Our team is fully involved with project based learning (PBL) at the end of the year. The most challenging aspect of PBL is the limitless quality of where you can take the project. That's why there comes a point when the project is good enough, and at this point you remind yourself that the seed of good learning and good study/innovation ahead has been planted.
Tonight I put together the culminating film for the climate change projects. As every filmmaker knows, it's endless when it comes to what you can do to make a film great. You can always work to better the quality of the picture, the sound, the just-right recording, and the length of each clip. I actually love making films--it's quintessential project work, but there always comes the point when you say, good enough.
The same will happen with students' biography reports in the next couple of days. Educators are working tirelessly to help every child reach a super level of performance with this project that includes reading, research, a written interview, portrait, digital poster, and costume. As children delved into the details of multiple global changemakers throughout time, the questions, conversations, and points of interest that arise are amazing. Today as a class we looked at one child's exceptional fictional interview with Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Children's questions and comments demonstrated wonderful inquiry and learning. This is a good project, and we'll work to help every child reach that just-right point of presentation and performance. There will be a point when we say, good enough.
The same has been true for our climate change projects. Students worked in small teams to come up with plan to help planet Earth deal with global warming. Student teams navigated many positive challenges as they worked on these projects, challenges that included gaining background knowledge, working effectively with classmates, coming up with a good idea, making a plan, and putting that plan into action. In many cases, students started out with BIG ideas, and then had to modify those plans to more realistic ideas--ideas that matched the time, resources, and capacity available. We all know that's a natural result of project work.
The final few weeks of school are marked by many wonderful projects like the two above, and our work with regard to those projects needs to be graceful work as we close a wonderful year of teaching and learning.
