Adventures in Authentic Learning

21 Step-by-Step Projects From an Edtech Coach

Kristin Harrington

• Publisher: International Society for Technology in Education
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781564848789
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Technology

This insider's guide from a seasoned technology coach provides classroom teachers with ideas and strategies to help students develop real-world projects to support authentic learning. Not every teacher has a dedicated coach who can support them in the classroom. Even those who do can benefit from additional ideas and support from a seasoned coach. Written by an experienced instructional technologist, this book is designed to help fill this role, showing teachers how to empower students to take charge of their own learning and provide creative and authentic opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge through projects.With this book, teachers will get the guidance they need to help students engage in learning experiences that allow them to reflect on their level of knowledge and what they need to learn, while exploring topics that correspond with their interests. Instead of providing text-based slideshow presentations that students read off a screen, teachers will learn to guide students in creating tutorial videos, providing peer reviews, curating their own resources and participating in debates.The book:

• Shows how to take the fear out of edtech projects and presentations, while helping educators solve the problem of finding time to develop and manage authentic projects.
• Offers a blueprint for implementing high-quality strategies and lesson ideas in classes, with a plethora of practical resources to inspire students.
• Demonstrates the importance of pedagogy before tech, with some activities highlighting a blend of hands-on learning and technology.
• Aligns projects to the ISTE Standards, providing a road map for creating valuable opportunities to help students become successful lifelong learners.
• Includes at least three project lesson plans in every chapter, with adaptations for brick-and-mortar and online learning; as well as templates and student examples.

For those just beginning to implement projects in their classroom, this book provides a framework for getting started. For those who have been incorporating student projects successfully for years, this book provides fresh ideas and strategies to help students further develop as creative communicators. Audience: K-12 educators and edtech coaches

CHAPTER 1

FOCUS ON THE LEARNING, NOT THE PRODUCT

Early in my teaching career, I realized the power of beginning with the end in mind. My first attempt at a weather lesson that gave students the opportunity to become weather forecasters highlighted this especially (see Lesson Plan 1.1). I showed them a forecast from our local news, as well as a student example, and they were hooked by the video of a student standing in front of a tornado pretending to be blown away.

I felt encouraged by their initial enthusiasm for the project, but I truly understood how valuable my introduction had been when I started delivering the weather content. While the class watched a BrainPOP video about natural disasters, students started exclaiming, “Pause it! Pause it,” and then furiously writing notes. I realized then that their “need to know” was so much deeper than getting a good grade. They wanted to write a realistic script and create the best weather forecast video they could. This behavior continued throughout the unit.

I must confess that the first year we tried the project, many of my students did not finish their weather forecast videos due to a string of unfortunate events. Most notably, the yellow rain ponchos students wore interfered with the green screen enough that students looked like ghosts or holograms. They thought it was hilarious, but all I could think of was the time wasted and that we would need to reshoot everything. I considered the project a disaster and vowed to ban yellow rain ponchos from my classroom! In hindsight, however, I understand that the important aspect of this project was the learning that took place and how engaged students were in the process because they knew they would be able to apply their knowledge in a meaningful way. Although these types of projects take longer than we usually anticipate, I believe they will be what students remember when they look back on their education years.

Let’s face it: Projects get messy, and sometimes they do not get finished. This can be frustrating and discouraging, possibly leading us to believe that projects are not “our thing” or will not work with “this class” or “this grade level.” When you focus on the process more than the final product, however, you’ll begin to see that the messiness is often when the best learning happens. This chapter focuses on getting you into that positive mindset to begin projects in your classroom. We will discuss how to frame projects for success, as well as how to truly assess what students are learning along the way. In addition, I provide some ideas for how you can use the ISTE Standards for Students, and in particular the Empowered Learner standard, to help students create their own yearlong, project-based goals, as well as assess their own learning.

DEVELOPING A PROJECT MINDSET

One way to ensure that you remain in a positive project mindset and focus on the process is by engaging in regular check-ins to gauge not only your students’ progress with the project but also their level of understanding with the concepts you are teaching. This is easier to do when you think of the project as the main course, rather than the dessert. Students typically complete projects at the end of a unit to demonstrate what they’ve learned, like dessert at the end of a meal. Instead, I encourage you to weave the project throughout your unit, helping you and your students focus on the process. Here is an example of how this might look:

Lesson Introduction. Grab your students’ attention with a video, experiment, or other engaging content. Provide students with the rubric and project description. This is also a good time to assess students’ prior knowledge and interest in the topic.

Vocabulary Instruction Mini-Lesson. Many of my project rubrics focus on students using vocabulary in context. Early in your unit, I recommend incorporating content vocabulary with graphic organizers, such as Frayer Models, and opportunities for students to practice writing and speaking with content words.

Content Introduction. At this point in your project, students are still engaging at Bloom’s Taxonomy levels 1 and 2, working to recall and develop a basic understanding of the content. This is a good time to use videos, articles, textbook content, and class discussion mini-lessons. As students move further into the project, they will be practicing Bloom’s Taxonomy levels 3 through 6, so establishing this foundation will ensure that they are able to engage at a deeper level. Make sure students begin taking notes to help them when developing their project later.

Project Time. Divide students into groups and allow them to begin brainstorming topics and ideas for their projects.

Content Mini-Lesson. Review previous content and provide students with opportunities to begin applying their knowledge in small ways. For example, in the Weather Forecast Project (Lesson Plan 1.1), students can apply their knowledge of the water cycle by conducting an experiment and making a hypothesis about what will happen. Students can later apply this knowledge in their weather forecast videos, predicting how long flooding will last and describing what happens to water after a flood.

Project Time. Give students time to begin developing their projects.

Mini-Lesson. Once students have started their projects is a great time for teachable moments. Did you observe any misconceptions as students created their scripts, plans, and so on? Did you notice grammatical errors or difficulties with locating valid sources? Add “Just in Time” lessons here to help students get what they need to design a quality project.

This cycle of project time and mini-lessons can continue, as you adapt to meet the needs of your students and each individual project. Once you begin to adapt your lessons to incorporate projects throughout your unit, you will be surprised at how quickly this becomes second nature to you.

Goal Setting for Empowerment

I like to think of the Empowered Learner standard as foundational, and that the other ISTE Standards for Students build on it. This standard encourages students to take ownership of their learning by setting their own goals, choosing collaborators and technology tools, and reflecting on the process of their learning (ISTE Standards for Students, 1a, 2016). This does not happen overnight but is powerful to watch as students transform from passengers to drivers who feel in control and have a s...