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BE THE ARCHITECT OF YOUR SCHOOL!
SUMMARY
Project-based learning, as a metacognitive strategy, is aimed at training and developing the skills necessary on the labor market and required by employers, teaching students: to work well in a team, to be careful and reflective about decision making, to show initiative, and to solve complex problems. The project-based approach has many advantages, including: the students taking responsibility for their own learning process; increasing autonomy in learning, the emphasis is on collaboration, not on competition; monitoring the implementation of the project allows the teacher to identify the difficulties encountered by each student and how these difficulties are overcome by the student.
In this Erasmus project, the harmonious combination of the two strategies PBL (project-based
learning) and Agile, together with LEGO® Serious Play®, CLIL, Liberating Structures, NON-Violent communication, can become an easier way for students to achieve better learning outcomes. The project "Be the architect of your school" is part of the learning unit "Basic concepts in learning
physics". This is a cross-curricular project, an interesting challenge for the sixth-grade students to see what they have learned in the first chapter at Physics along with English, using the Agile strategy.
The unit was divided into 3 parts: Introduction and 2 sprints (sprint 1 - learning new theoretical
notions; sprint 2 - using new knowledge in new contexts, that is, carrying out the project proposed by the
teach): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d2NZbaW_cksv0i-GZt_FePe1D5sNDUSd/view?usp=sharing
Here is an example of a task, in the first part (Introduction), which calls for the real involvement of students in the discovery of the new topics that will be studied by them in the unit "Basic concepts in learning physics".
The teaching process begins by arousing curiosity and motivating students to study the proposed topic. The teacher presents the students with a video and the two requirements from the cross-curricular project proposed by the teacher and which, they will carry out in groups of 3 students.
Video
The first requirement (from the project proposed by the teacher, see link below):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d2NZbaW_cksv0i-GZt_FePe1D5sNDUSd/view?usp=sharing
The teacher proposes to each team of students to create, using LEGO® Serious Play® pieces, a
configuration similar to those watched in the video.
The teacher, using the 1-2-4 all method, asks the students to find the theoretical notions they
need in order to be able to determine the volume of air in the classroom, which they should write down.
These notes, they write down, represent, in fact, the Product backlog – they imagine what they should know in order to be able to respond to the above challenge.
The second requirement (from the project proposed by the teacher, see link below):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d2NZbaW_cksv0i-GZt_FePe1D5sNDUSd/view?usp=sharing
The teacher applies the same methods as those used for the first requirement.
Agile arouses students' curiosity about the new contents, allowing them to make a list of these
contents as they have imagined it. The teacher facilitates the development of the list by asking students essential and key questions.
Here's how I made the Story map in Sprint 1!
To carry out the project "Be the architect of your school", students learn how to apply theoretical
notions. Scrum artefacts allow the teacher to improve the transparency and understanding by the students
of the activities they carry out.
In this respect, I created the Story map, in five stages. Each stage of this cyclical model helps
students to learn in a structured way and to be able to apply what they have learned in new contexts, such as the final project in Sprint 2. The story map makes students understand that the learning process of some basic concepts is just as important as the project itself when finished.
In the figure below is presented the cyclical model of the 5-stage sprint, respectively the subjects.
A Retrospective is a special Scrum ceremony that forces students to pause and reflect on what
transpired and discuss what worked and what did not work during a project. Value comes from the dialogue rather than just from individual statements.
The teacher uses the three-stage-fishbowl method:
The Scrum Team, after having analyzed how Sprint 2 went, identified the problems they had
encountered in the development of their project: "Be the Architect of Your School" and discussed how those problems could be solved. Thus, they have identified the most useful changes they can make in order to improve the way they work individually and together as a team so as to progress and become more effective.
See link below: Worksheets Three Stage-Fishbowl:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Og5t8OQevYCRVz8kgEqozOvZnuwz1nL2/view?usp=sharing
Drawing simple conclusions about the data obtained and the evolution of students’ own learning experience. (According to the specific competencies in the Curriculum – 6th grade); Using Agile strategy to work collaboratively, in teams; Vocabulary acquisition in English regarding calculations and measurements; Reinforcing in English the language for giving opinions, agreeing and disagreeing, and discussion topics for speaking practice; Using notions learned in the classroom in real-world contexts.
MIRO BOARD
OPEN DIGITAL BADGE
Badge 1 - NEWTON - analytical thinking - formulates simple conclusions based on experimental data; has communicated observations and conclusions of the investigations.
https://badgr.com/issuers/632d66d8b0311d4874e3fb66/badges/632d6800b0311d4874e3fb7d/overview
Badge 2 - EDISON -productivity (fluidity) of scientific/technical thinking - extraction of relevant scientific data and information describing a phenomenon; has organized the data in a form appropriate to the performance of the tasks;
https://badgr.com/issuers/632d66d8b0311d4874e3fb66/badges/632d73c8d9d7e958ac332ee8/overview
Badge 3 - COANDA - technical thinking - anchored in reality - organization of experimental data in different simple forms of presentation; has elaborated a presentation in the form of a laboratory report and a drawing board.
https://badgr.com/issuers/632d66d8b0311d4874e3fb66/badges/632d74d4d9d7e958ac332efb/overview
Badge 4 - GALILEI - experimental thinking - use of methods of recording and representing experimental data, has drawn up a table recording the quantitative information.
https://badgr.com/issuers/632d66d8b0311d4874e3fb66/badges/632d7545b0311d4874e3fbed/overview
Summary of the transformation (changes that were made in teaching)
To stir students' interest and motivate them to get actively involved in the CBF project and the unit activities, the teacher begins with the 1-2-4 all (liberating structures) and the LEGO method, helping students build a solid foundation on which to construct their understanding of the new content topics. After the creation of the Product Backlog, the CBF unit was divided into sprints, each commencing with a Sprint Backlog. Story Mapping (artifacts) used in Sprint 1 makes it easy to discover learning and prioritize learning activities. The Agile/Scrum strategy applied here continues for each sprint with the Daily Stand (definition of done) which is strictly related to sprint tasks and with the Sprint Review, but also with the Sprint Retrospective (The 4L's retrospective - from Miro's templates). In Sprint 2, a SCRUM BOARD is used in the Daily Stand, and in the Retrospective Sprint Stage, the Fishbowl Method (from Ceremonies) was applied.
See https://accedproject.org/