We all have to assign grades. Those milestone markers that measure a students progress. Unfortunately, these numbers or letters become fixed after a certain point. They become a permanent notch, once the final reports are released. Very rarely do students have the opportunity to change them, once they are printed and sent out to parents. They become souvenirs of a sort. Little trinkets of understanding and demonstration that are often placed in a catch-all drawer or the bottom of a closet, once the trip or adventure has ended. How can we make these tokens, of knowledge acquirement, more meaningful, to where they remain in view, long after the expedition? How can we update the ordinary, the expected into an event? How can we make this learning, flashy enough, to let students feel like their hard work is worth remembering, so they place it on their night stands or dresser tops to remember the experience fondly?
These souvenirs we collect through our school years are pins, we wear proudly on our lanyards. They remain with us as a bridge, a loop to new ideas and strategies. They need to be shiny like a trophy, a mindful memento, that like a LEGO brick snaps into place with future pieces. This is what builds our towers of success. Every single "a-ha" moment, every light bulb that creates luminescence, as we see the connections. This band is stretched and expanded with every new experience we have in our classroom, every project, assessment and activity. Projects as assessments are necessary events in every classroom. Either independent or collaborative. They are long-term collections and cohesion's that allow students to work through stages of learning and draw conclusions. Sometimes they turn their work in on paper and share with a partner, while sometimes they present them in front of the class. Either way, having them share is extremely important, because it reinforces the purpose of their work and the need to share their knowledge with their peers.
My students designed and conducted 10-week experimental design projects this semester. The only parameters they were given were that they had to be based either on the human body or Genetics. Generally speaking classes do projects together, within the class period. But, for our event- SCICON, I allowed all of my five gifted classes to intermingle. So some of my 3rd partnered with my 8th period etc. It was awesome to see how they crossed over and found one another. The main way they did this was by using our Community Board and the calling cards they created the first week of school. They are up on the wall and they perused them to find other students with similar interests to work with. Some teams worked great together the whole 10-weeks, while some struggled. But, in the end every project was completed on time and presented at our SCICON event, December 17th 6-8pm. It was outside of school hours and all 135 students attended with their parents, siblings and even many grandparents. Over 250 people attended.
SCICON
The project topics ranged from the effects of Alzheimer's on the brain, reaction time variances between adults and children, to levels of dehydration after different sports activities. All of them were unique. Some were based around survey's and hands-on activities, while others were extended lab experiments. They created tri-fold display posters, models and research papers. Their data was discussed in a podcast and delivered to me and then the night of, they had 1-minute to give me the highlights. Each student also had to walk around and listen to the presentations of four different groups, ask them questions about their research and complete a peer project report. Finally, they completed group and individual evaluations of their progress and completion of the project.
They were so excited to be able to get dressed up and present to their peers and families. The night was a complete success. Parents were very excited to see their child present and to be able to walk around, science-fair style and listen to all 65 of the amazing projects. It was a very busy 10-weeks with after-school days provided for guidance, rehearsal opportunities and consistent progress check-in times. There were some parents who got frustrated at the end because their child put off their part of the project and were stressed. I responded "We had constant reminders, opportunities for meetings and 10-weeks to complete." This calmed any apprehensions and put a flame under their child to get it done. They did. Every student participated, as with all collaborative projects, some students took the lead and completed more work. The peer evaluations were used to make sure the final grades were fair and accurate.
The souvenir of projects was taken from the ordinary, presenting in class, working with classmates to mingling and being able to work with friends in other classes. It went from presenting in class to a night of science and peer interaction. Having the opportunity to share their experimental design projects with parents was even better. Parents are often left out of the presentation stage and having them there was amazing. I got to meet them again and talk to them about challenging their children and keeping them on their toes. I did not hear one negative comment, they were exhausted, as all of us were, but they appreciated the struggle and success their child felt over these past 10-weeks.
It is so important to include parents as much as possible and this night, SCICON was a great way to do that. This type of event is a perfect way to bring parents, students and learning together. My event was SCICON but imagine what you could do with ELA, Social Studies and Math. The possibilities are endless and the reward: a souvenir we will all hold dear and keep front and center for the rest of the year and beyond.
