project

• what is a project? - projects allows students to be more active in their own learning.
  • they are flexible (students can choose)
  • focus on the content studied (or not) - it can be something totally new
  • cooperative (teacher-students and among students)
  • projects foster autonomy (they need to know what they are supposed to do)
  • integrated skills (students will read, write, speak and listen)
  • final product (video, a recording...)
  • motivating, stimulating and challenging
• misconceptions about projects
  • oral presentations, a poster, a styrofoam model are not a product.
  • projects cannot be done in one single lesson
  • projects don't need to be done in pairs or groups
  • teacher need to be flexible
  • students should always work in class, not sit there doing nothing (especially when working in groups).
• benefits:
  • integrated skills
  • collaboration
  • creativity
  • sense of responsibility
  • interdisciplinary
  • research skills
  • sense of progress
  • critical thinking
• can start with a problem/a question/a controversy - taking the theme fashion, for example: is fashion superficial/shallow? do we have more items than we need/should?
  • can show pictures (related to themes they have studied, for example) and brainstorm ideas with the students (prepare this in case they have no ideas on their own).
  • the photo can ignite 'the spark'
  • have students wonder when starting the project
• students can also teach the teacher
• stages of a project:
  • clear aims
  • development
  • production
  • presentation
  • assessment
    • don't assess only the presentation (the final thing)
• product: something that can be seen (it can be digital - a poster, for example).
  • the project isn't the product - it's only the final result. the project is the whole process - the idea, the research, the product, the final presentation...
  • they can present live, present the recording/video live, post a recording...
  • ideas: podcasts (2 to 3 minutes, maybe), posters (physical or digital), live presentation, recorder presentation, a newspaper/magazine.
• what about preteens' project? they can finish it at home or I can divide the work into two lessons