Daniel Dillon "Zoomed" into our classroom on January 21 to discuss his use of technology within his classrooms, as well as the passion, projects his students do. A lot of the passion project ideas come from inquiry-based learning. The students decide what they are wanting to learn about in an extensive way. By allowing the students to choose what they learn about, Daniel says that the students are learning in an authentic manner, which in turn motivates them to do well and finish their project. How great is that? He supplied the class with tons of examples; becoming a pastry chef, building a computer or a 3D printer, and even a school garden. I thought the different examples Daniel provided were great and made the whole concept a lot easier to understand. He also mentioned using VR within education which I had never really thought about. The students could use the VR equipment to learn various things that would help them later in life. One thing Daniel suggested to do with the VR equipment was to help students learn how to drive or use heavy duty mechanics. This would be useful for those students who know they are wanting to go into a trade or drive a semi once out of high school. I have also seen VR used for surgery simulations and other medical practices that could be beneficial to students.A question or concern that came up in the discussion was the notion of money. How easy is it to get funding for these fun things students can use? Daniel had a great point, you don't know until you ask. There are various organizations and clubs that are willing to help students achieve their goals and therefore do not mind donating some money. I thought the students could also develop a plan for fundraising or they could write the letters to these organizations and make that part of their projects. By tying those aspects into the project it is easy to relate it to the curriculum.
I think that these passion projects would be a great thing to introduce into a classroom, but it could also be a problem. I feel that time would be a major issue with these projects, not just the money. Once student finally did decide on a project they would be interested in, trying to get them to finish it on time I feel would be a hassle and more of a headache for the teacher. It really depends on the class that you have. Maybe some students would really take interest in the projects and work hard to get them done, but not all students would find it beneficial or "fun." Maybe by offering passion projects as an option and setting up a process for students to go through to determine their project and their commitment to it. Daniel touched on this idea of allowing students to "apply" to do a passion project, which I think would actually work very well.
Overall, I am still unsure about how I feel about these passion projects. I'm all for kids learning what they want to learn, but I just feel that there are other less time-consuming ways to achieve this. Maybe once I am a seasoned professional I'll give it a go! Like Daniel said, only introduce new ideas or try new things once a term. There is no sense in drowning yourself, do it over time and take baby steps!
Great points Jessica! Since we brought up Big Picture Learning again in class, I wanted to reflect more on the idea. Like you said, baby steps would be the best way to introduce yourself and your students to this concept. As new teachers, we are going to be focusing most of our time on our techniques and practice of the curriculum. With the additional of Big Picture learning to that, I don't think it would be as successful as it could by waiting until we are established. I did like the idea of students being able to "propose" their idea and goals for their passion project. This to me would pair well with the ELA curriculum, as you mentioned, and students would be able to work on their communication skills simultaneously. The concept of 'asking for money' and you 'won't know until you ask' was an interesting view point that Daniel shared. I think that the financial aspect of it would work well with high school math curriculum and developing financial/ business skills. Overall I do agree, I am still unsure how to implement this into my own teaching, and it depends on your school/grade situation!
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading your take on this! I agree that these projects seem quite time-consuming. This can be tough to try and implement as a novice teacher as you are just learning the basis of teaching itself. This would be something I would try once I have some experience under my belt. I remember being in high school and feeling like a lot of my assignments and projects were not useful or relatable. I think if I had choice projects like this that I actually had interest in, this would have engaged me more and made it that much more valuable. But you are right, I think students would need some guidance or a process to follow, as some would not know where to even start. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I like how you present your argument on the decision to allow learners chose what they would like to do best and giving them an opportunity to exploit their talents. But I also tend to think that the learners also need a guideline that can guide them on the best thing that they can do in their life and then different ways of learning it such as the use of VR. Even though some projects would be time consuming, the idea of money needs to be considered as the projects will need financial support.
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