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20 Citizen Science Projects for Students of All Ages

4/20/2021

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Spring is the perfect time of year to get students outside actively participating in science. Citizen science is a great way to build 21st-century skills and contribute to larger effort to understand science and our natural world. Check out my top 20 citizen science programs for students!
Spring is the perfect time of year for citizen science! It's warming up outside, students are getting antsy and exhausted, testing is underway, breaks are badly needed. On top of that, things start to get active in the world of wildlife, especially in temperate regions like Minnesota. Animals emerge from hibernation, migrating species begin their long journeys to their summer sanctuaries, and it's breeding season for many organisms. ​

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Project-Based Learning Ideas for Student Travelers

4/19/2021

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45 PBL Projects for Educational Travel Experiences - Project-based learning is a fun and interesting way to enhance learning on any travel experience, whether it's while worldschooling, on a school trip, or even expanding ones' skills and knowledge on a personal or family travel adventure. Project options are endless. Here are a few high school project ideas to get you started.
Has anyone else binge-watched "Down to Earth" on Netflix? If you haven't, do it! Down to Earth is the epitome of project-based learning on the road and/or abroad.

Zach Efron (yes, I know), travels around the world focusing his energy on ONE global issue. For example, he visits Paris, where he dives deeply into the issue of clean and healthy drinking water. He talks with engineers, city planners, and local political figures. He talks with locals and visits a water treatment facility.

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Common Project-Based Learning Challenges and Troubleshooting Tips

4/13/2021

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Self-directed project-based learning yields powerful results. But it's not without its challenges. Your implementation isn't perfect. Your students aren't perfect. That is the reality. As with any pedagogy, there will be snags at times, mishaps, challenges, and disappointments, but I try to look at those setbacks as opportunities - for students AND educators. What feels like defeat just may be an opportunity for learning and growth.
I have been a high school experiential educator for over a decade, and my dominant approach has been self-directed project-based learning. Students design and execute their projects from start to finish with my guidance. 

I didn't choose personalized project-based learning when I first started teaching. In fact, I didn't even know what it was. But the school where I taught insisted on it, and for good reason. PBL is a deep and powerful learning tool, especially when self-directed. 

But it's not perfect. That is the reality. 

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How to Use a Learning Portfolio to Document Project-Based Learning Experiences

4/6/2021

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There are so many neat project-based learning assessment strategies, and learning portfolios are one of them. Students can show off their learning experiences with photographs, reflections, rubrics, and more in one central location. Check out this week's blog post on how to utilize learning portfolios in your classroom.
Last week's post was all about how I assess experiential learning, particularly when it comes to project-based learning. One of those strategies is using a learning portfolio, one that students build and manage themselves.​

If you are doing experiential learning with your students, such as self-directed project-based learning, having students build a portfolio of learning outcomes is essential.

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Four Ways to Assess Experiential Learning

3/30/2021

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Experiential learning emphasizes experience, involvement, inquiry, self-direction, and so much more. So how you do you evaluate experiential learning activities? Check out these four strategies that look at growth, skill proficiency, a deep understanding of content knowledge and more.
All kids are different. We know this. Yet it is still common practice to evaluate all students as if they are the same. Students are assessed based on content - and not necessarily an understanding of the content, but the ability to memorize the content - while growth and competencies are put on the back burner. 

It is difficult for exams and quizzes to measure growth, 21st-century proficiencies, and even a deep understanding of the content. The experiential philosophy is rooted in all of those things, so how do you evaluate learning when it's experiential? 

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10 Community Action Project Ideas to Wrap Up the School Year

3/23/2021

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Community action projects are a combination of project-based learning and service-learning and are entirely student-directed. Students develop and execute action plans for community issues or problems that have personal meaning to them. The end of the school year is a great time to launch these projects in your classroom or home learning environment. Check out these options!
Spring is here, the weather is warming, and students are getting antsy. The school year is wrapping up. Teachers want to end the year with a bang, but are also exhausted and don't know how much more they have left in them to give! It's testing season, graduation season, grade report season. Ah! Spring is bonkers in the world of education. 

So What better way to cruise through the rest of the year and go out with a bang than with community action projects (CAPs)?

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How to Facilitate Self-Directed Project-Based Service-Learning

3/16/2021

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Community action projects are a great mix of project-based learning and service-learning, and the best part is that they are self-directed. Community action projects offer students the opportunity to get involved with community issues and take action on those issues.
When I was teaching high schoolers, I included community action projects in every facet of my teaching. A community action project is a form of project-based learning where students identify issues in the community, research the issues, brainstorm solutions, develop an action plan, and take action. These experiences are the coolest form of self-directed service-learning.

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Four Ways Students Can Make an Impact Through Project-Based Service- Learning

3/15/2021

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Are you in need of high school service-learning ideas? If so, self-directed is the way to go. This blog helps educators implement self-directed service-learning through a project-based learning approach, and with these tips, it is easy to facilitate. Start right now!
My entire teaching career was at one school, and the philosophy is strongly rooted in "community" as the foundation for learning. In nine years teaching there I developed a deep appreciation for student-involvement in the community. 

Students have the capacity to make massive waves of change because they are young, technologically savvy, and many injustices happening in the world today are happening to them, impacting them directly.

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Authentic Presentation Ideas for High School Project-Based Learning

3/9/2021

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Authentic presentations are an important piece of project-based learning. They make learning relevant, meaningful, and deepen the learning experience. But sometimes this part of PBL can be a challenge. We think it's complicated, but it doesn't have to be. Check out some authentic presentation ideas right here.

What is Authentic Learning?

"Authentic" is a buzzword in the project-based learning world. Authenticity is the foundation of PBL and plays a role in every step of the process from project design to final evaluation.

​That is one feature that separates project-based learning from other teaching methods. Learning experiences, final products, sources of information, the presentation, assessments, reflections, etc. should all be authentic - i.e. relevant, real-world, have meaning in the lives of learners, and give students clarity of purpose. ​

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Top Young Adult Books for Women's Studies

2/28/2021

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There are so many amazing young adult books that teach teens about women in history, issues that women face now and historically, powerful female figures and more. The books included on this list are those that are favorites of mine. Check out our school's women's studies book club young adult book choices.

Top Young Adult Books for Women's Studies

About ten years ago I picked up a book called "Half the Sky". Within the first chapter I read this quote: "More than 100 million women are missing..." at any given time. This is because of trafficking, gendercide, domestic violence, etc. This quote, and this book, really struck me. I mentioned it, and the PBS documentary that goes along with it, to a few of my high school students. They were interested, largely because many of the issues resonated with them personally. These students led project-based learning experiences on some of the issues and shared their final products with the school community. ​

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    Blog Intent

    To provide innovative educational resources for educators, parents, and students, that go beyond lecture and worksheets.

    ​Author

    Sara Segar, experiential life-science educator and advisor, curriculum writer, and mother of two​.

    Check out my experiential learning resources on TPT, Experiential Learning Depot 

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