Process Journal #2

Process Journal #2

Week of September 25-29

Please take attendance in Skyward. If the list is incorrect, please send an email stating the correction to Beckah on Monday.

PROPOSAL

This week, students should be forming, testing, and proposing project ideas. Some may have fully developed plans and others may have plans for how they will begin exploring; either way it is important to make a commitment to one version of what, why, and how. Project Advisors will place specific constraints and expectations on written proposals.

• What will be required in the proposal?
• What format should it be in? 
• How will it be submitted?
• When will it be due?
• How will the feedback, revision, and approval process look?
• What makes a project a project: Scale? Innovation? Personal learning? Public purpose? Etc?

RITUALIZED WEEK

Advisors will facilitate the development of a ritualized week, meaning there will be some aspects of the week that are consistent from week to week. (For example, the beginning of class on Friday is already ritualized with ELA Process Journal Reflections) Consider the following to start:

• How and when will you look at professional models in your discipline? 
• Who will select them? How?
• How will the thinking about the model be documented?
• How much time should be allotted for this?
• Where will examples be stored, to revisit later?
• What else?
• How and when will students receive/give feedback on projects?
• What formats of feedback are most effective?
• How often will this occur?
• How can a student request feedback from the whole group, from a peer, from their advisor, or someone who is not in the room?
• What else?
• How and when will there be studio time?
• What are the Project Advisor's expectations for documenting daily goal setting, evidence, and reflection in process journals?
• How will studio time begin and end? 
• What should the environment look and feel like?
• What are the procedures for requesting materials, meetings, movement to other spaces in the school?
• What else?

RESEARCH

Most students have already started research, since research includes being inspired by professional models, looking up definitions, reading news about a topic, watching YouTube videos, and more. It is important to document all of these sources right away, by setting up an EasyBib project or using another designated space.  All sources must be cited.

Friday, September 22nd | Process Journal & Elevator Pitch

ATTENDANCE: Please continue updating the spreadsheet.

PROCESS JOURNAL: We will begin today by completing the first reflection in and for the Process Journal. Please keep in mind that this is a piece of writing intended to synthesize thinking, decisions, research, and all of the experiences that have influenced your project this week.

PROCESS JOURNAL #1 (educators)
PROCESS JOURNAL #1 (innovators)

Copy the document linked above digitally or into your physical journal.

ELEVATOR PITCHES:  The intention of this exercise is to rapidly test out an idea....most importantly, you will learn whether or not the "why" resonates with you enough to move forward with the idea for the rest of the semester.

• Take about 5-10 minutes for practice or rehearsal (depending on time available). 
• Select a timer, who will set a 1 minute timer with a noise of some kind to indicate the end of time. 
• One by one, have each individual share their 1 minute elevator pitch: Sharing what, how and why for one project idea. 
• This is difficult. Celebrate everyone for doing the best possible version of this they can. We are just beginning to build these skills. Please do not provide critical feedback for each individual...there is not time...and in this case the most valuable feedback is the experience of seeing/hearing many of these all at once. 
• At the conclusion of all of the 1 minute elevator pitches, reflect:
• Identify patterns. What trends did you notice across all of the pitches?
• What was especially effective? (Example: Sharing a personal story related to the topic.)
• What stands out as an area of concern for the projects in the room? What suggestions do you have for the group to address the area of concern? (Example: I noticed a lot of people talked about creating projects, but very few talked about how their project would be innovative or different from projects that already exist in the world. I think we should define innovation and make it part of our proposal criteria.)

Thursday, September 21st | Proposals Ahead

ATTENDANCE: Please take attendance here.

NOTE - We will not be completing 1 minute videos, pitching the What, How and Why of a project idea. This is simply due to the technology limitations. However, you will still give a one minute elevator pitch for the What, How, and Why of a project idea live, and in person on Friday. 1 minute is very short. Write notes.

PROJECT ADVISORS - If you haven't already guided the process of developing an organizational system for students to capture their daily goals, notes, ideas, resources, research, etc. Please take time to do that today.

ACTIVATOR: What do you think: Can a paper airplane be a p-block project? Why or why not?

• Move to the front of the room if "yes"
• Move to the back of the room if "no"
• Must choose one or the other for one reason or another. 
• Discuss and share reasoning.

PAIR & SHARE: What about this? Is this a project? Explore the link to discover What, Why, How.

1. What is the project? What is the question or interest he pursues?
2. Why did this person create this project? Why should other people pay attention to this project? 
3. How did the project come to be? How did the project get created?

So, is this a project? If not, what would it take to make it one?

How should we go about determining the right "size" or "scale" for our own projects?

WRITE YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH:

• You will have one minute. Timed. 
• What, How, and Why does not have to happen in order in your elevator pitch.
• Prompts:
• What is a project idea that you have? What question or interest does it explore?
• Why is it important to you? Why will it become important to other people?
• How will you go about beginning this project? How will you try to communicate the ideas you discover through this art form?

PRACTICE YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH 3x! 

*Remember this isn't your formal proposal, but it is an essential exercise in focus. By the end of today, you will know whether or not this project is one you want to continue with or if you should go home and write a new elevator pitch for tomorrow. 

*You will write a formal proposal soon. What else do you need to get to a project idea that really matters? 

Wednesday, September 20th | Questioning

ATTENDANCE: Please continue updating the spreadsheet.
*At this point students should not be moving. All of the making experiences and group-building have been setting students up for successful projects in the discipline they originally chose.

Addie will be in Drew's room and Heather will be in Tim's room for the first 30 min, to introduce the ELA Process Journal. (Kimberly will be in Tara's room on Thursday)

DO NOW: On a post it note, write a topic that you are interested in doing a project on or one that you would be interested in if someone else did a project on it. Be general or specific. (Example: Tree Climbing. Example: Tree Climbing as Protest for Deforestation in Pacific Northwest)

• Choose one of the topics as a whole group. This will be a sample.
• Use the Question Sorts document to discuss types of questions: (A) 
• Provide 5 minutes of silent generate time: On additional post it notes, have each student generate at least five questions on the topic chosen as the whole group.
• For each type of question start, have each person who chose that 'start' share their questions one at a time and post them in groups by type of question start. (What if... Why... etc)
• Reflect on the similarity or range of questions

GOAL SETTING:

• Identify a whole group or individual goal for studio time. Write down specific steps, how you know you are successful, and why you think this will help you get to a specific project idea.

STUDIO TIME:

• Use Question Sorts (A) or (B) to begin brainstorming questions surrounding a topic you are considering for your project. Use Brainstorming rules...don't hold back...ask a peer to generate some questions with you, offer to generate some for them. 
• After a lot of questions have been generated, reflect on the most compelling questions. Try to imagine what it would look like to pursue one of the questions as a project....what would your next step be? what would you need to know? how would you go about figuring it out?

CHECK IN:

• Circle up
• Share exciting/surprising questions

Tuesday, September 19th | Ideation

Groups should approach today as an opportunity to get what they need to brainstorm, to expand project possibilities before narrowing them down.

Addie will be in Dan's room and Heather will be in Mike's room for the first 30min of Project Block today, to introduce the ELA Process Journal.

...

ATTENDANCE: Please continue using the spreadsheet to take attendance.
*At this point students should not move from one p-block to another. All of the making experiences up until this point, support students in developing a project in the discipline they originally chose.

GATHERING: Storytelling Connections "Innovations"

• Think Time: What is your favorite innovation? Why?
• One person holds a ball for tossing, and begins by talking about their favorite innovation. 
• The speaker will continue to share until another student hears something that they connect to in some way, and raises a hand. (The connection should be related to favorite innovations)
• When a hand is raised, the speaker will wrap up their current thought (quickly!), and then toss the ball to the raised hand.
• The students who now has the ball will share the connection they made, and continue to talk about their connection and other innovations until another student is ready to connect and raises a hand. 
• Repeat. 

GOAL SETTING:

• Identify a whole group or individual goal for studio time. Write down specific steps, how you know you are successful, and why you think this will help you get to a specific project idea.

STUDIO TIME:

Advisors will circulate and conference with each student about their ideas, providing suggestions and direction. Please document these conferences for future reference.

• Move forward as a group on something in progress.
• Continue making mind-maps
• Generate some sample What, Why, How ideas for specific projects
• Try the Beane Protocol- generate ten+ possibilities for each category.

CHECK IN: 

• Circle up.
• Go around, share discoveries and questions/frustrations.

Project Block Advisors: Although, written proposals are no longer an English Language Arts requirement, please spend some time planning out how you would like students to formally propose their project ideas to you for feedback, revision, and approval. Please consider adapting the resources used last year to meet your disciplinary specific needs.

Monday, September 18th | Ideation

Please continue with aspects of brainstorming that were in process last week. Continue with today's plans, when appropriate for your group.

ATTENDANCE: Very important. Make it happen. Here.

ELA Introduction for the first 30 min in STUART and MOLLY's ROOMS TODAY.
(Tuesday>>Dan, Mike | Wednesday>>Drew,Tim, Tara )

GATHERING: Project Pitfalls >> Guess the card taped to your back.

• Each student should write down a specific project pitfall on an index card or scrap paper. Be specific and write something meaningful. (EXAMPLE: When the project is so obscure that no one can relate to it) They should be able to recall these from prior experience and conversations. 
• Collect them. 
• Tape one to the back of each person, without letting them see it. 
• Students can take turns asking each other ONLY "yes or no" questions about what is on their own back. Other gestures are allowed, but not words. Continue until everyone has guessed the "project pitfall" that is on their back. 
• Debrief: As we brainstorm, what can we do to avoid pitfalls? (Talk to people about your project idea. Search the world for similar, related projects in lots of different industries/disciplines....etc) 
• Identify one approach for avoiding pitfalls, that you will attack today. 

GOAL SETTING: 

• Identify a whole group or individual goal for 30 minutes of studio time. Write down specific steps, how you know you are successful, and why you think this will help you get to a specific project idea. 

STUDIO TIME: 30 minutes

CHECK IN: 

• Circle up. 
• Go around, share discoveries and questions/frustrations. 

EXAMPLE Exhibition of Learning: 

*Note this is an EoL, the PROJECT is everything done in order to get to this Exhibition. 

• Watch the Exhibition (select a thinking routine to structure discussion after)

• Discussion (use thinking routine)
• Identify the VERY SPECIFIC what? how? why?: What is the claim/impression she makes? How does she achieve that through her art form(s)? Why is this claim/impression relevant to her? to others?

LOOKING AHEAD TO FRIDAY: All students will be asked to create a one minute, unedited video of themselves sitting in front of their chromebook camera talking about the "what" "how" and "why" of a possible project idea or "the" project idea you want to work with next week. You are allowed to write a script and read it in the video, but that is not necessary. 

Friday, September 15th | Ideation

Pick up where you left off yesterday. Fill those 8.5x11 pages with mind maps. Brainstorm with abandon.  Next week we will learn more about the English/Language Arts components and take the first steps in our individual projects.

ATTENDANCE: Project Advisors, please find your tab on the bottom of the attendance spreadsheet and take attendance.  Fill in attendance from previous day and Making Time.

GATHERING: Share your "nerd crush" in this discipline. What is a project or person in this discipline that you kind of nerd-out about? Share the details and what makes them interesting to you. (Example (science, social science, engineering): Amelia Earhart....a pioneering woman in aviation, also part of a global on-going mystery...overall amazing.

CONTINUE: Pick up where you left off yesterday. When you get to the part about generating project ideas (for someone, anyone, maybe even you), sort them into categories as a group, and then do the next step....

PAIR UP (group new students with experienced students, if possible): Each pair should select one of the brainstormed project ideas or categories and develop a rough project proposal. Go big. Go weird. Go toward innovation. This is practice, not your actual project....nothing to lose, only great ideas to gain.

• Spend 10 minutes doing some very rapid research related to the project idea
• Look for the topic in the news (What makes it relevant?)
• Look for definitions on wikipedia (Do you know what you are talking about?)
• Find out a little backstory (Where did this stuff come from?)
• Spend 5 minutes formulating a more specific project idea....now that you did a little research, what would be ONE possible way to turn it into an exploratory/innovative/original/relevant project. (Again, this isn't necessarily YOUR project...but it's a project idea.)
• Spend 5 minutes developing a quick pitch for this project:
• What is the project idea?
• How would a person go about doing/making this project?
• Why in the world would anyone care about this project?

*If the group needs more support with this, revisit the example projects from yesterday. Watch them again and talk about the "what,"  "how," and "why" of those. 

CIRCLE UP: Share out the project ideas to the whole group. 

REFLECTION: 

• Use this experience, the two example projects, and prior knowledge to generate a list of characteristics for what makes a good project AND what makes a not so good project. Be specific. (Example: Good projects about about something I care about and they get other people to care about it too. Not so good projects are too obscure for other people to relate to or too common that they are uninteresting.) 
• As a whole class, select one of the practice project ideas that is (by your own criteria) a great project idea. 
• Have one person send the "what,"  "how," and "why" AND the explanation for why you chose it to Kimberly kjohnson@etudegroup.org

CLOSING: Students should look at their own written reflections from the conclusion of Maker Time. Use a highlighter to mark the most important aspects of that reflection for moving forward. Use post-it notes to clarify any details for Project Advisors. 

Students should leave mind maps, reflections, and any other evidence of thinking and development with their Project Advisor, so they can review it over the weekend. 

Everyone's home learning is to continue brainstorming. Look into the things you are interested in. If you already have a project idea, tell the people in your life about it...find out what connections they have and explore those....get ready to share your "what,"  "how," and "why."

Thursday, September 14th | Ideation

For the past week, we have been exploring our choice of disciplinary form: music, dance, visual art, engineering, drama, science, social science. Today is the transition from general exploration to more individualized ideation. First, we will clarify of what we mean by a P-Block project, by analyzing some examples. Then, we will begin ideation with the expansive process of brainstorming.

ATTENDANCE: Please find your group's attendance tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet, and enter attendance for today. Fill in previous days according to your notes. Skyward will be set up soon.

CIRCLE UP: Acknowledge that today is different from previous days this year, just as the beginning of this year is different from the beginning of past school years. As a school, we are constantly collecting feedback and making improvements. This semester, Project Block will be slightly different and we will roll out those changes in the next few weeks. The important thing for students to focus on is that commitment they are making to themselves by investigating possible topics, forms, and messages that they truly care about and contribute to. The semester will still end with a final project. For new students, we'll be taking a look at some of those. For returning students, we'll be taking a look at some of those.

PROJECT EXAMPLES:

Think. Puzzle. Explore.

(Make this thinking visible on chart paper or a whiteboard.)

What do you think you know about what a Project Block project is?

What questions of puzzles do you have about Project Block projects?

What do you want to explore further in terms of your own project?

...

Connect. Extend. Challenge.

Make this thinking visible.

How does this project connect to your assumptions about what Project Block project is?

How does this project extend your thinking?

How does this project challenge your thinking?

...

Keep the thinking visible in the room. 

All of these ideas are valuable and useful in the process of brainstorming.

Advisors, do not feel like you need to answer every question or challenge.

...

BRAINSTORMING: It's the process of generating expansive possibilities. Creating a landscape you can see, so that you know where it is most meaningful to focus your attention for an entire semester. (IDEO's rules for brainstorming.)

1. MIND/CONCEPT MAPPING

> Discuss what a mind map is and its basic parts and purposes.

> Individually create a map of the most interesting topics and questions within the discipline TO YOU. It is important to focus on your interests here.

> Fill up an entire 8.5x11 piece of paper.

2. GALLERY WALK

> Silently walk around and observe everyone's map. 

3. GENERATE PROJECT IDEAS

> Using the brainstorming rules, no one should feel constrained.

> These ideas are for the good of the group. 

> Based on the gallery walk, come up with at least two BIG TIME, OUT THERE, AMAZING project ideas for someone to do sometime, somewhere.

> Write them on post it notes.

> Post them as ticket(s) out or, if there's time, post them to a shared space and begin sorting by theme.