Although this particular project has not been done before,
a similar project has been used for the last three years at the
middle school level. Previously students chose a topic about
their community to explore. The choice of topic was in no way
the result of a real-life problem or authentic student task.
The students were taught the Big6 process by the library media
specialist. The students followed this information problem-solving
process to gather background information about the topic. Students
also went to the public library to do primary research in the
Montana/community archives. The English teacher and the LMS taught
the students how to conduct oral history interviews. The students
chose one or several community members to interview about their
topics. Students used tape recorders to record the interviews
and transcribed the tapes after the interview was completed.
No part of the actual instruction came as the result of using
Internet resources. Some of the students used the Internet to
do some of their investigations. Some of the students used the
digital camera or video camera as well as a scanner to add interest
to their projects.
After the research and interviews were complete, the students
had to create some kind of product to share their new-found knowledge.
Some students chose to use Power Point to create presentations,
some students wrote reports, and some students created desktop
displays. All of the student work was displayed at a "Community
Heritage Night" at the end of the school year.
Students were assessed in several different ways. A variety of informal formative assessments were conducted throughout the project. Students completed weekly KWL charts to keep track of progress and goals. At the end of the project students and teachers completed a project rubric, and the group members completed a group evaluation. None of the assessments were completed using technology.
