My freshmen students have been working on a Greek mythology research project. I prepped them in the first few weeks of the trimester by practicing note taking and writing summaries. I talked them through the thinking process of reading information on the web or in books, taking down important information regarding the purpose of the notes, and turning those notes into a fluent, organized summary. I also prepped them with practice and knowledge on MLA citation for sources used in research papers. We gained background information on Greek culture and heroes while practicing these skills.
Then it was time for me to set them free. They picked a topic of interest to them, mostly from Greek gods and goddesses. The students could work collaboratively or independently – and were well aware of the benefits and drawbacks of each option. It was wonderful to watch them delve into research and rewarding to read their summaries and check their works cited entries. I think they did a great job of applying the skills we had practiced!
The best part of this project is the online, public component. The students are creating pages on my wiki, posting their summary and works cited, and linking to a visual PowerPoint that represents their character or symbols of their character. The learners are very energized by using this new technology tool. Most did a very good job of exploring it and learning on their own. Some needed a bit more pushing to think for themselves and play around to learn. I set them up for how to log in, create a page, and upload files, but left the rest for them to discover. They realize the space is public, and therefore have more concern for the look and accuracy of their page. I just looked through them all again and don’t see any major problems.
Kudos to the learners for diving head first into a new project!
