Subject/Course: Intervention (homeroom/study skills support class for high school freshman with a history of poor grades and/or test scores)

Grade Level: 9th

Project Idea: Students work in teams to research and prepare a motivational presentation on why students should work to graduate from high school. They use various reference materials (books, Internet, etc.) to research their reasons and organize their answer. They give a motivational presentation to other freshman classes that includes at least one visual aide (power point, poster, video, etc.). They write short, individual opinion essays that encompass their personal opinion and how being a high school graduate will affect their life.

Major Products: Motivational Presentation, Visual Aid, essay

Driving Question:Why should high school students work hard to earn a high school diploma?

Content: Students will be able to:
• Explain their opinion of the value of a high school diploma in a way that motivates others.
• Clarify benefits of being a high school graduate, and consequences of not graduating.
• Knowledgeably reference economic, social, and/or political facts about high school graduation.
• Describe common obstacles that prevent successful high school graduation.
• Relate general benefits of high school graduation to personal life goals.

CA Content Standards:
English: Reading-2.0, Writing Strategies- 1.0, Writing Applications- 2.3, Listening & Speaking- 1.0
Health: Mental, Emotional, & Social Health- 1.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0; Personal & Community Health- all

2 Century Skills: Collaboration, communication, and critical thinking directly taught and assessed

Entry Event: Pink Floyd song, You Tube videos (value of education), Black Star Project contract, article re. prison building on reading rates

Public Audience: 9th grade classes invited to presentation during 1st period, counselors, administrators invited. Opinon essays submitted anonymously to newspaper.

Jordana,

I’ve formatted the feedback below with “I like..” “I wonder…” and “Good next steps…” so that you can organize your reflection and thinking.

I like the tie to the local prison. I think you could run with this.
I like the content standards you are targeting.
I like that you are trying to motivate kids to achieve and see that high school is a gateway.
I like you are honoring their opinion in writing.

I wonder if the Pink Floyd video will excite kids for the project.
My biggest wonder is about your kids and the project. I can see you intent to have them connect high school to their own achievement, but I wonder if this project will actually do that, and excite them to want to achieve. I wonder if they will simply play the game of this project and do what you want.

A good next step might be to change the audience. Could they perhaps make a difference at the local prison, help inmates achieve? I think building outside relevance might eventually lead to them seeing a connection to their own lives. Could that be the outside audience?
I think a good next step would be to look for products that might engage students more. Game Designs? Photo Essays?Some more multimedia products geared towards the strengths and interests of your students.  Perhaps a writing component like a blog? Just some ideas.
Which 21st Century Skills are you going to Teach and Assess, it says all 3? I just want to make sure its all three or maybe one or two? I think you might want to ask yourself the same question of the content standards, just to make sure you are really teaching and assessing them

I hope this helps you move forward. We are here to help!

Thank you for the feedback!

I am still fine tuning this lesson as it is my first PBL and meant for the first few weeks of school (I begin Sept. 6). Thank you for all the “likes”; I will continue in this direction.

The Pink Floyd entry event was actually just having them listen to the song and do a quick-write about what they heard. A very short, getting into class kind of activity. I plan to have it playing as they walk in to class, stop it at the bell, and direct them to listen as they get out materials for the quick write (pen/pencil and paper). This is a procedure I use often in my classes. If music is playing as they walk in, they get the hint that it is playing for a reason and will relate to our class that day! The early birds like to figure it out while the rest of class straggles in.

Your biggest wonder is mine as well! This project is meant for a group of high school freshman who have struggled in school for years and are now in an intervention class. I have somewhat successfully started prior school years with the “school is important, here’s why,” “you will work hard because failure is not an option in this class,” “I will care more about your education for you until you are ready to care as much with me” kind of message. The problem has been that even though these students buy into the work load, they are still doing it for external reasons (me, other teachers in the CREW program who push them, etc.). Several do come around to the internal reasons, but not until the end of the year or years later (I get a lot of letters around graduation time).

In any case, I’d like these young people to have an opportunity to discover some reasons for being educated on their own. This would be the first step in a year-long journey down that road. Later projects include life maps, goal setting, principles, personal mission statements, where do you want to be in 10 years and how do you get there, etc. Is there a different focus I should take to clarify this?

I like the audience change ideas! Going to a prison sounds a bit overwhelming to me, but juvenile halls in the Los Angeles area have enough inmates that are the same age as these guys so it may work. I was also thinking about having them present to 8th graders at the feeder middle schools. I was also thinking of adding an interview portion. Perhaps a prison/juvenile hall visit as part of their research?

I smiled at your idea to use products that engage students more! Mine look pretty weak! I have a ton of ideas for that including MovieMaker and dramatic re-enactments, but I did not write them specifically in the lesson. I am planning on using a handout with options listed, then discussing product options with the class. Key to that discussion is what do you know how to do, what do you need help in doing, what materials do you need. Since this is a beginning-of-year project and they are hardly a homogeneous group when it comes to skills, support, and technology I need to keep product options open ended. I have watched them frustrate out on a simple PowerPoint when a poster would have been within their means and skill set and far more meaningful. Also these students do not have much technology available to them. We are quite limited on campus, and last year only 30% of the students in the program had computers at home. My other thought is to really specify the visual aid product so I can directly teach it (see PowerPoint scenario), Suggestions on managing this?

I would teach and assess all three 21st Century skills:

- Collaboration: I would teach by explaining and practicing roles they can take in the group, discussing and practicing conflict management tools, and other team building games. This would be assessed by having them do self and peer evaluations according to the rubric; I would do this mid-way through and at the end (2 times to allow for growth). I feel very comfortable with this as I do the same thing with the production crews in my Stage Production class with every show they produce.

- Presentation: I would teach by modeling/showing models of engaging, motivational presentations, practice by having 2 dress rehearsals, and would assess at the final presentation based on the BIE presentation rubric with my own additions. Again, as a Theatre Arts teacher, I am very comfortable with this procedure.

- Critical Thinking: I would teach this as we discussed the driving question and all their more detailed questions, modeling and encouraging inquiry. In coaching and supporting along the way there would be multiple opportunities to teach problem-solving. Again, my background in teaching Theatre and Stage Production makes me very comfortable with saying things like, “I’m not interested in your problems, I’m interested in hearing and helping with your possible solutions!” Critical thinking would be assessed 2 times. First, as groups prepare their projects (are their questions deep enough, are they finding and using multiple sources for research, have they moved beyond obstacles on their own or with minimal assistance). Second, after the project is complete (did they synthesize- not regurgitate- information, did they fully investigate new questions, does this new thinking show in their opinion essay).

Does this sound accurate? Too much?

I hope this post is not too long or tedious to review! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this support as I am on my own on this one! Thank you!

Your idea is quite amazing and very creative. I wonder if you could help me with some suggestions on how to implement PBL for an online criminal justice degree program. Any advice is welcome and I would appreciate your help very much. Hope you can help.

Jordana,
I’d echo what Andrew said about more engaging products, and a public audience. I’ve seen other teachers design projects like this and often the students do it just to play along, not really caring. I wonder if they will just dutifully deliver the list of reasons why it’s important to graduate, recite some statistics, but then go right back to where they were… You might add a more reflective piece; have them create more personal messages (multimedia comes to mind) that explore their thoughts and feelings about school, their goals, their lives. And it doesn’t have to be all serious - there’s always room for humor too. Maybe they could also talk with older HS students or college students who were in similar situations when they entered high school, to include their reflections about the topic.

Also, I can’t help but ask - are others teachers in your school using engaging, meaningful teaching methods like PBL? Being bored and unchallenged with meaningful work is a big reason kids drop out. So while you do what you can in your class, if the system stays the same, it’s an uphill battle! But carry on!

Jordana,
I forgot to say that, like Andrew, I too wonder about the Pink Floyd song. I could see it as a starter for a lesson or class period, but as a launch for the whole project it might strike the wrong tone, and not do the trick. An entry event is not just a “hook” to get their attention, it’s something more powerful that engages them in the topic, makes them want to explore it & do the project, and leads to inquiry by generating questions. I could see, for example… a guest speaker, a short video, a field trip…? Looking at a website, blog, or other multimedia made by other students that are along the lines of what you want your students to create…?

Dana,
A criminal justice program is a great place to use PBL! I could see a lot of possibilities for the type of project that’s a scenario/case study/simulation. This is what’s used in the “other” PBL, problem-based learning, which is found more often in the post-secondary world. Think about real-world situations where people working in the field of criminal justice solve problems, then design projects that take learners through a similar process.