9th Grade Research Unit - A Dip Into Project-Based Learning

This year, the 9th grade teachers are revising the I-Search paper we've done with our students in the past. I'm hoping to dip my toes into project-based learning.

I've gathered a preliminary list of topics of interest to my students, so I have a general idea of what they might care about. With the I-Search, students researched topics ranging from lacrosse to world hunger. What I'm planning to do with the unit this year is direct students more toward issues of national or global significance, such as hunger, technology, or international relations. I'm hopeful that the topic will be meaningful to students 

I'm going to begin by dividing students into groups of 3-4 students, balancing their personalities and ability levels as best as I can. Here's how I'm hoping the project will go:

1. each group member suggests an initial problem (expressed in the form of a question--e.g., What happens to garbage once it leaves the curbside?) that the group might try to solve through research;


2. students talk through the topic choices and agree upon one that interests the majority of group members;


3. students brainstorm how they might divide the broad problem into 3-4 parts so that each group member is responsible for one part;


4. armed with an individual research question, students begin conducting research in HS Library databases, online, in magazines and books, and by contacting experts and/or leading organizations in their topic;


5. students share resources within their group, and refine their understanding of the overall problem and potential solutions;


6. each student produces an annotated bibliography, explaining how the resources the group found relate to their individual angle on the topic;


7. students write individual, 1-2 page paper explaining their findings;


8. using these findings, students work together to propose a solution to the problem they researched;


9. students present their work to their classmates; and


10. students write a metacognitive reflection on both the individual and group components of their experience.

My hope is that students will collaborate to choose a topic and throughout the research process, and that they will genuinely embrace this as an opportunity both to explore their topic and look toward solutions. Steps 8 and 9 will challenge students to creatively convince others of the solution to their problem.  I'm still working out some of the details of this project, so any feedback would be welcome!