Thursday and I Start A Group Project.

Well, I have been thinking about this Group Project for my 1st Period 7th Graders for a week or so. I spent about 3 hours yesterday coming up with all of the materials needed.

Here is the basic idea:

We need to learn some computer terms in this introductory computer class. I have about 20 terms that the kids need to learn. The kids separate into teams of two and receive two terms for each group. One of the kids is to do some research and come up with an understandable, working definition for the group's words. The second team member is to take this definition and illustrate the definition on paper, so that the definition is understandable through pictures. Then, the team members recreate the illustration as part of a PowerPoint slide presentation. Once these are all put together, we will have a class presentation, with each kid describing one term for the class.

It took me about 15 minutes just to get the kids into groups. This is very hard to do in the Computer Lab, as there are huge counter desks all around the room, with another counter desk up the center of the room, with no way to walk around the center of the classroom. None of the counters move, so it is hard to form groups or circle up or anything in the classroom.

I was very surprised at the reaction of some of the kids to working in groups. At least two kids said that they refused to work in groups, because they were afraid that they would have to do all the work. Fortunately, they agreed to work together, which should be a good match. The three girls in the class (one girl has been absent now for 4 straight class periods.) were scared to death of working with some of the guys in the class, as they are loud and often obnoxious. Due to some rearranging, the girls are all working in one group together.

I thought that if we went down to the library, we could maybe get some background review down in a quiet fashion. It is a library, after all. No such luck. The kids (guys, mostly) were louder in the library than in the lab. We went back to North Fork. One guy, M., that had been needing constant redirection throughout the entire period, continued to goof off back in the lab as I tried to cover the instructions for the assignment. I went over to him and quietly said, "M., pack up, you're gone." He left the class for a 20 minute ISS (In School Suspension) and things seemed to settle down abit.

The "researchers" got to work on their definitions, while I briefed the "artists" on how the project is to look when finished.

Some of the kids just don't get it, though. One kid was looking up "LAN," a computer term referring to a series of connected computers in one area. He wrote down that LAN was "Local Area Network." Well, it is, but is that a definition? Not really. And how is his partner supposed to illustrate that definition? We talked about it and I think that he finally got the idea.

Why am I going through all of this craziness? Well, I am trying something new, just to see if I can do it. Computer projects at CLP are never group, always individual. I want to try a group project, just for the experience. I may never do another one as long as I live. We'll see.

Oh, and in 5th period, I was starving, having missed breakfast. I was drinking a Chocolate Energy drink for nutrients and spilled it all over myself. Yuk.