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    This document discusses using project-based learning approaches to make curriculum more engaging for students. It argues that students learn best when they can connect lessons to real-world problems and actively investigate solutions. The author created a project-based unit on the novel "The Clay Marble" that integrated multiple subjects and had students take on roles to deepen their understanding of the refugee experience. Research shows project-based learning improves student motivation and helps them make deeper connections to material, even for those with learning disabilities.

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    This document discusses using project-based learning approaches to make curriculum more engaging for students. It argues that students learn best when they can connect lessons to real-world problems and actively investigate solutions. The author created a project-based unit on the novel "The Clay Marble" that integrated multiple subjects and had students take on roles to deepen their understanding of the refugee experience. Research shows project-based learning improves student motivation and helps them make deeper connections to material, even for those with learning disabilities.

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    31 views3 pages

    Content Unit

    Uploaded by

    api-351587400
    This document discusses using project-based learning approaches to make curriculum more engaging for students. It argues that students learn best when they can connect lessons to real-world problems and actively investigate solutions. The author created a project-based unit on the novel "The Clay Marble" that integrated multiple subjects and had students take on roles to deepen their understanding of the refugee experience. Research shows project-based learning improves student motivation and helps them make deeper connections to material, even for those with learning disabilities.

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    of 3

    ANISIMOVA MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 1

    Content Unit

    Every teacher has access to a curriculum and a planning guide for implementing the

    standards for the different subjects. One thing the guides lack is a way to make a connection

    from content to students’ lives, a way to make the learning real for them (Wellen, 2018). As

    teachers we cannot assume that students have the ability to effectively read and analyze an

    informational text simply because they can read words; students need to learn tools of inquiry

    (Weaver, 2002). I use project-based approaches to promote questioning skills, and integrate

    diverse content areas into my unit plans in order to create a deeper level of engagement and

    understanding. I created the unit on the novel The Clay Marble to be a project-based approach to

    teaching the novel.

    Project-based approaches have been shown to improve student attitude, motivation, and

    promote a deeper connection with the material. Learning benefits have been noted even in

    students with learning disabilities (Halvorsen, Duke, Brugar, Block, Strachan, & Berka,

    2012). Students need to actively connect to the subject, to create something. Learning is most

    effective when students get to address a real-world problem, and when they investigate possible

    solutions (Halvorsen, et al., 2012). For example, in the Clay Marble Unit the students were asked

    to help make a Public Service Announcement raising awareness about Cambodia and think of

    possible ways we could help.

    Students grow better at inquiry by searching for connections to the real world and their

    experiences, asking themselves and one another questions before, during and after the readings

    (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007). When teaching the Clay Marble unit, I asked my students to write a

    letter from the point of view of a refugee as well as an alternate ending. I saw my students using

    their questioning skills in asking one another’s feedback about their ideas and stories,
    ANISIMOVA MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 2

    researching details to use in their descriptive writing, examining illustrations for meaning, and

    reflecting on the different possible endings and how they related to the rest of the story and

    characters. These writing and journaling activities forced the students to question what it would

    be like to personally experience what they are reading and to provide feedback to one another.

    This ability to ask questions is important in making connections to the material; curiosity and

    questioning are associated with higher-order thinking skills and teaching for understanding

    (Koechlin & Zwaan, 2014).

    As project-based learning usually spans over several lessons, it is common practice to

    integrate different subject areas into unit plans, while students simultaneously build their literacy

    (Halvorsen, et al., 2012). My unit on the Clay Marble included social studies in the exploration

    of the history of human rights, using math and geography to calculate distances between borders

    and refugee camps, technology to gather information online, and several art projects that allowed

    students to illustrate their understanding, as well as promote a solution for the problem.

    There needs to be a purpose to our teaching, something that fosters a sense of citizenship,

    responsibility to the community, an awareness of the rest of the world (Perrone, 1991). I believe

    my unit on the Clay Marble did just that, awakening the students to a whole new world outside

    and allowing them to personally connect with it, taking ownership of their actions amongst their

    peers. Working with real problems and questions in a compelling way promotes the students’

    future success and contributions to society (Welles, 2018).

    References

    Halvorsen, A.L., Duke, N. K., Brugar, K., Block, M., Strachan, S., Berka, M., Educational

    Policy State Center Michigan State University, E. P. C. (2012). Narrowing the

    Achievement Gap in Second-Grade Social Studies and Content Area Literacy: The
    ANISIMOVA MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 3

    Promise of a Project-Based Approach. Working Paper #26. Education Policy Center at

    Michigan State University. Education Policy Center at Michigan State University.

    Retrieved from

    http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN

    =ED537157&login.asp&site=ehost-live

    Harvey, S., Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for

    Understanding and Engagement. (2nd ed.) Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

    Koechlin, C., Zwaan, S. (2014). Q Tasks: How to empower Students to Ask Questions and Care

    About the Answers. (2nd ed.) Markham, Ontario, Canada: Pembroke.

    Miller,D. (2009). The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. San

    Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Perrone, V. (1991). A Letter to Teachers. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons

    Weaver, C. (2009). Reading process: Brief edition of reading process and practice (3rd ed.).

    Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

    Wellen, L., (2018). A Classroom for All Students: Project-Based Learning. Lutheran Education,

    56–66. Retrieved from

    http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN

    =130520080&site=ehost-live

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