Project Based Learning – Burtis

Project Based Learning – Burtis

This is designed for my Algebra 3 course, which is made up of seniors planning to further their education, but not in a math or science field. Since these seniors are in the process of finalizing plans for education after high school, felt it would be instructive to combine their search for information about options to our first unit on exploring data. The project will not necessarily drive the learning, but should reinforce it by it’s application.

THE CHALLENGE QUESTION:  “College, is it worth it? What are the important factors?”

Objective: Collect, sort, analyze, represent and model data.

Set-up: The first 2 units (the first quarter) are devoted to a unit on Exploring Data and one on Functions and Models. The students will combine what they learn through the week to a project examining the factors that go into choosing a college to attend.  The project will be worked on each Friday.

Materials: will vary by specific topic, but internet access, a shared folder for storing research, and a graphing utility will factor in.

Standards: I have not listed the individual standards, as this project will span 2 units and will include a wide variety of standards related to statistics, functions, and modelling. The Monday-Thursday lessons will focus on the standards, the project is an application of them.

Mathematical Practices: All will be touched during the 8 weeks of the project

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
4. Model with mathematics.
5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
6. Attend to precision.
7. Look for and make use of structure.
8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Project Goal:

• To collect enough data to illustrate how things have changed in their lifetime.
• To represent that data to help inform their own decisions on their future plans.
• To generate, conduct, and analyze a survey of their peers pertaining to their decisions and what was/is important.
• To predict what may change for in-coming freshman, who will be making that choice in 4 years.
• To represent that information to juniors to help inform the choices they will be facing next year.

Day 1:

The question above will be presented to the students on the first day of Unit 1 via a Chalk Talk. All realms of costs, benefits, advantages, and disadvantages of going to college will be open for discussion. The goal of the Chalk Talk will be to come up with all the different aspects of the college choice experience that can be quantified. Some that I am hoping show up include:

• Tuition cost
• Book costs and options
• Room and board costs
• Earning potential by degree
• Private versus public costs
• 4-year versus 2-year benefits
• In-state versus out-of-state issues
• Reputation versus earnings potential
• Commuter versus on-campus choices

Not a complete list, but just a few topics that came to mind during planning phase. The students will choose which aspect(s) they would like to focus on. Teams of 4 or 5 will then be made up accordingly.  Some may find that they touch on more than one topic, which is great. There may also be more than one team researching a topic, which is also fine. I will encourage them to include more than just one aspect.

I plan to ask the students to limit their searches to Ohio and the bordering states, which would be Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. They will be given the autonomy to specify what region they would like to focus on. Some potential options would include: southwest Ohio; all of Ohio; schools within a 3-hour radius; or schools on the east coast. I want it to be personal and meaningful to them, but do not want to overwhelm them by forcing too broad a spectrum to consider.

Managing the Project:

Monday through Thursday, the normal curriculum map will be followed, offering a variety of different delivery formats and examples. Data collection, data analysis, accuracy of data, and reliability of data will be discussed. Creating representations of the data and choosing the proper form that should take will be discussed. Potential trends and possible changes in the data will also be discussed. Periodic reviews and quizzes will take place just like normal.  All of this will be done independent of their projects.

From this point out, however, every Friday will be devoted to their specific project. Chromebooks are available in class, and all students have access to their own drive. A shared folder will be created for sharing data. Each team will be asked to submit 2 different data sets relevant to the project that all will be able to access. Sharing data sources will be the expectation.  Team interpretation and forms of representation will be unique.

The class will devise a survey on Google Forms that their peers will fill out, asking questions about their respective college decisions and the factors that went into it. The results should be included in their final presentations. Since all core courses are one to one, I will seek cooperation of colleagues who teach seniors for help in facilitating as many respondents as possible. I will share the results with colleagues should they be able to use it in their classes.

Every three weeks, I will assign a reflection piece to be done individually over the weekend, asking each student to reflect on their team’s process, their team’s results, what they personally like so far, and what they personally would like to do differently. I will read through and return so that they can discuss at the start of the next Friday work day.

As we move to Unit 2, (about week 6) they should have data to use and analyze and some opinions will be forming.  Unit 2 deals with Functions and Models, and the students will take the data they have collected and create a model of their data, complete with classifying the function and developing an equation for predicting what will happen 5 years down the road. That will be the final piece of their presentation.

Outline of Tasks that should happen on Fridays: The order and progress will vary by team.

1. First Friday will be whole class – preparing the survey for their peers.
2. Define their search parameters: where are they focused and why.
3. Target and find data relevant to their project.
4. Research reliability of data found and shared, and how it factors into their search.
5. Decide on and begin production of at least 2 different representations of their data.
6. Follow-up on any outside influences or factors that may affect their data and representations
7. Begin producing final product: poster, pamphlet, PowerPoint, etc.
8. Decide on related function(s) and derive an equation from which they can predict what will happen over the next 5 years.

Assessments:

• Every Friday, each team will submit a short exit ticket summarizing where the team is at in their project and what their goal will be for the next Friday.
• Teacher will circulate through the room on Fridays asking questions and viewing the collaboration that is (or isn’t) taking place.
• Will review reflective pieces every three weeks. Should be two of them.
• The final products will be put up in the room and each student will assess each product based on content, presentation, and relevance.
• Each student will fill out a form assessing their own and their teammates contributions to the project.
• The final product, in the form of posters and charts, will be displayed for juniors to view to assist their decisions.
• Hopefully, select groups will be able to attend the College Fair our school normally hosts to display their project and answer any questions that may arise. (Will need approval for this!)

Media:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIZzl_QS7YA  (why study statistics)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzvaD8a1_kY  (histograms vs bar graphs)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5P8aMakoAs  (pie charts)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E91bGT9BjYk  (misleading graphs)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKPhtBIsyIY  (Presenting data)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b5h5SNoyLg (Modeling Data Regression Functions)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_4RYCfsGvU  (better college choices)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7DxsOq-bW0  (things to consider…)