Getting Started with PBL

I'm truly sorry I had to leave early last Friday. I hope by now you have all heard that my ankle is sprained and not broken.  I'm very excited about starting these new projects with your students. Over the next few weeks we will use this blog to help use coordinate what we are doing and how we are doing it. I hope you will find the blog a useful resource.

Here are some of the things we discussed last Friday at our planning meeting:

• Dates of training: 1/22, 1/29 (today), 2/3, 2/5, 2/10, 2/26, 3/2, 3/3, 3/10, 3/12
• Presentation: The last day (3/12) will be a presentation day. All four classes will present their final products on this day. Each class will showcase the best products for the presentation. You can find answers to some frequently asked questions here.
• Classes/Projects: After some discussion, this is what we have determined for each class:
   - 601: All Around the World
   - 702 & 726: Quest for Equality
   - 801: WWII Hall of Fame/Hall of Shame
• Goals for Students: Through participating in this project, students will
    - demonstrate understanding of social studies standards by creating a short video
    - work in cooperative and collaborative learning groups
    - increase student responsibility and control in learning
    - improve student motivation and attitudes about learning
• Goals for Teachers: Through participating in this project, teachers will
    - integrate laptops and SmartBoards into instruction.
    - use new technologies to differentiate instruction
    - implement project-based learning to meet instructional goals 

Today I went into each class to introduce the project and get students excited about making a movie. Over the next 7 sessions we will be working through the stages of project based learning. For each period you will need to make sure that you have laptops signed out for the students to use and a projector (and SmartBoard, if available). The project will progress as follows:

• Planning: Last Friday and today were planning days. Introducing students to the topic, discussing essential questions, exploring student's prior knowledge, etc.
• Gathering: 2/3, 2/5, and 2/10 will be devoted to the "Gathering" phase. Students will conduct research, take notes, collect images, and begin to work on their scripts/storyboards.
• Building: 2/26, 3/2, 3/3 will be devoted to buidling. Students will finish scripting their movies, and begin to put the videos together. They will add music, narration, transitions, and titles to their movies.
• Presentation: 3/10 will be devoted to preparing for presentation. Students will rehearse their speeches, learn presentation etiquite, post finished videos on the Internet, etc. On 3/12, students will present their work to an audience.

I know it seems like a lot of work in a little amount of time, but I promise I will be with you each step of the way. We will do this together.