It's a Wild Ride (CEd0525 - Wk 4)

Wow, I was totally amazed by the unit plan for the roller coaster project. I mean, I thought I was a pretty organized teacher as far as projects in my classroom, but I got so many pointers from the unit plan. I really liked the red book project "manual" as it included all of the necessary information and assessment pieces as well as resources for the students. It really reminded me that even though I teach high school students, I can't expect them to know and fulfill roles in the group unless I specify and give examples for them to follow - the roller coaster project really does a great job of that. The fact that all of the pieces are in one place makes it so much easier for the students to know what to expect and it really allows them to be successful as well.
The other thought I had when I looked at this project was how lucky I was in my middle school. I attended Jackie Robinson Middle School in Milwaukee (part of MPS)and I remember so many instances of this type of integration between disciplines as well as collaborative projects. I feel that I really had an excellent foundation when I "compare notes" with others recalling their middle school or junior high experiences. I find that the single biggest challenge to integration between disciplines currently, is that lack of planning time. I'd love to get a few other teachers on board to plan and implement some projects but we never seem to have the time or opportunity to move forward. Right now, they remain great ideas that haven't been realized and I'm hoping that using some of the tools and techniques I've learned in our classes can be utilized towards that end. In effect, I think I need to create my own red book of ideas and ways to implement them, as well as assessment on whether or not I've (we've) made progress.