I’m still coming down from the awesomeness that was edcampSEMO on Saturday … other than the Pineapple Chart concept, another big takeaway was the use of Passion Projects in the classroom. The idea of implementing a Passion Project in my classroom has simultaneously intrigued and terrifies me! I think it’s the concept of totally relinquishing control over something in my classroom … my use of HyperDocs and the flipped classroom strategy has helped me with my control issues 🙂
My students are still working on their first unit HyperDoc, and I’m starting to gather some feedback, all of which has been POSITIVE! (More on this later!!) One issue I’m having, and I knew this would happen, is what do the students do when they finish WAY before everyone else? I’ve added extend activities … check out my HyperDoc here … and these students have decided to work more at their own pace, which is faster than their classmates. Of course, the activity that we’re doing to hit the apply and analyze sections of Bloom’s will be a whole class activity, so they can’t work on that. They’ve even completed the activity for the “create” level … to my specifications!
I know this is one of the perks (and scary parts) of moving toward a flipped mastery classroom, with more of a student-centered focus. I know this is something I need to get used to. I know. I know!
Here’s where the Passion Project idea comes into play.
Next year, I’m planning to create ALL of my units as HyperDocs for my students. At the beginning of the year, I’ll also introduce a year-long **optional** Passion Project to my students. When students complete their HyperDocs for the unit, they can use remaining class time (until the class is finished and ready to move on) to work on their Passion Project. I’ll also grant time after assessments and will designate other days throughout the year specifically for their projects. Each quarter, students will show me the progress made on their Passino Projects and will earn 25 bonus points.
I introduced this idea to some of my classes today, and the response really got me excited! I heard things like, “what could I do for my Passion Project?” to “I can really do something that I just like, not that’s part of the class?!”
When I told my students their Passion Project would be over what they are passionate about, eyes lit up all over my classroom.
“Really? That’s so cool!”
I even gave them an example of my personal Passion Project – this blog!
I really think this is going to be great next year … and I’m thinking about launching a mini Passion Project toward the end of this school year.
Let me know about your experiences with Passion Projects!
Thanks for reading 🙂
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