Spangler: Chapter 4 RR

This chapter discusses the many potential pitfalls in project design. The first is, “long on activity, short on outcomes.” This basically means if the project takes too long and the students aren’t challenged by it, then it’s not worth doing. Another potential pitfall I thought was interesting is, “technology layered over traditional practice.” This occurs when a regular research project is referred to as a project design project. The students researching a topic on the internet and making it a slideshow is not project design! The next pitfall chapter 4 lists is “trivial thematic units.” This was kind of hard to understand but it talks about doing a lot of activities with apples that are not beneficial in any way to the students. It comes down to what you do with apples. Adding pictures of apples versus learning about commerce, agriculture, and transportation. There is a big difference! The last potential pitfall is “overly scripted with many, many steps.” This is just how it sounds. If there is too much instruction, there won’t be any creativity. So it is important to look at the learning objectives to figure out how many steps of instruction you should have for your project.

Some features of a good project listed in this chapter are very helpful for teachers who are designing their projects. Some of these features include having a loose design so there can be a possibility of many learning paths, but also to make it structured so students can learn with and from each other. Another important component for a good project is to go beyond just school and get the community involved. In my opinion, one of the most important of these features is to let the children learn by doing. Isn’t that the whole point of project-based learning?
One of the hardest parts of project-based learning in my opinion is where to begin. Where can you get ideas for what you want your project to be about? This chapter provides many resources that teachers can access. It also discusses the idea that projects start other projects. In other words, a project the students are currently working on, will always lead to something more, a bigger idea or a continuation of the same subject.

Now it’s time to design the project. Chapter 4 gives steps to designing a project. Important things to remember are to consider the context, for example the school calendar, curriculum sequence, and student interest. First revisit the framework and reconsider the objectives. Then write a project sketch outlining your entire idea and how you are going to make it into a project.

The topics in this chapter relate to our project because it tells us very important features of a good project. That way we can be sure to implement these ideas into our project. It also includes ways that a project idea could become unsuccessful.