I've spent a lot of time over the past few weeks thinking about my role in getting kids to accomplish at least 60% of my class. I spent 3rd quarter coaching kids through the 6th grade science fair and wound up assigning no Failing grades to students. Out of my 151 students,only 6 students earned a D on the project. 100% of the kids did the project and were able to present.
Possible reasons students achieved at this level:
-Students were given the opportunity to choose their own project
-I spent countless hours coaching and providing feedback to students
-There was an element of pressure that students were expected to perform and achieve and the class culture reflected that.
For next year, I would like to try a PBL approach where students have at least 2 out of the 3 of the above elements per quarter to encourage their success. So far, here are my ideas.
Q1: Unknown- something with a class presentation/speech
Q2: Space? Human body? Other?
Q3: Science Fair
Q4: Chemistry Portfolio
The sacrifices I will make for carving out time to do the actual projects must be outweighed by the benefit of the learning that will occur as students take on projects.
