Submitted by: Stephanie Biller
Collaborators: Nancy Essid
School: Ridge ES
Summary
Students were given a challenge to design a digital presentation of one state in the Southeast Region of the United States. Each group worked collaboratively to do research, evaluate the research, and brainstorm facts that started with each letter of the alphabet. Students had to use problem solving and critical thinking skills to match the research with the letters of the alphabet. Our class, in Henrico, digitally collaborated with another fifth grade class in Prince William County by sharing research and ideas for the letters through Google Docs. Students were asked to evaluate each others’ research and prioritize facts. When the research was completed, students used Pixie to create a page for each letter of the alphabet. They created drawings, inserted pictures, and recorded facts from the research in Pixie. Each group’s work was then created into a Quicktime movie and presented to the class. The project was also shared with the class In Prince William County digitally. The teacher and librarian posted the Quicktime movie on the classroom website, library blog, and Vimeo. Students used a rubric to self assess and critique the final project.
TIPC Ratings
This project is Ideal in Research and Information Fluency. The teacher and librarian gave the students an opportunity to use resources in an authentic task. The students were presented with a project where they had to use research skills and resource knowledge to determine the best possible information for the task at hand. The teacher and librarian facilitated the research and helped students find the most reliable resources available through questioning and modeling.
This project is Ideal/Target in Communication and Collaboration. The librarian set up digital forms of communication through Google Docs. The teacher and librarian facilitated group collaboration within the classroom, as well as with the class in Prince William County. Students were given a purpose for engaging in collaboration and solving problems. The students were able to collaborate effectively, without direct supervision. Students used the rubric to set goals for their group and self-assess the final project and research process. Students were able to form strong teams and delegate tasks throughout the project.
This project is Approaching in Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. The teacher and librarian facilitated critical thinking and problem solving strategies when students were stuck trying to find a fact for a particular letter. The teacher and librarian used think-aloud modeling to help students generate their own ideas on where to find information.
When looking at the other class’s research, they found conflicting information. Students had to dive back into research to find the correct fact in order to justify their decision to use particular information. They also compared the letters with the other class. Students had to think critically with such letters as q, x, z. They had to come up with creative ways to find significant information to match those letters.
This project is Ideal/Target in Creativity and Innovation. The teacher and librarian provided a task where students were encouraged to synthesize research in order to create a unique presentation. Students were given the opportunity to collaborate amongst their group, as well as with a fifth grade class in another county, to share creative ideas. Students created meaningful and original work in Pixie. They were required to use their research to create 26 pages (one for each letter of the alphabet) in a creative way. The students were asked to mainly use original artwork on each Pixie page. The artwork was required to be meaningful to their state.
