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| Students taking ownership of their work. |
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Pride is what approximately 200 elementary and middle school students in Indianapolis Public Schools PBL classrooms feel as they study and develop projects that address everyday problems in their communities. At the same time, they exhibit a passionate interest in their chosen subject and willingly take ownership of their finished work.
Students in Christine Snow’s 5th and 6th grade classroom at the Center for Inquiry divide into groups of 2-5 that share a common interest in researching a specific subject or real-world problem. Snow explains that after the first year, she sets a general, umbrella-type topic under which students may choose a specific area of interest. “We are then able to organize the resources needed in a more effective manner.” Within their groups they decide what they want to learn about and the tools they want to use to build understanding and present their findings.
“While working on these projects students become totally invested; their work becomes a part of them.” Students, armed with research tools such as the Internet, media center resources, field trip experiences and communication with experts, seek the information needed to explore and learn. “Every child has the world at their fingertips and a backpack full of work saved on their jump drives,” shares Snow. One project allowed students to explore how transportation affects their environment; some looked at the different types of transportation available in their area, while others looked at how the environment may be affecting students with asthma at their school.
In Juli Cooper’s 6th grade class at Stephen Foster School, students recognized a problem and developed a project after there were issues with the drinking water at their school. Consequently, they investigated further, not only about their school’s water supply, but the quality of water in their community. Currently they are studying the ways technology, which they use every day, impacts their environment and their future. Cooper has found “traditional methods of learning and teaching are not conducive to students today. Doing projects with the use of technology is more in touch with these digital natives.”
Communication is an important component of the process. Students communicate with peers and with experts outside of the school. “Student conversation is rich and is a part of the classroom environment while working on their projects” explains Cooper. A presentation is the culminating activity for the project. “Communication is key in exhibiting what students have learned” explains Center for Inquiry’s Principal Christine Collier. Technology is also used in the presentation of their projects. Many students use presentation software such as MS PowerPoint™ or Apple’s Keynote™ while others develop videos for sharing and podcasting. Students develop communication skills in their presentation to their peers, their parents and their community. “Students are learning to be savvy customers in a technology-rich world” notes Snow. “They have ownership and most of all they have pride.”
For further information about this project contact:
Jeff McMahon, Indianapolis Public Schools’ Technology Officer mcmahonj@ips.k12.in.us
Special Note:
These types of inquiry-based learning experiences are technology applications support provided through the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC). For more information, you may click here or contact Monica Cougan at mcougan@cilc.org or (317) 231-6526.
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