Lauri,
I love your description and was stuck by how it seemed to flow naturally out of a teachable moment and not an intentional plan. You really were aware of what was bubbling up. So often I felt like I had to plan when a project would be appropriate and try to generate enthusiasm out of their interests on cue, so to speak. (And I know there are forces out there that make us feel like we should have lessons all planned out ahead months before!) 

You also spent a lot of time allowing for background knowledge to build.  Was that intentional or did you find that as you went through the beauty products etc. you just saw an opening for a project. I ask because I think what Lee Williams said about passion is key, and you capitalized on it. (Needless to say, it can be generated when we bring up issues of interest to learners.)  

This turned out to be a wonderful project partly because you were so nimble.  Did you ever try to replicate it? And if so,  were you able to generate the same enthusiasm? 

Thanks,



Steve Quann
World Education
44 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA 
617.482.9485



>>> <JLNAJCherian at aol.com> 9/4/2007 6:37 PM >>>

Hi all, 
I was introduced to PBL during the first Master Teacher institute with Heide.  I was so excited because that really is my style of teaching, perhaps because of my elementary teaching background. I always taught thematically and felt the students were more vested in the learning when they could produce something and share it with their parents or peers.

My first adult ESL Project just naturally unfolded when I was teaching my Even Start ESL classes and a young girl was wearing a "I Love Lucy" T-shirt.  She didn't know who Lucy was so I brought in a clip of Lucy trying to "sell" a beauty or health product on TV.  It was so funny, we all just cracked up! 

Then I realized that a majority of my students were not able to label common houshold or beauty products in English. I assumed that when they went to the store they would see and internalize words like "toothpaste". Much to my surprise, they hadn't. 

So, I began asking them to bring in their favorite beauty products and we started talking about them and surveying each other about which we liked and used.  This turned into a major production where they had to watch advertisements in English and Spanish  TV and discuss sales pitches and slogans.  Then they chose their own product to promote, wrote their own script, slogan, and I video taped them doing their own commericals.  

I did this with all four of my ESL classes. It took about three weeks. I was able to take one of the classes to the Brazosport College video recording room where they got to experience being  "professionally" taped.  It was a great experience for all of us!  It even made the local paper...front page!  
The beautiful thing about it was how much confidence the students gained and how proud they felt of themselves and of each other. 

They came up with some funny slogans, too! "Use a Maiden Form  Corset, it will make your waist look 2 inches smaller.  You won't even need liposuction and your husband will fall in love with you all over again!"

Lauri Cherian
Brazosport College Community Education
Lake Jackson, TX


message dated 9/4/2007 3:44:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time, "Wrigley, Heide" <heide at literacywork.com> writes:


>Hi, Lee and others

>

>Thanks for identifying what it takes to make projects work (and we'll

>talk about structuring projects as well as planning and execution a bit

>later). I agree that listening to where the passion lies as students do

>their work is critical, and just because the teacher decides that it's

>time to do a project doesn't mean that adult students are eager to do

>one.

>

>Lee mentioned that she moved into PBL after a PD Institute and her first

>attempt was a failure. I wonder what propelled others to make the jump

>and how their first project worked out.

>

>Was it more difficult at first or did students jump at the chance to do

>a project?

>

>Heide

>

>________________________________

>

>From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov 

>[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Lee

>Williams

>Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2007 1:02 PM

>To: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov 

>Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 1518] Difficulties and Successes with

>PBL

>

>I began working on PBL with a cadre of teachers in Barbara Baird's

>Project Forward initiative. Although we studied successful student

>projects across the state (TX) and knew the many benefits of PBL, I

>didn't have a clue about how to recreate that success in my classroom. I

>naively thought that the students could choose a project from a list of

>suggestions and go with it. I assumed that once they knew what the end

>product was, they would start working to make it happen. Key pieces were

>missing like organization, teamwork, initiative and desire.

>The projects I've been successful with 1) have risen out of existing

>curriculum and

>2) the student's passion is visibly obvious. I expand the lessons to

>further delve into those passionate topics and then make suggestion of

>possible projects-ideas where students return what they have learned to

>the community.  Once the product is identified, we create a list of

>steps to make it happen and order them. Students need see these steps so

>they can choose the areas where they fit and then they can take off.

>This scaffolding then becomes the basis of future lessons and culminates

>in a final project.

>For me, student-centered projects take several months to identify and

>create and are more likely a true product of the students. I have also

>done small projects that I suggest, which are finished in a much shorter

>time, but often result in more work for me. This is an area I am still

>refining at this time.

>

>Lee Williams

>ELL II Teacher at the Kyle Learning Center

>Kyle, Texas

>

>



-- 
Lauri Cherian

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