The 7th grade has been working hard in math working on their bike trips. The observations I have made while the teams have been working for the past few weeks have been interesting.
The first few weeks seemed a little slow and scattered. Teams were trying to figure out what they wanted to do for a trip and figure out how to work together. There were a few groups that had conflicts and needed support to work through their problems. I have been impressed with many groups that have figured out how to work with different people. I am sure it was unconfortable not working with your best buddy. The progress on the themes, budgets, etc. was slow at first. I think groups needed to sort their roles and jobs out. Once everyone completed their pieces, things changed. Within the past week or so, the projects have started to come together.
Mr. Dupont and myself started the project wanting the teams to promote their trip using technology. This was a broad expectation and was intended. As groups started thier slide shows and other products, it was clear that groups would be able to create many ways to promote thier trips. So groups have been adding business cards, flyers, brochures, audio casts, web pages, etc to their promotional package. It is simply amazing to watch the students come up with ideas. We have not formally given instruction on any Microsoft Office product, yet the students are diving in and creating some nice products. Students are importing their maps from Mapquest, music, pictures, etc into their slides shows and publications. Students have been engaged in using different technology tools to create their products. I have found myself troubleshooting or problem solving technology problems with students instead of standing and teaching the technology. It has been fun. I can't wait to see the end results.
