Teaching Unit outline

Lesson Plan #1: ENTRY EVENT/MINI PROJECT

The entry event is an event that catches the interest of your students about a specific topic. This could be in the form of a video, a lively discussion, a guest speaker, a field trip, or a compelling scenario. The teacher may also want to lead students through a one-period mini-PBL project, to familiarize them with PBL concepts., which may last

Lesson Plan #2: INITIAL RESEARCH/BASE CONTENT INSTRUCTION

Before students can ask a good driving question or set a design goal, they need to have an introduction to the topic, or to understand the customer's needs through interviews. In this phase, students do initial research of the issues surrounding the topic, or do interviews with the client.

Lesson Plan #3 CREATE AND REFINE THE DRIVING QUESTION OR DESIGN GOAL

The driving question is a clear open ended and intriguing question that gives a sense of what the project is all about. It should be connected to an instructional goal and helps drive exploration. How do we create ______ to ______? The teacher can create an overarching driving question, while helping the students to make it more specific.

Lesson Plan #4: MANAGING THE PROJECT WORK/ PROJECT JOURNALING/ CRITIQUE

During the project work, which may extend over multiple periods, the teacher needs to be clear on how to keep students on track, through journaling, mini-share-outs, critiques, and peer learning.

Lesson Plan #5 Part 1: SKILL TRAINING IN MEDIA, ETC

STEM projects generally require the knowledge of various technical skills, from scissors and glue guns to coding, video editing and CAD. Students need practice in using self-directed learning habits to learn skills from tutorial videos. Skill training can focus on digital media creation( such as WeVideo), computer-aided design( such as SketchUp or TinkerCAD), or other skills[ to be applied in Lesson Plan #5].

Lesson Plan #5 Part 2- CREATE DIGITAL MEDIA

An important part of making project-based learning 'real-world' is to be able to share the project with others online. This lesson plan focuses on managing the editorial side of media creation- what are the elements of an effective presentation?

PUBLIC EXHIBITION

This is a description of how the project work will be shared, whether through an on-site poster presentation, on-line digital media, or a combination.

REFLECTION

This is where both students and teachers reflect on the projects- What worked well? What didn't? What can be improved in a subsequent iteration?