Today we will begin a weeklong project that will assess student’s ability to demonstrate what they have learned over the past three weeks. This unit will most likely be the shortest of the standard threads, but is crucial to setting a working infrastructure in the classroom.
Objectives:
Students will be able to analyze a TEDxTalk video
Students will be able to apply findings from TEDxTalk video
Students will be able to present findings using digital media
Process:
This project can be interpreted in a variety of ways. I will be using a TEDxTalk video by Dan Meyer, Math Class Needs a Makeover. Students will watch the entire video. Once the video is complete students will write a quick reaction post on their blog. This post is simply a quick free write of what they just watched. Give them roughly 10 minutes to write and publish this post.
I sell a product to a market that doesn’t want it, but by law, is forced to buy it.
- Replay this quote for students
- Explain that this quote will guide the following project. Students will have to sell one of their classes – English, History, Math, etc. – using this video as a format. They will have to enhance one of their classes by presenting a product that will sell to kids sitting in the classroom. In short, they will have to design, pitch, and sell a classroom model.
- Have students use the following guiding prompts to focus their classroom design.
a. How will you apply the tools we covered over the past three weeks to your classroom design? You must include at least three tools.
b. How will you change the way educators deliver content to students? Direct instruction? Independent practice? Project Based Learning?
i. NOTE: It will probably be a good idea to explain what each delivery method is before setting them out on this task.c. How will you assess your students? - Once you have explained all of the design components allow students to organize in groups of 2 and 3 (depending on your class size). At the end of the class today (again, depending on class time) students should have a rough design of what their classroom model will look like.