Wicked Problem Part C...Implementation

There is a whole process that goes into implementing a project like this, and I am thrilled to say it was a success for me as a teacher and my students!  You can view the presentation below on slideshare of just how I went about implementing this project.  As a reminder, my Wicked Problem focuses on how there needed to be a shift in thinking when it comes to book reports on informational topics.  Many times the word "boring" comes to mind and is what I hear from my students.  Rather than having my fifth graders put written reports together, I wanted to implement technology and have them create PowerPoint presentations individually or with others (their choice) on an informational topic, such as objects in our solar system. 


The comic below is just a little something I created on www.pixton.com.  You should check this site out...what a great way for kids to have fun with storytelling!  I am definitely going to use this in the classroom.  Make sure to view it in full screen (click on the far bottom right) in order to see the full comic!



I am overwhelmingly pleased with the dedication to research, creativity, and technology that was displayed in each of my student's work.  I would have to say my greatest surprise was how incredibly engaged and taken the kids were with this project the WHOLE time.  I have a tough group this year and it's often difficult for them to remain focused, but they had no problems with engagement during their assigned tasks.  I was also pleasantly surprised at the effort given by all students, and those that were in a partnership or group took their individual role seriously and did their best work.  I was constantly monitoring the involvement in groups and my students were cooperative and eager to share and take part in the research and creation of the PowerPoint.  They were constantly asking "When can we work on our Solar System PowerPoints?"  My fifth graders enjoyed learning how to create a project like this, just as much as I loved teaching it because all of my students were so eager to learn and proud of their hard work!

In order to implement the project again more successfully next year, I will be sure to have an already created list of possible topics and will not let kids add on their own ideas (as I allowed with this project).  The reason being that due to the requirements of the final product (PowerPoint) I set the rubric accordingly to certain information that the kids researched in order to create their presentation and I aligned this information more so with the planets, moon, and sun.  Some of my students wanted to research other topics like Supernovas, Galaxies, Black Holes, etc.  While I love the idea of letting the students help create the list of topics, I should have stuck to the planets in general because I knew in my mind what information I required and the guidelines for the PowerPoints.  It was more of a challenge to grade the presentations for alternate topics as mentioned above and in order to create a more fair and equal grading system, I will have the topics be more focused on the planets and moon and sun; this is also what our fifth grade curriculum focuses on. 

Take a look at the slideshare presentation below and you can see just how this work is implemented in my classroom.  The best part was watching each student present their final product and having family members of the students come view these presentations.  I am proud of their hard work and success!   As a follow up to these projects, I am going to create a survey in order to find out more about what the kids enjoyed most about this project, things to change, and any additional ideas I can implement for next year.  I am also planning on sharing a few of these at our next staff meeting as the principal has asked me to share the work of the students using a technology tool like Microsoft PowerPoint.

Wicked problem implementation from Lindsay Annelin

Thank you for viewing and I look forward to sharing the student survey results with you.