Assessing Skills and Providing Even More Enrichment for Your Students

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 teaching using these projects. While Type 3s address Common Core standards, including those that call for students to complete small and large research projects and expertly handle and disseminate information.  However, Type 3s nudge students out of simply having to be schoolhouse learners to becoming what Dr. Renzulli calls “creative producers,” or individuals that use their knowledge to bring new and unique innovations and creations to society.

There’s a host of skills needed in regards to Type 3s (These are known as Type 2s or how-to-learn and how-to-think activities).  The way I provide my students with these new skills is by offering weekly, mini-lessons.

A Type 3 class might look like this:

10-15 minutes - Mini-Lesson

5 minutes- Goal-setting

35 minutes – Time to work on the Type 3 project

5 –Minutes - Assessment

I provide mini-lessons during a particular stage, when students might need that skill. For example, as most of my students begin a Type 3 at the start of a new school year, I will provide mini-lessons revolving around researching.  This could be broken down into a number of lessons, such as:

• Locating information
• Website validity
• Fact checking
• Note-taking
• Paraphrasing
• Citing sources
• Different types of research

As the year progresses, I focus on lessons revolving around working with a mentor/expert. Lessons might include:

• Locating an expert
• Interviewing
• Writing letters/e-mails
• Writing thank you letters

Finally, as students complete their research, the mini-lessons focus on some of the following topics:

• Presenting to audiences
• Using PowerPoint and other programs
• Creating models/visuals
• Scheduling presentations/using calendars
• Creative thinking/generating ideas (for products/services)

While I can’t list all the possible mini-lessons associated with Type 3s, I think you get the idea.  As students require certain skills, provide them with those targeted lessons. One final thought regarding differentiation: don’t make students repeat mini-lessons if they already possess the skills.  If students have demonstrated to me that they already have the skill that I am teaching, I give them the option of working directly on their project or engaging in a different mini-lesson.

Type 3 projects require new skills and knowledge, which can be gained by having students participate in Type 2 activities. This is where the mini-lesson comes in. Weave these lessons through the school year and allow students to gain new skills and practice those skills as they complete their projects.