Read and Reflect #4

      Some of the pitfalls that come along with project design may include: long on activity, short on learning outcomes; technology layered over traditional practice; trivial thematic units; overly scripted with many, many steps.  The point of doing these projects is so that kids will get more out of a lesson than they would by reading or during a lecture.  If the student will not learn more by doing the project, it is sort of obsolete.  Having a project with several concrete steps can be less helpful for students, as it can lead them to limited and predictable results.  It is better to have the student try to come up with a plan that will work for them.

      Features of a good project include:
1. Loosely designed with the possibility of different learning paths
2. Generative, causing students to construct meaning
3. Center on a driving question or are otherwise structured for inquiry.
4. Capture student interest through complex and compelling real-life or simulated experiences.
5. Are realistic, and therefore cross multiple disciplines.
6. Reach beyond school to involve others.
7. Tap rich data or primary sources.
8. Are structured so students learn with and from each other.
9. Have students working as inquiring experts might.
10. Get at 21st-century skills and literacies, including communication, project management, and technology use.
11. Get at important learning dispositions, including persistence, risk-taking, confidence, resilience, self-reflrection, and cooperation.
12. Have students learn by doing.

      Project ideas can come from many different places.  Some of these include: a tried-and-true project with potential for more meaningful, expressive learning; project plans developed by and for other teachers; news stories; contemporary issues; student questions or interests; a classroom irritant put to educational use; a "mashup" of a great idea and a new tool.

The steps to designing a project include:
1. Revisit the framework.
      -Make a final list of learning objectives for core subjects and allied disciplines.
      -Decide on the specific 21st-century skills you want to address.
      -Identify learning dispositions you want to foster.
2. Establish evidence of understanding.  Imagine what students would know or be able to do once they have learned.
3. Plan the project theme or challenge.  Think about what students would inquire about.
4. Plan entree into the project experience.  What are the first things you might say to get students' attention and build excitement for the learning ahead?

Topics in this chapter relate directly to our project.  We need to know all of these steps included in creating a project, what may go wrong, where we can get ideas, etc.  Essentially we are creating a project for our class that will help them learn in an effective and fun way that they can enjoy.  Knowing the different aspects of creating and designing a project will be very helpful for us as we continue to create our own project.