Title: Project Based Learning in K-12 (AP Spanish Literature and Culture)
Author Name: Genesis B. Ramos
1. Introduction
Over the course of this semester, we have been reminded that students learn best by doing. This means that they need to apply learned concepts and produce authentic products. Knowledge production is not always enough to assess how much students have learned. This is especially in literature courses. Reiser and Dempsey Chapter 34 provides a clear description and of the different types of Inquiry-Based Learning; Case-Based Instruction (CBI), Project- Based Learning (PjBL) and Problem- Based Learning (PBL) (2018). In this chapter, we will focus on Project-Based Learning. The expectation in PjBL is that students apply the concepts that they learned into their products. Dempsey indicated that Problem based it’s used for the application of complex knowledge and these types of projects are assigned after key-concepts are learned (2018). We will also explore the key components of Project- Based Learning and how they are applied in AP- Spanish Literature and Culture class at Berkmar High School. This school is a Title 1 school with approximately 50 percent of the school population is of Hispanic descent. Students enrolled in AP Spanish routinely score 3s and 4s in the college board AP test. I chose this concept and setting because Sra. Tidizai Montano has a success trajectory in helping her students score high on the AP assessments. I wanted to look into her methodology and see how she integrates PjBL to help student master AP content.
2. Overview of the Case
The College Board requires that AP Spanish Literature and Culture to read 38 texts. Therefore, the course moves very fast which hiders the ability to implement a wide range of PjBLs. Due to time constraints, students do one major project per semester. Along the way, they do small projects that take no more than one class period (45-90 minutes). The following key components of a Project- Based learning experience (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018).
- Students are exposed to all the ideas and concepts before they start working on their projects.
- It’s a great technique to help students become self -directed learners.
- Depending on the individual student, scaffolds may be needed.
- Usually some sort of collaboration is required. Collaboration can be among peers, teacher and community members.
- It is an authentic assessment of both process and product.
During the Fall term, Sra. Montano focuses on poetry and all its components. Using PjBLs indicators as a guide, her primary role is to introduce pertinent vocabulary, key literary terms as well as grammar concepts. She models how to do a literary analysis through the usage of a worksheet she created that includes 10 questions. Even during the introductory stage, students are responsible for the writer’s biography and any key historical events that have may have influenced the writer.
The project is assigned as the final exam. Once the components of poetry and prose were examined students were assigned to demonstrate that they understood all the components of poetry. Students selected their favorite poem or the one that they understood best. Then they must use the key vocabulary terms from their chosen poem and create a new poem using those same terms. They also provided biographical information about themselves, historical background (major events) that occurred during the semester. Additionally, they had to write a literary analysis of their work and compare it to a similar poem (different from poem chosen for the project). Essentially, everything they learned in the semester about analyzing poetry is condensed in this project.
Sra. Montano collaborates with Sra. Gomez, who teacher Spanish for Native Speaker (SNS) during the Spring Semester. They collaborate on a PjBL on Magic Realism. This assessment serves as an indicator about student quality and capabilities since most of the AP students were SNS students. To some degree, the success of the AP is due to SNS students being handpicked and selected to continue their Language studies in AP class setting. Therefore, this project SNS students can get exposed to the rigor of an AP course.
Students read Chac Mool by Carlos Fuentes and Tiempo Libre by Carlos Fuentes. Besides reading the literary works, students interpret visual art, especially by Frida Kahlo which art exemplifies this genre. For the project, students get the opportunity to create their own magic realism fable. They can choose to work by themselves or in groups of twos. Students have the liberty to select students within their class or a student from the other teacher’s class.
3. Solutions Implemented
According to Sra. Montano, the reason why she decided to do projects instead of final exams it’s because it’s the best way to assess the knowledge that students have acquired, it is harder for students to cheat and students get the opportunity to create unique projects that represents them while applying the concepts they learned. This is how Sra. Montano and Sra. Gomez implemented key identifiers of PjBL.
- First students discussed what is real and what is fantasy. Students were introduced to the literary genre of magic realism. They examined key texts and through discussions, students concluded that those texts fit the descriptors and therefore, the texts genre were magic realism.
- Depending on the individual student, scaffolds may be needed- While students read, they had to fill out a graphic organizer: Frayer model with the following categories: character, space/ambiance, climax, resolution, and conflict/problem. A Frayer model was also used to help students draft their tales.
- It’s a great technique to help students become self -directed learners. – This was tool that students who were not as talented writers utilized to keep themselves organized and centered as to what was needed when they started writing. The role of the teacher is the guide on the side and this is evident specially when students work on their projects. Sra. Montano and Sra. Gomez primary goal during this project was to provide students with ideas: for example, those who could not come up with something to write, they were given the option to take a movie or fairy tale character and change their setting and problems. Another idea was for them to narrate a usual day and implement elements form magic realism.
- Usually some sort of collaboration is required. Collaboration can be among peers, teacher and community members. Students were given the option to work with a partner or work by themselves. When working in partners they were able to delegate the parts they were responsible for such as the development of the plot / resolution. Students also had to create an artwork that represents their writing.
- It is an authentic assessment of both process and product. – These projects provided the teachers with insight into what students understood is magic realism.
4. Outcomes
In both scenarios, students were required to apply the concepts and create their own works. This can be challenging for student who have not learned to be self-motivated. In the case of SNS1, there was a higher rate of students that did not turned in their magic realism tales. According to the teacher it is not because the work was hard, but they don’t know to how pace themselves. some are not used to being independent creators. She was told by some of her students that they rather take a test than do a project. This type of collaboration is important for AP Spanish. Students who may consider joining AP Spanish Literature are exposed early on as to the type of assessments they will undergo. Also, students are able to explore literature more in depth which is a natural interest for some.
5. Implications
AP Literature class requires a lot discipline from the students. Due to the rigor, therefore they do not have the time to do as many projects as Sra. Montano would like. What I noticed is that student’s usage of technology is very minimal. Reading assignments are distributed in paper however, due to the restrictions on paper the teacher have been encouraged to post the texts online in the class pages. According Reiser and Dempsey there are different levels of technology integration SAMR Model (2018). The first level of technology usage is direct technology substitution. This what she has done on occasion when posting her texts online. Sra. Montano teaching methodology has not changed, therefore student’s usage of technology in a typical class day is very minimal. Students primarily use technology to write their stories on a word processing, PowerPoint, StoryJumper or other resources they have used in different classes. Student collaboration does not occur in a virtual sphere, therefore, google docs are primarily used for personal usages.
Although her AP course has consistent high results, the delivery of materials as well as student engagement can be modified. Every class has an online page, the usage of online discussion threads provides students the opportunity to practice writing and supporting their positions as well as challenge their classmates’ thoughts. They also have a larger audience who may read their opinions and or analysis. Also, if students are able to keep a digital portfolio of their work, they can see how much they have progressed and thus be empowered by the proof and evidence that they have evolved as writers.
References
Reiser, R. A. (2018). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (Fourth Edition ed.). New York , New York : Pearson.