Now that students have elected a project manager and established group norms, they are ready to divide and conquer the work ahead of them. Since I had pre-selected the big ideas of the historical era of focus, provided a variety of graphic organizers, and even identified a few helpful resources to use during research, I just knew that the planning stages would be a breeze for the kids. What could possibly be a barrier to this work??
Moments into the process, I saw looks of frustration and confusion as student groups began dividing the event into segments for the podcast. A few groups decided to divide the work according the graphic organizer they selected, meaning that one person would discuss key figures involved, one person would create a segment on where the event took place, another student would report on when the event took place, etc. Students felt like it was organized, but they couldn't put their finger on why it didn't seem logical. That's when it hit me: I have the advantage of knowing all about the historical event they are reporting on, so as I selected organizers, I automatically assumed students would approach their segments from a different angle, which they didn't. (I assumed they would begin with the background, the event, the outcome, the impact on our nation, contrast to current events of today, etc. Silly, 34 year old me!) We were off to a rocky start, but I had hope they would recover from this bump in the road. I must keep them engaged and excited about this project!
Luckily, I work with some pretty amazing teachers. My friend and school media specialist, Leigh Olden, opens her schedule every other week to allow time for classes to use the library for projects. I scheduled both classes for an hour a day during the week, so they could have access to other resources beyond the internet. Mrs. Olden encouraged the kids to first read overviews of the event in the encyclopedia and other resources to identify how they should divide the work as a group. Why didn't I think of that in the first place?! Having students read an overview first, made all of the difference in the world. Not only did this step give each group direction, it also led to other questions and wonders, thereby personalizing their product. Rylie S. described her research experience today as growing a tree. She said, "Well, you start off with a seed, your topic, and then that leads to other questions, which then become the branches. You find other information that leads to new searches and your tree just keeps growing bigger and bigger!" YES.
I have been so impressed at the level to which these kiddos have taken their investigations. They have seemed to be genuinely interested in what they are learning and often stop to show me what they have discovered ("Mrs. Cavin! Can you believe that segregation JUST ended in 2013 in Shelby County, Alabama?! That's crazy!" or "Mrs. Cavin! Can you believe that there are still people today that try to challenge the Voting Rights Act? Unbelievable!" Allison C.). I am also impressed at how well the project managers have led their group and how respectful the students have been of each other during the process. Don't get me wrong, there have been challenges. I have had project managers tell me that they are concerned about members of their group not using their time wisely or producing quality work. However, this is an excellent time to remind them of the norms they established as a team, which make it easier for them to hold each other accountable and move forward.
Today, I had the project managers check in at the beginning of the work sessions to see where everyone is with their research and script writing. I gave the students about an hour to work on this project and expected project managers to report on the progress of the group at the end of the session. I also told them to decide as a group what work needs to be completed during the long weekend and prepared for Tuesday. This step allows me to gauge where groups are in relation to the deadlines and gives students practice in self-monitoring their progress towards deadlines. They share this information whole group so that other groups can hear each group's status and celebrate or problem solve together. Casey, project manager of the Cuban Missile Crisis group, celebrated Jackson M. today by saying, "This kid is the BOMB on deep research!". ha! I think Jackson was pretty proud of himself. (see below)
Stay tuned next week as students exchange feedback about podcast scripts and prepare to use GarageBand to record their segments
Moments into the process, I saw looks of frustration and confusion as student groups began dividing the event into segments for the podcast. A few groups decided to divide the work according the graphic organizer they selected, meaning that one person would discuss key figures involved, one person would create a segment on where the event took place, another student would report on when the event took place, etc. Students felt like it was organized, but they couldn't put their finger on why it didn't seem logical. That's when it hit me: I have the advantage of knowing all about the historical event they are reporting on, so as I selected organizers, I automatically assumed students would approach their segments from a different angle, which they didn't. (I assumed they would begin with the background, the event, the outcome, the impact on our nation, contrast to current events of today, etc. Silly, 34 year old me!) We were off to a rocky start, but I had hope they would recover from this bump in the road. I must keep them engaged and excited about this project!
Luckily, I work with some pretty amazing teachers. My friend and school media specialist, Leigh Olden, opens her schedule every other week to allow time for classes to use the library for projects. I scheduled both classes for an hour a day during the week, so they could have access to other resources beyond the internet. Mrs. Olden encouraged the kids to first read overviews of the event in the encyclopedia and other resources to identify how they should divide the work as a group. Why didn't I think of that in the first place?! Having students read an overview first, made all of the difference in the world. Not only did this step give each group direction, it also led to other questions and wonders, thereby personalizing their product. Rylie S. described her research experience today as growing a tree. She said, "Well, you start off with a seed, your topic, and then that leads to other questions, which then become the branches. You find other information that leads to new searches and your tree just keeps growing bigger and bigger!" YES.
I have been so impressed at the level to which these kiddos have taken their investigations. They have seemed to be genuinely interested in what they are learning and often stop to show me what they have discovered ("Mrs. Cavin! Can you believe that segregation JUST ended in 2013 in Shelby County, Alabama?! That's crazy!" or "Mrs. Cavin! Can you believe that there are still people today that try to challenge the Voting Rights Act? Unbelievable!" Allison C.). I am also impressed at how well the project managers have led their group and how respectful the students have been of each other during the process. Don't get me wrong, there have been challenges. I have had project managers tell me that they are concerned about members of their group not using their time wisely or producing quality work. However, this is an excellent time to remind them of the norms they established as a team, which make it easier for them to hold each other accountable and move forward.
Today, I had the project managers check in at the beginning of the work sessions to see where everyone is with their research and script writing. I gave the students about an hour to work on this project and expected project managers to report on the progress of the group at the end of the session. I also told them to decide as a group what work needs to be completed during the long weekend and prepared for Tuesday. This step allows me to gauge where groups are in relation to the deadlines and gives students practice in self-monitoring their progress towards deadlines. They share this information whole group so that other groups can hear each group's status and celebrate or problem solve together. Casey, project manager of the Cuban Missile Crisis group, celebrated Jackson M. today by saying, "This kid is the BOMB on deep research!". ha! I think Jackson was pretty proud of himself. (see below)
Stay tuned next week as students exchange feedback about podcast scripts and prepare to use GarageBand to record their segments