Why am I writing this personal entry? Well, it is not an attempt to gain any sympathy. It attempts to show what is possible if a clear intention and goal serve the learner's needs. In May of 2022 just near the end of another fantastic school year, I do not remember what happened. But, I was unable to finish the school year and was unable to teach the following year. Why? On May 21st, 2022, I fell down a flight of 16 stairs (luckily carpeted) from the 2nd to 1st story of our home. I was found at the bottom of the stairs. I was found foaming at the mouth. This would lead to a 2-month hospital stay which included an induced coma because my seizures would not stop, several rounds of lumbar punctures, and relearning basic physical movements like something as simple as being able to roll in the hospital bed. Simply put, when I was admitted to the hospital, I was diagnosed as being “critically ill.” Please take a moment and read those words: critically ill. They are not terms...
This is the 4th year my students have been asked to complete a term project. Andelee Espinosa (my co-teacher of 10 years!) and I developed a physics-based passion project after attending PBL World in 2015. We asked students to analyze the physics of a sport they had a passionate for. They were required to apply at least 3 specific physics concepts to their sport. Eventually, they created a product to share out. But, the product was not truly shared out beyond the 28 other students in the class other than putting it on YouTube without much fanfare.
The following year, Andelee and I had the idea of trying to find a better way to share out these projects. At a conference we attended, we learned how Kettle Moraine High School had nights where students presented their projects to parents and the community. So, we decided to have our students have an expo night for their projects. Since I do this project across all of my physics classes, that means 90 student projects being presented. It has been a success in terms of making students communicate their work and a great way to end the course. A true celebration and sharing of student work connected to their interests.
The expo is run in two halves. Half of the students have a presentation station the first part and the other walk and observe the projects of others. Then, they switch roles for the seconds half. All parents are invited to attend and I am always pleased by how many are able to show up! I honestly believe they learn more about their child’s work and interests than they would at a parent teacher conference.
Last year, Andelee and I changed the project up a bit. Initially, all projects had to have a direct connection to physics. But with the adoption of our new state science standards we realized that there was a greater focus on science practices than just content. The new state standards are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards which include the following science practices:
- Asking questions and defining problems
- Developing and using models
- Planning and carrying out investigations
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Using mathematics and computational thinking
- Constructing explanations and designing solutions
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Path: Learning New Skill
- Asking Questions and Defining Problems
- Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
- Analyzing and Interpreting Data
- Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
- Asking Questions and Defining Problems
- Developing and Using Models
- Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
- Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
- Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Path: Deep Research
I think giving students an opportunity to apply these practices outside of our normal physics content is important to help learners make that connection between what science looks like in practice beyond what they may think of as traditional science environments. In addition, I think that this goes a long way to show that passion projects actually do incorporate course standards. Passion projects require students to put standards into practice. So when teachers say that don’t have time for these projects because of the standards they need to cover, they need to realize the projects are a way to have students meet those standards. By look at the practices and skills standards, I hope to continue refining how I assess these projects.
The biggest failure of the last projects was the process piece. To be honest, a number of students didn’t do much project work after their initial pitch. Many of them were doing lots of work that final week of class and it showed in their projects. By writing this post, I’m hoping to call myself to action to continue to refine the progress piece. While I am very happy with where we end up, I feel like there is a lot of room to grow in terms reflection and assessment during the process rather than only at the end. I hope to build in checkpoints that are not simply progress checks, but standards assessments. I’ve got some ideas that I hope to flesh out. As we start our new projects in a couple of months, I plan to hold myself accountable for implementing those changes.
I would love your input into how you help learners manage projects and hold them accountable.
- Asking Questions and Defining Problems
- Analyzing and Interpreting Data
- Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
- Engaging in Argument from Evidence
- Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
- Asking Questions and Defining Problems
- Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
- Analyzing and Interpreting Data
- Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
- Engaging in Argument from Evidence
- Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
I think giving students an opportunity to apply these practices outside of our normal physics content is important to help learners make that connection between what science looks like in practice beyond what they may think of as traditional science environments. In addition, I think that this goes a long way to show that passion projects actually do incorporate course standards. Passion projects require students to put standards into practice. So when teachers say that don’t have time for these projects because of the standards they need to cover, they need to realize the projects are a way to have students meet those standards. By look at the practices and skills standards, I hope to continue refining how I assess these projects.
The biggest failure of the last projects was the process piece. To be honest, a number of students didn’t do much project work after their initial pitch. Many of them were doing lots of work that final week of class and it showed in their projects. By writing this post, I’m hoping to call myself to action to continue to refine the progress piece. While I am very happy with where we end up, I feel like there is a lot of room to grow in terms reflection and assessment during the process rather than only at the end. I hope to build in checkpoints that are not simply progress checks, but standards assessments. I’ve got some ideas that I hope to flesh out. As we start our new projects in a couple of months, I plan to hold myself accountable for implementing those changes.
I would love your input into how you help learners manage projects and hold them accountable.
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