Week 4 - Classroom Reflections

"100% for Everything...Especially My Battery Life!" 

Recently, I've noticed students arguing over access to electrical outlets. There are moments where students become a bit paranoid about their cell phones having less than 100% battery life.  Although this simple observation doesn't equate to an educational break through, it does highlight the subtle paranoia that can detract a students ability "to create" or "collaborate". 

Last week, Students were challenged with their first Project - Based Learning assignments. What we are attempting to measure with these projects are Collaborative and Creative abilities. Creative and collaborative abilities aren't well measured on standardized tests, but they are continuously measured through adulthood. 

As we know, grades, test scores, SAT, MME, and Exams are a part of the American School System. These measurements are necessary for a multitude of reasons, none of which I care to discuss. A great comparison for academic measurement is a consumer's Credit Score. If everyone was motivated by numbers, the vast majority of the population would have fantastic purchasing power. The truth is, students (just as adults) are motivated by an array of different life events, not simply by academic data. 

With Project Based Learning...

What we hope to understand are student's motivation. For the majority of students, their motivation isn't focused on a test they are to take years from now or a metric that determines their academic rank. 

When student's practice their ability to collaborate and create, they are rehearsing the educational characteristics of reaching for 100% without the certainty of electrical outlets.