Reflection
Underlying all of the procedures and activities of this project are specific skills and outcomes that students will be asked to demonstrate. As professionals, we initially turned to recent research and expert opinion on content-specific skills and synthesized that information to best fit the needs of our students. At the broadest level, the project will focus on in-depth understanding and reinforcement of some of the overarching “Big Ideas” in our history course. In terms of content-specific skills, we have incorporated specific ideas from three sources that have inspired our professional practice and shaped our approach to designing learning tasks:
In addition to content-specific skills, our project is designed to help students acquire the 21st Century Student Outcomes as defined by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Students will explore much broader topics, such as creativity and innovation, critical thinking, copyright and privacy issues, problem-solving and safe and wise internet conduct. By providing students a safe environment to take risks, they will practice adaptability, self-direction, accountability, leadership and responsibility. In the end, we would like to see our students prepared to succeed in their future education, workplace, and community environments.
We looked to address district initiatives as well. This project aligns with components of the 2010 Student Learning Targets as defined in Mt. Lebanon School District’s Strategic Plan. While this project touches upon several of the Section 1 Targets on student achievement, it will most accurately help students “demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively with diverse groups of students on assigned schoolwork, resolve conflicts, and respect other cultures and beliefs (Target 1.3)” and “show responsibility for their own learning and demonstrate the discipline necessary to do quality work (Target 1.6)”.
In summary, the skills and content discussed above can be introduced, practiced, refined, and measured by using the Project-Based Learning model. In our project, students are confronted with a driving question. In collaborative teams, they define the problem and locate appropriate resources. Using 21st Century Skills, they develop a publicly presented product addressed to a specific audience. Student voice is present in both the process and the product. Formative assessment and reflective pieces help to shape student learning and summative assessment, in the form of rubrics, measures the acquisition of skills and knowledge.
- Habits of the Mind: Guidelines for Teaching History in Schools
- National Board for Professional Teaching Standards – Social Studies/History
- Pennsylvania State Standards in History and Civics
In addition to content-specific skills, our project is designed to help students acquire the 21st Century Student Outcomes as defined by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Students will explore much broader topics, such as creativity and innovation, critical thinking, copyright and privacy issues, problem-solving and safe and wise internet conduct. By providing students a safe environment to take risks, they will practice adaptability, self-direction, accountability, leadership and responsibility. In the end, we would like to see our students prepared to succeed in their future education, workplace, and community environments.
We looked to address district initiatives as well. This project aligns with components of the 2010 Student Learning Targets as defined in Mt. Lebanon School District’s Strategic Plan. While this project touches upon several of the Section 1 Targets on student achievement, it will most accurately help students “demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively with diverse groups of students on assigned schoolwork, resolve conflicts, and respect other cultures and beliefs (Target 1.3)” and “show responsibility for their own learning and demonstrate the discipline necessary to do quality work (Target 1.6)”.
In summary, the skills and content discussed above can be introduced, practiced, refined, and measured by using the Project-Based Learning model. In our project, students are confronted with a driving question. In collaborative teams, they define the problem and locate appropriate resources. Using 21st Century Skills, they develop a publicly presented product addressed to a specific audience. Student voice is present in both the process and the product. Formative assessment and reflective pieces help to shape student learning and summative assessment, in the form of rubrics, measures the acquisition of skills and knowledge.
Section One focused on 21st Century Student Outcomes as defined by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Students were given a list of 31 specific student outcomes and were asked to place a check mark next to any skill they learned or used during The Digital Playground Project.
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Section Two focused on the larger process and gaining insights on our students' (users') needs. We used open-ended questions to elicit responses on:
We also left a space available for any additional comments or questions about The Digital Playground Project. |
Student feedback was first compiled individually as 10 separate class periods (cities) by creating 10 copies of the same online form. That data was then combined by hand into one large data set (Venturescapes) since MTLSD Custom Forms is unable to compile the data across forms. For students, reflection is a critical part of any process or cycle and an essential tool as a lifelong learner. For the teachers, the feedback will help us evaluate the current experience and shape our practices in future lessons.
Photo used under Creative Commons from kevin dooley