Menu Takeaways
So, I missed the deadline for my blog post last week. Oops! But, I feel like I've made some progress towards putting students in the "driver's seat" while I assist in navigating and acting like a drivers-ed instructor. I'll attempt to explain what's been going on, but this might take a bit to get you up to speed.
This week my 6th grade science students are concluding an ecosystem unit that I taught through the lens of a mystery. This mystery began in September, when the students were introduced to a fictitious area, called the Gray Area, where the fish have been dying for the past 5 years. The unit is mostly based on a curriculum by LHS GEMS called Environmental Detectives. There is a certain cadence to the mystery, where we "discover" a new pollutant, hear from a suspect, then investigate files/clues and finally blame the person we think is most responsible for the particular pollutant. It is lots of fun to see students get engaged in trying to solve the mystery, while learning so much about ecology at the same time.
Here's the gist of the menu idea. Just like you would start with an appetizer at a restaurant, students had to first pick a project from the Starter Menu. These types of projects were fairly simple - I wasn't asking for lots of evidence or reasoning, just who they think is most guilty and what pollution the suspect was tied to. Giving students the "easy" project first got them to start thinking about the mystery in a more cohesive way and to refresh themselves in what we've been learning since September. For 6th graders that's a big thing! I feel like sometimes they can barely remember last week!!
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| We use thinglink to explore the Gray Area. |
In the past, to culminate the mystery, we would ask them to write a newspaper article or letter to the editor, stating a claim about who is most to blame, citing evidence from our investigations, and providing reasoning for why the evidence proves they are guilty. Last year, my colleague (shout out to Rebekah Cheney!) and I decided we could be more creative and give students options for how they can present their findings. So, rather than assigning the typical project, we created a menu board. I made a few modifications this year, but the bones are the same. I just know what I'm doing better now so I can guide students a little more. I would say students were engaged last year, but it was a super mess. The age group I'm dealing with just needs a little more direction. This year I'm able to give that, providing better scaffolding, but still personalizing it, and it is going very well! Here's a link to the project if you want to check it out. Keep in mind it is tailored to our mystery location and characters, so some of it might not make a lot of sense.
Here's the gist of the menu idea. Just like you would start with an appetizer at a restaurant, students had to first pick a project from the Starter Menu. These types of projects were fairly simple - I wasn't asking for lots of evidence or reasoning, just who they think is most guilty and what pollution the suspect was tied to. Giving students the "easy" project first got them to start thinking about the mystery in a more cohesive way and to refresh themselves in what we've been learning since September. For 6th graders that's a big thing! I feel like sometimes they can barely remember last week!!
I wish I could show you how excited they got about the different projects! When they saw Snap Chat and Instagram were options they were engaged and ready to work. I even had a student go home last night and make it even more realistic by adding in likes, date stamps, etc. And this from a girl that has barely contributed all year. It was so rewarding to see them working without having to keep motivating them!
Today we began our "Main Dish" projects. This is like the meat - where the details and the biggest portion of information is. Now I'm asking them to include data and facts from our investigations. To prove who is most to blame for the dead fish and why. And to make it engaging! They have individual or group choices, but in each of my classes, only 2-3 students choose to work alone, most want to be part of a group because they want to create a recorded News Report. They are ready to stay after school, work on it at home, and to participate more than they have all year. It's a great way to end the weeks right before break when sometimes things can get a bit stagnant. They're loving what they're doing and so am I!
And since I co-teach an 8th grade science class (with Bob Nuttle - yes, I've been privileged to work with some of the best science teachers out there!), what did we decide to do? Make a choice board for them too! Instead of teaching about each type of natural disaster, students get to choose a particular location that makes them wonder, "Would I be safe here?" Then, they select a hazard that occurs there, and begin their research. We gave them a framework - questions they might need to ask to learn about the hazard and to decide if they'd be safe, as well as templates for them to present their findings, but it is a very organic project. If they have other ideas on how to present their findings they are welcome to do that as long as they explain what they're going to do. Our main goals: 1) Have students learn about a natural hazard that affects them and 2) Impress us - show us what they learned in a creative and engaging way. So far students are loving the freedom and are just as excited as my 6th graders are. It's very rewarding to see them investing in their own learning and I can see in the future giving them the project title and letting them ask the questions, do the learning, and deciding how to best present their newly-gained knowledge.
So, to sum up...yes, it is hard to completely let them drive. For me, being the drivers-ed instructor works best right now. And yes, there is a lot of pre-work to get this type of project ready. But is it worth it you ask? I would say yes to that as well. One of the articles I read was about creating "signature experiences" that get kids to fall in love with learning (By Hernandez & Wetzler). I hope by giving students more of these types of learning opportunities we will be teaching them to get excited about learning.
And since I co-teach an 8th grade science class (with Bob Nuttle - yes, I've been privileged to work with some of the best science teachers out there!), what did we decide to do? Make a choice board for them too! Instead of teaching about each type of natural disaster, students get to choose a particular location that makes them wonder, "Would I be safe here?" Then, they select a hazard that occurs there, and begin their research. We gave them a framework - questions they might need to ask to learn about the hazard and to decide if they'd be safe, as well as templates for them to present their findings, but it is a very organic project. If they have other ideas on how to present their findings they are welcome to do that as long as they explain what they're going to do. Our main goals: 1) Have students learn about a natural hazard that affects them and 2) Impress us - show us what they learned in a creative and engaging way. So far students are loving the freedom and are just as excited as my 6th graders are. It's very rewarding to see them investing in their own learning and I can see in the future giving them the project title and letting them ask the questions, do the learning, and deciding how to best present their newly-gained knowledge.
So, to sum up...yes, it is hard to completely let them drive. For me, being the drivers-ed instructor works best right now. And yes, there is a lot of pre-work to get this type of project ready. But is it worth it you ask? I would say yes to that as well. One of the articles I read was about creating "signature experiences" that get kids to fall in love with learning (By Hernandez & Wetzler). I hope by giving students more of these types of learning opportunities we will be teaching them to get excited about learning.
Thank you for sharing your journey so far. What I love about this is to your point that there isn't less work involved....it's different work. There is so much pre-work that goes into giving students control of their learning. Setting up the structure for success is where your time is spent. That's a major shift I find it hard for many educators to make. It's a switch and how and where you spend your time. Can't wait to hear more about it!
ReplyDeleteI think it's totally worth the effort to put in all the pre-work, but it's really hard to do alone. If you are blessed with a co-teacher, like I was, or if you have a grade level teacher that wants to collaborate with you, it is so much easier. You get to bounce ideas off one another, share the workload, and overall, make a much better guided learning experience for your students. I think for many teachers it is not just the different type of work that is hard, it's trying to figure out where to start and then finding you just don't have the time you need to get it ready before you need to present it to the students.
DeleteOkay, first off, I have to say that your slide deck with the instructions is so well-designed. Never underestimate the power of making an assignment visually appealing.
ReplyDeleteSecond, the path you are on to empower students to take control of their learning and how they demonstrate it is definitely to be commended! I think it's awesome. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the encouragement, Tyler. I am passionate about making my lessons visually appealing. Not only do I like them more, but it helps students stay engaged if they like what they see.
DeleteAfter presenting the assignment, having students work through it, and then grading them, I can see areas where I need to tweak it so they are better able to make the connections I would like them to see, but overall...I would say it was a success! I doubt they will forget the project where they ran around outside class and make videos to show how the ecosystem has been changed. They also got to work on the important skill of collaborating with a group - which is always enlightening for some of them.