"Salt Creek Investigation" - Engaged Learning Project Evaluation

Evaluation of “Salt Creek Investigation” - http://ed.fnal.gov/help/saltcreek/index.html

Project created by Dr. Bonnie Kuhrt, Kathe Lacey-Anderson and Kim Provus from Carl Sandburg Jr. High School in Rolling Meadows, Illinois

The “Salt Creek Investigation” project is an example of a standards-based activity for middle school students that engages while effectively using technology. This project immediately hooks students by presenting them with an opportunity to do some real-world research of the water quality of a creek close to their school. The hands-on investigation gets students out of the classroom, and shows them the connections between their in-class learning and solving problems in their own city. Also, the community service components of this project help students develop a stronger link to their surrounding area. The included links to science and mathematics standards solidify the academic achievements that students will experience as they work through this comprehensive project. All of these components result in an engaging, rich learning experience for students that will cause them to be better able to use technology tools to solve real-world problems, improve their communication and interpersonal skills, and become more invested in the learning process as their teacher moves from the role of “sage on the stage” to “guide on the side.”

Despite being designed nearly fifteen years ago, this engaged learning project uses a wealth of technology resources to help students investigate the condition of Salt Creek. From using the Internet to research recent news stories about environmental issues with water habitats to using computers with sensors to measure various aspects of the creek water, this project meaningfully uses technology to achieve outcomes that would be impossible without it. Scientists are found and contacted via the Internet in order to gather information to test hypotheses. Data results from creek water measurements and videos of the project are posted on the web to share students’ findings and celebrate their achievements. Other technologies used in this project simply enhance aspects that could have been done using other, traditional means. For example, students could have organized their data and created graphs by hand, but using computer software made this process significantly more efficient. Without the various technologies used in this project, students would be unable to explore, examine, organize, and present well enough to reach the desired outcome created by the authors.

Although the authors focus more on the scientific standards that are addressed through this project, there are countless situations that require students to practice and utilize cooperation and communication. In order to be a truly engaging learning activity, students must work together toward a common goal. Nearly every career the students will pursue requires daily collaboration with coworkers and clients. This project mimics those real-world conditions by imbedding constant, effective communication requirements through each step of the investigative process. Examples of this emphasis on effective communication include contacting scientists to acquire information, working in cooperative groups while collecting data and presenting their findings, and explaining their findings to city council members. Almost certainly, additional communication arts standards are addressed throughout this project. Considering there was a communication arts teacher involved in the creation of this project, it is surprising that these standards were not included on the summary page. While cooperative group work is rarely assessed by high-stakes tests, this project helps develop these crucial communication skills that will benefit students for years to come.

Another impressive component of this project that helps make it more engaging is the emphasis it puts on allowing students to control their own learning. During group work, students are encouraged to use their communication skills to problem solve with minimal advice from the teacher. Also, the authors mention that by the time the project is proposed to the city council members, “the teacher has long ago ceased to ‘teach’ and works as an equal member of the team, learning new skills and refining existing ones along with the students.” Students also have ample choices to make throughout this project. These choices increase their sense of ownership in the direction of the investigation and make their findings more meaningful and memorable. Engaging projects like this help students become less reliant on the teacher and more dependent upon their own developing skills and peers’ emerging talents.

While no project or activity is perfect, this is an excellent example of an engaging learning experience. Students develop a sense of community while working cooperatively to achieve outcomes that would not be possible without the integrated technology. Numerous academic standards are met in science, communication arts, and mathematics. Students are given choices while being guided and assessed by the teacher, and have significant input in nearly all aspects of the project. While I do have some concerns about the ability of lower-performing students to actively participate in some of the components of this project, these concerns could be addressed by carefully assigning them roles for particular tasks. In addition, the significant amount of time required for the numerous parts of this project would be challenging to manage while continuing to make progress on other standards for other content areas. In my opinion, the time it would take to plan and execute this engaging learning experience would be time well spent, and students would take great pride in their contributions to the community while investigating the condition of Salt Creek.