How much are my students learning from a project?
Well, let's find out.
I created a Civil War Tic-Tac-Toe menu. Since we just got done with an art project about the causes of the war, I left major art work off this menu.
Students had the choice of creating a map of the Civil War, a newspaper article about Secession, a medal to honor an Abolitionist, or a timeline of events. They could also choose to proofread a statement about Missouri Statehood, or could consider what their last words would say about themselves.
I thought I created a bunch of fun activities with instructions to match. Aside from the word search they could create, or the timeline, everything else was brand new.
Then, a TeachThought email appeared one day last week, and turned my thinking upside down. What were they learning, I mean, actually learning? And how do they demonstrate it?
For me, it was a simple fix. Assign a mandatory, and short, essay. In it, the student will describe what they learned from the projects they chose. While many students will protest the writing element, I didn't place a minimum length on this. Some wrote full page explanations, some wrote half a page.
The expectations were the same:
Paragraph 1 - tell me which projects you chose
Paragraphs 2-4 - describe each project
Paragraph 5 - Conclusion.
Keeping the essay as simple as possible is key here. Some students naturally describe their work, while other struggle to explain what they learned.
No matter, I'll keep looking for ways for my students to explain their learning.
