Our Farm to Table projects: an overview

Part of our curriculum involves moving the students toward a project-based learning model for work when studying our themes. Our first theme, Farm to Table, is a short one. We'll only be working on it through September, so I've been allowing for a bit more open-ended exploration as an authentic assessment of their current abilities to conceive of, develop, and complete a project. Some students are working in small groups, others are working individually. I'm dedicating class time for them to research their topic, and I'm providing feedback and direction in areas as it seems productive.

These are the questions that have been posed to students when planning and researching their projects, albeit in a simplified version:

1.  What is the problem or question that drives the project?  

2.  What will offer students inspiration and prompt lines of inquiry?  

3.  What are the skills the students will develop during the process?   

4.  What are the opportunities for interdisciplinary involvement?  

5.  How will the project be developed and supported on an individual and group level?  

6.  What sort of resources will be needed?  

7.  What  opportunities will there be to collaborate within the school and with the wider community?  

8.  How will the project be presented and assessed?  At what stages will there be opportunities for reflection on the process and outcome? 

9.  What is the value of this project? Why is it worthy of the students' time and effort?

Some of these questions might not apply to each project, and some have been rendered a little irrelevant given the scope of many of the products. But the goal is to develop the sophistication of the projects as the year progresses.

I've allowed each student to choose their end product, and I've been keeping the deadline flexible as each student becomes more concrete in their plan. We're loosely planning on having everyone present something by the first week of October. 

Talk to your student about their project! Encourage them to think through the question that they've chosen to investigate, and to share what they've learned during their class research time.