In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, discovering America for me and you. We have all heard this little poem. First of all, he didn't "discover" North America as indigenous people were living on North America before he ever set foot on land across the "Ocean Sea" from Spain. And, the Vikings may have gotten to North America almost 500 years before Columbus made his sailing. St. Brendan, the Irish monk, may also  have actually sailed to North America... even before the Vikings. Lastly, a...

I was watching a recent episode of The Middle (If you haven't watched the show, I'd recommend it!). Their daughter, Sue,a senior, was very excited about applying to college. Not an athlete, Sue didn't have any possibility of getting a scholarship to college. Of, course, the teenager had no concept of the cost of college in the United States. She set her goals on expensive private schools. Her parents didn't have the heart to tell her, not only didn't they have the money for a private ivy-...

Type3s - Part 3

In the last two posts, I explained how to engage students through Type 3 enrichment projects. In this blog, I want to shed some light on how to provide students with the skills needed to successfully complete Type 3s.

You see, without the proper skills, students will have difficulty completing an intensive research project, which calls for engaging in tasks they likely have never experienced before. That is one reason I love...

Last blog, I discussed the key elements of an authentic Type 3 project.

First, the student has to solve a real problem. There is lots of research, and the project could take the entire school year. Next, there is the development of a product or service, which is presented to an authentic audience.

So a student researching dinosaurs and putting together a PowerPoint would not qualify as a Type 3 project. Rather, it might involve a...