St. Thomas Episcopal Parish School

Learning Through Projects • January 29, 2014

8:30-10:15
Introduction, QR Codes, Poster Project

10:30-12:00
Driving Questions, Investigation, Projects, Menu

12:30 - 1:00 5th Grade, STEM, Spanish
1:00 - 1:30 4th Grade, P.E., Spanish
1:30 - 2:00 3rd Grade, Math Lab, Media Literacy, Art
2:00 - 2:30 2nd Grade, Dance, Spanish
2:30 - 3:00 1st Grade, Music Literacy, Music
3:00 - 3:30 Kindergarten & Center for Excellence

3:30-4:00
Closing Reflections

QR CODES

• Scan QR codes with i-nigma app on iPad and webqr.com on PCs.
• Create QR codes at goqr.me on your PC.
• QR code sticker printer
• QR Code Treasure Hunt Generator
• What's missing from these quotes? QR codes hide the answer! 

AUDIO QR CODES

• recordmp3.org works on Macs and PCs to record audio, upload, and provide a URL
• requires a microphone
• after saving your recording, copy the URL
• open goqr.me on your PC
• paste the URL to generate a QR code that leads directly to the audio file

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

• Students work in small groups (or individually) to answer a driving question. The question is so deep that it requires much thinking and investigation. Students make a product to share their answer with an audience after refining and reflecting.
• Think of the process as question, investigate, and share.

PROJECTS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY...

• educating others
• solving a problem
• calling others to action
• building something useful
• planning an event
• raising money for a purpose
• recognizing or inspiring others
• designing a better way to do something

WHAT'S IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS TO LEARN NOWADAYS?

• We made posters using the Pic Collage app on iPad or Google Drawing on a PC.
• We shared the posters on this Padelet: padlet.com/wall/nowadays

PIC COLLAGE

• use the Pic Collage app to combine images, photos, text, and stickers to make digital posters
• to delete an image, text, or sticker form your collage, flick it away in any direction
• share a finished collage to the Photo Library where it can be email, synced, or used in other apps

GOOGLE DRAWING

• This does not work on iPad.
• Google Drawing is part of Google Drive. Go to drive.google.com and click the red Create button and choose Drawing.
• 9 Steps to Create a Classroom Poster on Google Drawing

PADLET WALL SETTINGS

• Log into Padlet.com and create a new wall.
• Click the Modify Wall button.
• Under profile, give your wall a title and description.
• Under Layout, change from Freeform to Stream.
• Under Privacy, checkmark Moderate posts.
• Under Address, give your wall an easy to type web address.
• See the QR code under the Share menu.
• For more about Padlet, watch Tony's video.

ASSESSING PROJECTS

• Assessment is ongoing throughout the time students are working on a project.
• Before beginning the project, students should know how they will be assessed.
• Create checklist for projects at pblchecklist.4teachers.org
• Creare rubrics for projects at forallrubrics.com

RADIO WILLOWWEB

• Listen to the episodes on Willowdale Elementary's website.
• Each episode is about 10 minutes long and features a host introducing a variety of segments about a topic.

EXAMPLE DRIVING QUESTIONS

• How can we best stop the flu at our school?

• How can we teach other Florida students about helpful insects?

• Make the case for using the metric system in Florida.

• Imagine you are taking a young child on a road trip across the United States. What should he or she explore and learn along the way?

• Design a better lunch menu for STEPS.

• What if we had a chicken house at our school?

EFINING THE DRIVING QUESTION

• Shorten as much as possible.
• Make sure it is appealing to students.
• Make it personal or local.
• Leads to more questions.
• Don’t let it sound like a test question.

BRANCHING QUESTIONS

• The driving question should lead to more questions.
• These questions are more specific and can guide student research.
• For example, if the driving question is "What if we had a chicken house at our school?" then branching questions might be:
  • What do chickens eat?
  • How often do they eat?
  • How large of a house do they need?
  • Does the house need to have different rooms?
  • Do chickens fight with each other?
• Encourage students to be the question-askers!

INVESTIGATION

• Spoon Feeding vs. Feeding Themselves Comparison by Steve Morgan
• Teachers provide resources for opportunities for students to uncover learning: books • website • videos • interviews • photos • experiments • data collections

SHARING

• Students create a product to share with an audience.
• Products take all different forms.
• View Tony's graphic Show What You Know Using iPad Apps and Websites.
• When possible, offer students choices when it comes to the end product.

REFINING AND REFLECTING

• Because a project has an audience, it's important that students have opportunities to refine their end product before it takes its final form.
• Refining can happen after peer and teacher input.
• "We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience." -John Dewey
• Reflecting on the product and the process is an important part of the process.
• Get a random project reflection question at tonyv.me/reflect

In the end, project-based learning is AUTHENTIC LEARNING.