Examples of Project Elements

Prerequisites:

Read Bridging the Gap.

Purpose:

To provide further examples of the project elements

Examples:

Your project is more than the sum of the elements. It is most important to get the pieces together so that the puzzle fits. On this page you will find links to full project examples that show further development of the proposal elements you are working on. For each proposal element, several project examples are listed that are particularly strong with respect to that element. These examples have been selected because they are effective in focusing and encouraging students to become engaged learners.

Learner Outcomes:

Simply Prairie - /ntep/f98/projects/fnal/

Look at the learner outcomes halfway down the page. Note that these are measurable for the most part and related to the content being studied. Notice there are outcomes on working well as a group and making an organized presentation as well as the content. The beef is here!
Simply Prairie Rubric - /ntep/f98/projects/fnal/student/assess.html
Notice how the rubric has those same learner outcomes in left column. Your rubric should too. However it would be better to have an even number of assessment descriptors.

Genethics - /lincon/w01/projects/genethicskim/present.html

Look at the learner outcomes about one-third of the way down on the page. Once again, content learner outcomes are included.
Genethics Final Project Rubric - /lincon/w01/projects/genethicskim/rubric.html
Notice how the rubric has those same learner outcomes in left column. There are extra rubric sections for web design and journaling. While it isn't the best example of rubric format, the most important aspect is the inclusion of the learner outcomes within the rubric.

Assessments:

Flooding Rivers - /lincon/w01/projects/floodingrivers/present.html

Scroll down to look at the Learner Outcomes half way down the page. Compare these to the
Flooding Rivers Rubric - /lincon/w01/projects/floodingrivers/rubric.html
Notice that the rubric incorporates all the learner outcomes, although not item by item. This is fine as long as all learner outcomes have been addressed. Also note that structure the rubric uses is an even-numbered column format which enables the evaluator to avoid naturally gravitating to the middle of the rubric.

A Desert Oasis - /lincon/w01/projects/nmsuwet/present.html

Look at the section on assessment about halfway down on the page. Notice that they make accommodations for both formative and summative evaluations, listing the tools that they would use for both. They then go on to align their learner outcomes to their state's curriculum framework, an important step in ensuring a viable and ongoing measurement of learning.

Once again, content learner outcomes are included within the rubric:
A Desert Oasis Rubric - /lincon/w01/projects/nmsuwet/rubric.html
Notice how the rubric has an odd number of columns for evaluation but that they actually include four levels of assessment. They can easily tranform their three-column rubric to a four-column rubric.

Authentic Tasks:

I Want to be an American Citizen - /linc/fall96/projects/stamayo/pagestu.html

Students in a bilingual class help their own relatives and friends and people e-mailing from the Internet to pass the U.S. citizenship test. This project is also a great example of how an engaged learning project can be adapted to meet the needs of a special student population.

Flooding Rivers - /lincon/w01/projects/floodingrivers/SPintro.htm

Students investigate and propose solutions for flooding that is happening in their own school (as well as collaborating with students in another community affected by flooding).

Hooks:

See example hooks page (/lincon/el_hook_samples.shtml)

Nature Trail - /lincon/w01/projects/naturetrail/student.html

The school's own nature trail will be closed if students can't come up with some solutions to environmental problems.

Ed Tech Simulation - Look at the headlines.
/lincon/el_simact2.shtml

Genethics - Look at the headlines.
/lincon/w01/projects/genethicskim/student_pages/student1.html

Montgomery County to the Rescue - A person visiting the classroom makes a request.
/lincon/w98/projects/jrebstock/student.html

While it's true the Power Rangers are not real, this teacher's second-graders were completely "into" them, so the hook worked and the point is it was relevant and targeted for them as second-graders. Even though the Power Rangers aren't real, the project addresses real-world issues: i.e., how to attract people to a community and diversity issues. Staff working for a city public relations office may have the task of coming up with ways to attract people to move to and stay in the city. So this part is real.

Student Direction:

Flooding Rivers - /lincon/w01/projects/floodingrivers/present.html

See first two paragraphs under the "Process" heading. Students decide how to approach the research, define their project, define their research question, decide their group processes, make their own time-table (probably reviewed by teacher), and decide what kind of product to create.

Genethics -/lincon/w01/projects/genethicskim/student_pages/student1.html

Students get to decide what issue related to genetics to investigate out of a wide variety of issues and they can come up with their own if they are interested in pursuing something else related to genetics. (i.e., Their issue does not have to be on the headlines list. It says this in the presentation page.)

Risky Business - /ntep/f98/projects/sandia_mgb/

(See the "Research Questions" heading.) Students get to choose the topic (activity related to risk) they want to investigate. Mostly sports are listed as examples but this could easily include topics like smoking, drinking, eating fast food all the time, living in a polluted area, drugs, crime, traveling or transportation, . . .

Best Use of Technology:

EMO Weather Watchers (See "Introduction to Research" heading.)
/ntep/f98/projects/bnl/weather/

Students use the Internet to collaborate with students in other places who have different data to share based on the weather in their community. Students use the Internet to share data. Students use the Internet to collaborate with experts at Brookhaven National Lab. Students publish their original work to a world-wide audience by designing their own weather Web site. (Students also communicate to the school community by creating a closed circuit tv broadcast.) Students use the Internet as a research tool for weather info. Weather is changing all the time, so the Internet is a great source to get new and frequently changing information about weather.

View with No Slant (See Abstract, Content, Product and Best Use of Technology.)
/lincon/w99/projects/viewslant/present.html

View with No Slant Student Page - /lincon/w99/projects/viewslant/stuexperts.html

The Internet is used to communicate with students in a different country because they have a different cultural perspective on the same historical events (and their newspapers, TV, movies, teachers and textbooks also come from a different perspective). The Internet is used to communicate with experts on that culture or on the specific historical event. The Internet is used to publish an original student product to a world-wide audience via a Web page. Students choose a product for their festival, but also make a Web version so people can see it who cannot attend the festival. The Internet is used to research events (find information).