When I went to log in to the class this
morning there was a problem and I found myself staring at the recommended
reading rather than watching an introductory video.Oh good grief. Forced out of
my comfort zone or what? So – I actually did start to plough through the
reading – and what a joy… Blogs and SlideShare on Inquiry and Problem and
Project Based learning – spot on – totally engaging – and I am already so
excited about re-shaping my teaching next (academic) year.
Here’s the Recommended Reading
Suggested readings include
reviewing materials on the MoMA site:
Other readings:
Inquiry Learning Vs. Standardized Content: Can They Coexist?
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/05/inquiry-learning-vs-standardized-content-can-they-coexist/
Inquiry Learning Vs. Standardized Content: Can They Coexist?
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/05/inquiry-learning-vs-standardized-content-can-they-coexist/
Creating Classrooms We
Need: 8 Ways Into Inquiry Learning
And so – Project Based Learning
Following the
links led me to a great piece on IBL: ‘How to trigger students’ inquiry through
projects’ http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/07/how-to-trigger-students-inquiry-through-projects/ . There are six steps
to designing valid projects – I am instantly thinking about how to use this in
my University teaching.
Step 1: Identify
project-worthy concepts
Students relish
being set real challenges that have meaning in their lives – for my Project I’m
thinking about re-framing my whole course as a Project. As my module is
entitled: Peer Mentoring in Practice (PMiP) – and is concerned with students
grappling with the theory and practice of Peer Mentoring (PM) – that could be
the Project:
What does
successful Peer Mentoring and Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) look and feel like?
Sub-categories:
for the mentee; for the mentor; for the institution; for…
Stepping stones:
Explore PM/PAL theory – practice strategies and techniques with cohort of first
year students – run interactive workshops passing on information to own peers –
produce reflective/discursive essay.
Additional mile
stones: Get involved with the student conference: Get Ahead; develop resources
to support PM/PAL at our University.
Step 2: Explore
the significance/relevance of the proposed project
Ask yourself why
the projects that you are brainstorming would matter. Why should the students
engage with those topics? Why and how might they benefit over time because they
had engaged with those ideas and that material? How relevant is the topic to
their lives – to the lives of others – to the world?
A reasonably
easy justification can be found for PMiP as my students are educationalists –
but most professions have some form of mentoring policy – and all have a CPD
condition…
Step 3: Find
real-life contexts for the topic
The advice here
is that you hook your project to the real world of work and the professions –
between 5-7 arenas – and that you consider inter-disciplinarity.
As my PMiP
students are training to be educationalists there is an obvious benefit to
their future professions – but if I were running the module in the Business
School or for Life or Computer Science students – or Architecture students… I
would have to find reasons for them to engage with the Project as well.
Step 4: Engage
critical thinking
Here we are
asked to wrestle with how we can engage our students in the project – and
provoke investigation, analysis and synthesis rather than rote learning and
comfort…
One tip that is
hared on the accompanying SlideShare presentation (see below) is that we share
our philosophy of teaching with our students – and require them to reflect and
feedback upon it. This activity could help justify Project work per se – and a
Project approach to PMiP.
Step 5: Write a
Project Sketch
For all our
Project ideas, we need to produce:
* An overview
* A relevant
scenario to explore
* Meaningful
activities - and
* Clear learning
possibilities.
Step 6: Plan the
set up
We are advised
to really think about:
* Project title
* Entry event
* Driving
question…
Suggestions in
the post include setting the scene with a mysterious letter, jarring news, a
provocative video or an attention-grabbing event.
Last year a
colleague initiated his ‘Becoming an Educationalist’ module with a
post-apocalyptic scenario – student groups imagined themselves emerging from
their nuclear bunkers and having to think about re-building the world. In that
context – what education system would be needed – immediately, after five
years, ten, fifteen? The entry event was designed to distanciate the
taken-for-granted notions of what education is and who it is for – and to free
up the students to discover their voices. Most importantly the activity was novel
– so students were ALERT to the task – and it had emotional significance – so
that they CARED about it.
For more on better Projects: SlideShare:
Suzie Boss &
Mike Gwaltney (2013) Signposts to better projects at ISTE June 2013:
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