Ron Berger on Critique

Ron Berger on Critique Part I & II

  

BIE Resources

If you are new to project-based learning and want to know more, visit bie.org.

The Buck Institute of Education (BIE) has provided many freeBIEs to help you get started.

http://www.bie.org/tools/freebies

Happy planning!

Taking a Stand: Supporting Teacher-Created Documents for the Project

Report/ Proposal Template This template was used to help guide students in the writing of their reports & proposals. The frame came from Report Proposal Template PDF Summary & Reflection Document While there has been much informal reflection in class, this document was created to help them capture and catalog their project experience. Final drafts will be posted on melrosestars28.blogspot.com as soon as they are available! Summary & Reflection for Taking a Stand

Taking a Stand: Project Outlines and Rubrics

Project Outline:

Project Outline_Taking a Stand Project Rubrics: Rubric_Taking a Stand

Taking a Stand: Our First Project

Since September, Room 28 has been hard at work on our first project entitled, Taking a Stand.

To recap, students were to select an issue that was important to them, such as littering or human rights in China.  After learning how to conduct effective search and research through Google, the boys and girls wrote reports highlighting the causes and effects of this issue.

Our driving question (DQ) was: 

How can we, as young people, take a stand for an issue using social action? 

The next step was to create a proposal for a campaign that would do two things.  First, the campaign was to raise awareness about the issue.  Second, it was to propose solutions.  The campaigns incorporated many ideas that have been proven successful, even for adults!  Coloring books, pins, posters, websites, petitions, letters, and more!  It all came down to audience.

Room 28 Stars presented their findings and proposals in a Prezi presentation, helping students develop and refine the 21st century skills of effective communication and technology.  To see these presentations is to witness success.

Each students’ presentation will have a dedicated blog entry at melrosestars28.blogspot.com.  Search for your child’s name to view the presentation.

Stay tuned for our campaigns, as we are in the process of creating them.  Final campaigns are due December 14th.  Hopefully, we can raise your awareness about issues that kids care about, and maybe, just maybe, you can help them make a difference.

Check out the separate post with project planners, project outlines, and rubrics!  

Project-Based Learning Video: Melrose Elementary

Check out this fabulously directed and produced video by Caren McCaleb featuring some of my colleagues and me from Melrose Elementary Math/ Science/ Technology Magnet.

Thank you for watching!

  
Melrose Elementary - Project Based Learning from Melrose Elementary on Vimeo.

Reflections On My First Exhibition Night

As a fan, at least for a time, of The Apprentice, I always marveled at how people, who had no idea what they doing, could pull together an event [insert event title here]. I marveled, I suppose, because I thought of the stress that would threaten to overwhelm my racing mind in that situation. Because no one likes to fail, including me.

When I first began watching, I always felt like the answers were so obvious. "Of course, you should know how to spell Liza Minnelli's name. And yes, you SHOULD have checked!" "How could he think that those cheap golf sets would appease the ultra-rich attending the golf tournament/ charity event?" Then, along came my very own season finale "charity event".

June 3rd, 2011 was my first exhibition, entitled, Who Am I? Exploring Identity Through Art. The driving questions for my project were:

• What is a museum?
• How can art tell a story?
• How does art define the artist?
• How is art a reflection of the artist?
• How does art bring people together?

On some level, how ambitious it seems to have had so many questions when one was so much to ponder. Perhaps this was my first learning lesson. Allow all the questions stirring in my mind to filter into one or two so that my outcomes can be more knowable for both students and myself. If I were to revise that list, my question would be this: How does art define the artist and what role does, or should, a museum play in facilitating this process?

Questions aside, this exhibition night was perhaps the best on the job training I have ever had. We wrote business letters inviting local community members. We invited superintendents. We planned art talks and food sales and art-making sessions led by student artists. We became docents and curators and artists. All for and because of this night.

First take away of the night: your students will amaze you. There is something unique and intangible that happens to students when they have the authentic audience that project-based learning requires. I watched some of my most struggling and painfully shy students become the most well-spoken docents I have ever seen. They wanted to show the work we had done. They wanted to lead. This came as a beautiful gift to them and to me.

Second big take away of the night: it all cannot be micromanaged. There were technical difficulties, scheduling conflicts, no-shows, and art falling. I learned quickly that deep breaths matter. Allowing the students to take control as much as possible also was helpful in allowing me to greet guests, put out fires, and enjoy moments of the evening that I could. Without question, it allowed them to better experience the night, too.

Third: parents will be supportive. Though the initial response left me worried, I was humbled and blown away by the support that arrived unexpectedly. The event could not have been the success that it was without them. Parent support from outside of classroom was also a sight to be seen. Parents of all grades came out to support our event, and shared how much they valued the evening and the work of my students. They want this kind of learning for their students and we should not be afraid to provide them with these kinds of experiences.

Fourth take away: have an exhibition night sooner. With the way my students blossomed during the event, I can't help but think of the impact it would have had on confidence, morale, and classroom performance. Next year will be different. Though... two a year is a good number to start with me thinks!

Fifth: TAKE PHOTOS! Can't believe that I forgot to assign someone to just capture this event. It would have made the memories that much more precious.

Finally, I learned that exhibition nights are as much a celebration of the work as they are a sharing of the work. The imperfections did not matter anymore. The struggles to plan and prepare were over. It was time to come together around a school and a group of proud learners.

So, this returns me to the driving question. Well, the revised one at least. How does art define the artist and what role does, or should, a museum play in facilitating this process? Art allows the artist to become his or her expressive self, the self that lies beneath the surface shaded by responsibility, obligation, and societal norms. Art allows the artist to become the person they wish to be: brave, confident, open, proud. As for museums? Well, their role is provide the forum in which artists can share this definition, or redefinition, of self, organizing the art in such a way as to draw out the greatest response from the audience. This is the conclusion I came to after watching the beautiful work of the students of Room 28.

There is much to celebrate that is going on in classrooms. Stay tuned to what we do next!