Curriculum
Objectives

Materials
and Resources

Investigations and
Other Activities

Assessment

Reflections

Tech-Know-Build

Reflections

First Episcopal Church-The oldest Episcopal Church in Indiana

After implementing this unit for the first time this year, we found there were several things that worked well. We were very pleased with the students' enthusiasm and eagerness to jump in and begin researching their topics/questions. Using the rubrics and planning guides, students had a clear understanding of what work they were to complete as a result. The students also benefited from using the project calendar, to measure their progress throughout the unit. In addition to all the rubrics, guides, and calendar it was also very beneficial for the students to see an example of a PBL unit prior to beginning this one. We decided to present a water quality PBL unit that we had completed as part of the Tech-Know-Build summer institute, so the students had a clear idea of PBL and what they would be working on over the course of the unit. Overall we were very pleased with the unit and found that our students gained a great deal of knowledge on the history of their community in Crawfordsville.

While the unit was a success, there were several things we need to revise and take a closer look at in order to make the unit more effective in teaching the history of Crawfordsville. Since our school is on a new schedule this year we have adjusted the project calendar to fit our new bell schedule. One major problem we were unaware of entering this unit was the time constraints that were placed on us due to scheduling and class sizes. By readjusting our project calendar we have eliminated these constraints. Another problem aside from time, was the lack of access to primary sources the students needing in order to fully research each topic or question. To address this problem we have adjusted the project calendar to include to class periods to the public library to use the local history room and all of the resources there. Also we have added several new websites to our list in order to fit the wide range of topics that our students have developed. Another way to assure there is enough information is to have students share their driving questions or topics with the class. If a topic is selected that the teacher knows there is very little information, then the teacher can redirect their efforts into another topic or question.

Finally we believe this can be a strong unit as long as it is well managed by the teacher and a solid schedule is set in place to help organize the activities. 

Page created by Cami Lain,  Andy Hartley, and Jay Strickland                        Last updated July, 12, 2002