write
a research paper that includes web-based information,
bibliography, human body diagrams, and graphs
related to disease statistics. They also develop
and carry out an interview with someone knowledgeable
about the disease, and create a presentation
about their disease. Everything you need is on this
site. Great literacy and language arts integration
opportunities.
TERC
offers several online "Science-athon" projects which
are great for the novice PBL teacher who wants to
try a project that will not take too much time out
of the regular curriculum. This website offers extensive
information about each project, Including an overview,
materials/resources and estimated time required (10-12
hours total spread over days or weeks), and advice
on organizing time for these projects, as well as
correlation to national science education standards
and suggested assessments.
Design
a new product, service, technology or gadget! This
is also one of the most popular projects in elementary
and middle schools. The resource sites above are excellent
for this area, which blends problem-solving and creative
thinking.
Digital
Safari, Multimedia Academyhttp://intergate.ccoe.k12.ca.us/mdtech/
The
Digital Safari Multimedia Academy, located at Mt.
Diablo High School in Concord, CA, was
founded on a U.S. Department of Education grant for
the purpose of integrating vocational
education with the core academic curriculum. The academy
offers students a
project-based curriculum that integrates technology
with science, history, English, and
social science. Students may begin their academy
time with little or no technology background,
but by the time they leave, they have developed expectional
technology skills as
they master the core academic curriculum. Using multimedia
design tools, as students study
earth science, they create interactive programs about
the universe or geology. As they
study English they create interactive book reports
or web sites about their favorite
poets.
As they study social science, they develop web sites
formodel e-businesses or a CD-ROM
about World War II.
The
project website offers complete scaffolded course
outlines and lessons plans (including rubrics
and other assessments), examples of student projects,
and helpful suggestions for teachers
and students. A truly remarkable project, and
a wonderfurl resource with great applications
for all pbl teachers and schools.
For
more information, contact: Ted
Maddock tecmad@aol.com Randy Depew rdepew@yahoo.com
The
Digital Safari
Mt.
Diablo High School
2450
Grant Stre
Concord, CA 94520
(925)
682-4030
This
category includes a wide variety of media, tools and
processes, from storyboarding and writing (story development),
drawing, film, clay animation, set design, digital
compositing, video and digital video, 2D and 3D modeling,
VR, etc.
As
a starter activity, introduce your students to this
rich art form by having them make a very short (e.g.,
15-30 second) animated movie of a bouncing ball. Dave
Master, one of the best animation and arts educators,
says that doing this activity well covers nearly 80%
of all of the most important learning and skills that
students need in order to do much more complex animation
projects.
There
are many ways to use video, audio, digital photography,
graphics and special effects to communicate powerful
personal stories. This web site offers some of the
best resources and activities on the art and craft
of using computers for digital storytelling. See also
the Apple K-12 desktop movie-making resource for K-12
education at http://apple.com/education/dv/
Have
your students create an oral history project, documenting
the lives of people in their family and community.
Foxfire
is one of the oldest and most successful student-centered
oral and community history projects in the U.S. "In
small, isolated schools and urban campuses across
the nation, teachers use the Foxfire Approach to Teaching
and Learning to bring new excitement and meaning to
the work they and their students do together." This
project originated as students conducting oral histories
in remote rural communities, such as Appalachia, and
publishing these histories for use by other students
and the general public. There is a subscription membership
program, which includes The Active Learner: A Foxfire
Journal for Teachers, as well as the Foxfire News
newsletter.
The
UCLA Oral History program on Los Angeles and the Columbia
University Oral History Research Office sites are
also excellent resources for teachers and students.
International
Education & resource Network (iEARN):
iEARN
has many different online projects related to promoting
intercultural understanding and enabling students
to help improve the world. The "Folktales" projects
are a great example of this, as is "Colouring our
Culture."
This
is a favorite activity in many schools that combines
research, history, social studies, and the arts, as
well as involving a major public exhibition element.
A particular school-wide theme may be selected for
the year, thus enabling participation across different
classes and grades. This project may be combined with
a local history fair, folktales, art, archeology,
dinosaurs, technology, or many other topics.
Design
your own school, learning system or alternative learning
environments (physical and/or virtual)
Phil
Cotty used Howard Garnder's model of "multiple intelligences"
to work with students in Maine to understand the nature
of their own learning and talents, as well as how
to build projects around this model to integrate with
their own learning, etc. There are many possible avenues
that this approach can take, including having students
co-design their own assessment rubrics, learning portfolios,
using their research and multimedia/web presentation
skills to create curriculum resources for other students,
etc.
Global
Community Building and Intercultural Understanding
(geography,
social studies, ethnic studies, history, language and
visual arts)
The
Pomegranate Network (3PN): A Program of the e4d Institute http://www.3noor.org
This
is an international project, intended for Armenians,
which is an excellent example of collaboration between
schools in a developing country (Armenia, poor and
struggling but newly independent) and developed ones.
The Diaspora link could apply to so many ethnic groups
in America that this might inspire other cultural
groups to do something similar. The Three Pomegranate
Network (3PN) links students in Armenia with peers
in the Armenian Diaspora worldwide. Participating
students are 14-16 years old in 70 schools in 16 countries.
The 3PN activities involve students in learning computer
and information literacy skills, using e-mail, word
processing and graphics program not in isolation but
rather in a project that involves doing original research
in social science, problem solving and critical thinking,
collaborating in a small group and with distant partners,
and creating an information product for an outside
audience. The activities challenge the students to
gather information in local communities and from other
websites in addition to 3PN and sources in their classrooms.
"In
Kids 'N Music projects, multiple schools collaborate
on a studying a specific culture. Using electronic
music labs and commercial production techniques, students
are producing full-length audio and enhanced compact
discs detailing the history of a particular region
or culture. Students are involved in every element
of production, from lyrics and songwriting to performances,
artwork and marketing strategies. Along the way, they
are developing skills in reading, writing, mathematics,
and other core subject areas in accordance with state
standards and local educational goals.
Additionally,
by working with local businesses, musicians, industry
professionals and media, partnerships are forged to
strengthen and support the project and to help establish
future workplace connections for students. Products
(such as CDs) are sold in the commercial marketplace,
with proceeds going directly to participating schools
for sustaining and advancing similar projects. Both
the Kids 'N Blues (Memphis) and Kids 'N Salsa (South
Florida) projects have garnered national attention
as models which merge academics, community, technology,
and the arts to focus on high quality products."
For
more information, contact:
David Reider dreider@co-nect.net
Director,
Kids 'N Music Project, Co-nect.net
Storyline
is a structured, project-based approach to learning
and teaching that was developed in Scotland. It builds
on the key principle that learning, to be meaningful,
has to be memorable, and that by using learner's enthusiasm
for story-making, the classroom, the teacher's role
and learning can be transformed. Storyline is a strategy
for developing the curriculum as an integrated whole.
It provides an opportunity for active learning and
reflection as essential parts of effective learning
and teaching. At the same time it develops in learners
a powerful sense of ownership of their learning.
For
more information, contact:
Jeff
Creswell (Storyline Northwest) creswell@teleoport.com
4026 North East 32nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97212-1706
Phone: (503) 288-1132
Fax: (503) 282-8827
Mathematics
The
Middle-school Mathematics through Applications Project
(MMAP) http://mmap.wested.org
The
Middle-school Mathematics through Applications Project
(MMAP) has produced curriculum units that are
o project-based,
o infused
with meaningful use of technology, and
o aligned
with current mathematics standards.
Through
MMAP?s engaging work-world projects, middle schoolers
learn important mathematics, such as algebraic functions
and proportional reasoning. Students role play
math-using adults from architects to cartographers
to party planners. Each unit is design based, ensuring
truly open-ended problem solving. Students use specially
created software to make and analyze their designs.
Mathematics is highlighted by the software, but does
not, of course, replace the teacher. Through the units,
teachers find new strengths in their students and
new ways to engage all students in high-level mathematics,
as addressed in the Nation Council of Teachers of
Mathematics? Standards (1989 and 2000).
Pathways
materials are based on MMAP, but are available in
semester-long sequences and include skills sheets.
Information on MMAP and Pathways is available at http://mmap.wested.org/pathways
For
more information, contact:
Jennifer
Knudsen jknudse@wested.org
WestEd
730
Harrison Street
San
Francisco, CA 94107-1242
415.615.3296
http://mmap.wested.org
for info on Primes, MMAP, WebMath and VITAL.
The
Tin Man Project seeks to encourage students to view
their world and to consider how they might reach out
to others.. the quest will require student involvement
with community service.
Contribute
your own project and resources!
We invite
you to contribute your own project or those projects
you have done which you feel will benefit other teachers
and students. Please send your ideas or comments to
Dr. Bo DeLong-Cotty (bdelong@wested.org)
