Reflection on Chapters 5 and 6

Journal Entry #3:  Reflection on Chapters 5 and 6

            “If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” This quote by Laurence J. Peter was displayed at the beginning of Chapter 5 of Moursund’s text, and is perfect for this chapter and where I am in the process of the project.  I am so happy to have recently completed the outline of my unit, because it gives me an overall picture of what I am working towards.  To see the whole project laid out really shows me where I am going, and puts a final picture in my head.  I am glad that Dr. Carr assigned the unit outline as one of the first assignments to be completed, because I think it will definitely help to ease the anxiety of the rest of the assignments. 

            In my unit, the students will be creating geometric piñatas and exploring volume and surface area in the process.  I will have the students create and submit a proposal for their piñata before the actual creation of the piñata begins.  I think this is a good way to make sure that the students are on the right track, while also allowing the students to plan ahead, think about time constraints, explore materials and resources, and assign roles or tasks for individuals.  This idea of planning ahead is something that is so important, and is stressed in Chapter 5.  Luckily, the students that I am working with have frequently completed STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) projects in groups, so they should be used to complex projects.  However, it is always important to allow students the time to work together and plan out the project.  There was a project planning table on page 49 of the text that I really liked!  I think I am going to develop a sheet similar to this for students to fill out along with the proposal for their project.  I really liked the idea of the milestones, to break down the project into more manageable pieces, and to allow the students to see their work progressing. 

            Chapter 6 focused on the lesson planning aspect of project based learning.  For this course, we have to write two lesson plans.  My first one is an introduction to the unit, while my second lesson plan involves the PBL project.  I broke down the project into different lessons at first, but I am not sure if that is going to work for writing the lesson plan, because I am going to want to include all parts of the project.  I may have to do some adjusting and make the whole project into one lesson with different parts.  I have to think more about how to address this issue.

When writing the goals for the lesson, I need to remember to consider not only content goals, but educational goals in general as well as instructional technology goals.  I also need to think more about the prerequisite skills that I want my students to have, compared to what they may actually have.  While reading this chapter, I decided that I want to add a few things to my project.  First, I want the students to be able to self assess and reflect on the process and their progress along the way.  I also want them to be able to explain their own contribution to the project.  Due to this, I want to add an online journal, possibly a blog for the students to add to along the way through the process of the project.  I think that the blogging aspect of the project could be done as homework assignments after each day. 

Finally, this chapter opened my eyes to the fact that I may have to allow students more time to complete tasks than I initially expected.  Students need time for every aspect!  I wanted to add an extra day for finalizing the presentation aspect of the project, allowing students to plan out how they will present their piñatas.  I also wanted to add a day after the presentations before the piñata destruction to allow for grading and showcasing.  Time is an important aspect of any project, and students need to have ample time to do their best work, while also fitting into the time restraints of the project.