ELA TPE j

The candidate provides students the opportunity to use and evaluate strengths and limitations of media and technology as integral tools in the classroom.

What is this?

I wrote this project-based learning unit for 8th grade ELA about effective online communication via social media as a project for EDUC 361: Middle School Teaching Strategies. It includes an entry debate on whether social media is good or bad, and the end product is that students will work in groups to create informative Instagram posts, YouTube videos, and TikToks on topics of their choosing. They will write process and outcome reflections and their posts will be compiled into a gallery for community viewing.

Why did I choose it?

I chose this unit about ethical communication on the social internet because the problem it seeks to solve and the ways students can work through solving it provide opportunities to communicate online and evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of doing so. They will make use of online resources; learn from experts in the field; develop employability skills such as decision-making, collaboration, and integrity; work through a writing process for each task; and in the end, prove whether it is possible to use social media for good.

What did I learn?

Putting together this unit by working through the Magnify Learning template taught me how to create a project-based learning unit from start to finish. I had never tried this instructional approach, but now know how to write a problem statement and driving question, integrate employability skills, define entry events and end products, create benchmarks, and connect learning with community partners. In addition, I got to spend time thinking about how to teach students to think critically about social media use, which plays a major role in their lives (and mine).