american dreaming tais
TRANSCRIPT
AMERICAN DREAMING:A PROJECT-BASED ASSESSMENT
Denise CrokerThe Harpeth Hall School
Nashville, TN
CHARACTERISTICS OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
• - Challenging Problem or Question• - Sustained Inquiry• - Authenticity• - Student Voice and Choice• - Reflection• - Critique and Revision• - Public Product
What Is Project Based Learning?http://www.bie.org/about/what_pbl
SUSTAINED INQUIRY
• AP English Language and Composition• Skills-based• Rhetoric• Audience• Writing to Persuade
WORD WEBBRAINSTORM
• What does the American Dream mean to you?• What does the
American Dream look like?
THINK – PAIR – SHARE
AP ESSAY PROMPTS
• Argument: Consider the implications of a “Buy Nothing Day”• Argument: What does it mean to own something?
• Rhetorical Analysis: Analyze the strategies Richard Louv uses to characterize the relationship between people and nature (Last Child in the Woods)
• Synthesis: Is college worth the cost?
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
• What would you have done to address this topic 10-20 years ago?
MOVING FORWARD
• Where were the students?• What did they think of the
American Dream?• Their view vs. my view• Primarily interested in
success – college & beyond
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/portraits-of-the-american-dream/2013/09/28/d13eb892-289c-11e3-bae5-e0807a60a6aa_graphic.html
CONTENT
• TED Talks on Success, Grit• Working with Your Hands vs. College Education• Economic mobility (“bootstraps”)• Consumer Culture• Race, Gender• Literature
WHY A FILM AS A PRODUCT?
• Visual learners• Documentaries• Pair writing with image• Could they still incorporate solid
argument?• = more than the sum of the parts?
THE PROJECT
• Groups sorted by interest• All involved• Classical oration • Variety of reliable sources• Rubric • Voice & Agency• Self and group evaluation
SAMPLE VIDEOS
THEIR RESPONSES*
• In general, I like to work on my own for a grade – 75%• In general, I like to work in groups for a grade – 25%
• When all is said and done, I would have preferred to write a synthesis essay on this topic instead of making a video – 50%• I was happy to work in a group on this video – 50%
*caveat
THEIR RESPONSES, CONT.
• “This was so fun. I loved getting to hear everyone’s ideas about the American Dream and their creative ideas about what to do for the movie.”
• “It was hard to find time to get together, and some people ended up doing the majority of the work.”
YOUR RESPONSES?
• What could you apply this to in your own classes?• What are the challenges?• What are the ideal outcomes?
YOUR REFLECTION
• 1. If I had all the time in the world, what and how would I want to teach in order to make my class experience memorable and student-centered?• 2. Which skills do I want my students to have
by the time they leave my class?• 3. Which units/works,/concepts do I currently
teach that could be made more project-based and student-centered?• 4. What do I want to find out more about?
THANK YOU!