Blog Post #5---Jeneane Allgood

     When I chose my Cell Communication Unit to be my Project-Based Lesson unit, I knew that it was a unit that needed improvement, and that it definitely needed more student involvement.  To start out the unit, I gave students a 30-question multiple choice pre-test, and I compared it to the 30 multiple choice questions on the culminating unit test for that unit.  Students scored an average of 20% on the pre-test compared to 85.7% on the post-test.  So, they showed that they had learned the key content, at least over the course of the unit. What I am hoping for is that the retain most of this information for a longer period of time because of the connections they made when they did their Cell Communication Disease Project presentations. Students worked so hard on those projects to apply what they learned in class to the disease that they were researching.  They didn't just have to understand it for themselves, they had to be able to explain it to others, which the majority of them did very well with.

       As I reflect on what worked and what didn't work about my PBL unit plan for cell communication, a couple things stand out to me.  First, I need to change some of the disorders that I let them pick from---some were too complicated or there just wasn't enough research out there to really have them dig into the topic thoroughly and independently. Second, I would change the culminating project.  I didn't want them to be able to "copy" an existing cell communication image from the internet, and put that on their canvas, but that is what happened in a lot of cases.  I underestimated the number of good images out there that would be easy to copy. Third, I need to reach out more to community members to get them involved in the research process and to view the culminating project. Simply put, I was too nervous that these projects might not go as planned, that I was really uncomfortable with inviting people from the community until we were almost finished with them, and I knew they would be good enough to show. Fourth, I will need to work on individual responsibilities in the group work. I'm not sure if I will go the route of a contract on my next PBL, or split up each person's responsibilities a little more clearly from the beginning.

         In my next PBL unit, I want the learning to be a little more "truly" authentic---not as much regurgitation of information, but true learning in a hands-on format.  My next PBL will also have more individual responsibilities and check-points (as referenced above). Finally, I would like to have 2-3 different people (with different specialties) come in to talk to and help students (using their specific area of expertise) to help them plan the best way to help their seed to germinate. I would also like to have a more public presentation of their culminating project, open to a much wider audience. I will detail more specifics about this in my unit plan PBL for spring semester.