Project-Based+Inquiry+Process+&+Products

=New Literacies and Global Learning Concentration: Project-Based Inquiry Process and Product Rubric=

"I keep the subject of my inquiry constantly before me, and wait til the first dawning opens gradually, little by little, into a full and clear light." Isaac Newton

When students enter the New Literacies & Global Learning concentration, they will pose a compelling question related to their teaching and/or the teaching profession that they will answer through a project-based inquiry process during the program. Keeping their inquiry topic constantly before them, students will answer aspects of their question and create corresponding products of learning for each of the 4 core courses. Students will begin the process in ECI 546, New Literacies & Media, where they will create an individual wiki that will house the products of their project-based inquiry process throughout the program. Students will present their products of learning, including their culminating Critical Synthesis, during the Design Studio Showcase to be held each spring semester in ECI 508, Teachers as Leaders.

The aim of the project-based inquiry approach is to provide the opportunity for graduate students to engage in what Newman, Bryck, and Nagaoka (2001) describe as authentic intellectual work. They describe the distinctive characteristics of authentic intellectual work as “construction of knowledge through disciplined inquiry in order to produce products that have value beyond school” (p. 14). Likewise, elements of project-based inquiry possess what John Dewey referred to as //productive inquiry//, which is "that aspect of any activity where we are deliberately (although not always consciously) seeking what we need in order to do what we want to do” (Cook and Brown, 2005, p. 62). Our aims are to engage students in intellectual work that has depth, duration, and complexity, and to challenge and motivate students toward knowledge creation that relates to the teaching profession. By the end of their program, our hope is that students will have had a rich intellectual and social experience in which their inquiry project has progressed from "the first dawning. . . into a full and clear light."

Compelling Question for the Project-Based Inquiry Process:
We ask that you come into the NLGL program with some ideas about a compelling question you would like to address during your course of study. During your first semester in ECI 546, you will decide on the question that will shape your project-based inquiry process. Here is an example of a compelling question you might pose. Sample Compelling Question: How do I creatively and effectively engage diverse learners in my middle grades classroom? • Diversity in terms of language, ethnicity, and culture • Engage students, motivate them, get them to succeed • Related issues: parental involvement and support; inclusion

Sequence **for the Project-Based Inquiry Process and Products in the 4 Core Courses:**
__**ECI 546: New Literacies & Media.**__ (To be taken in the student’s initial Fall semester). Students will begin the inquiry process, including further development of their compelling question for the NLGL program and creating an individual wiki. They will pose a question that relates to new literacies & media and addresses some aspect of their compelling question for the NLGL program. Students will experiment with media tools that can be integrated into the content area classroom. They will apply these tools in their classroom environments and assess effects on student learning. Finally, they will create a 5-minute video that documents their inquiry process, including their lesson and student learning outcomes.
 * **Sample Question:** What are the effects on learning of using //VoiceThread// to address reading fluency with ELL students?
 * **Products of Learning:** Video documentary of inquiry project process & results; short research paper

__**ECI 524: Theory & Research in Global Learning.**__ (Spring semester, online).Students will compare educational experiences; create an international connection/component and a link with a global or study abroad experience of some kind; deepen the inquiry process and consider global context.
 * **Sample Question:** What can we learn about addressing diverse student populations from teachers in other global contexts (e.g., substitute specific countries or contexts here)?
 * **Products of Learning:** Comparative study research paper; web-based presentation of global instruction materials

__**ECI 523: Teacher as Researcher.**__ (Fall semester, online). Students will conduct an action research study (e.g., classroom-based, professional development-focused, professional organization connections, etc.).
 * **Sample Question:** How does pairing English language learners and native speakers affect online reading comprehension?
 * **Products of Learning:** Research paper and multimedia poster presentation of course research project.

__**ECI 508: Teachers as Leaders.**__ (To be taken in the student’s final Spring semester). Students will elaborate the inquiry process in the context of teacher leadership and innovation models.
 * **Sample Question:** How can I provide leadership around diverse student populations (e.g., classrooms, schools, community, district, national, international venues)?
 * **Products of Learning:** Individual leadership project and paper; teachers as leaders video review

**Role of Content Area and/or Licensure Area Courses:**
Students have the opportunity to take a varierty of required content courses and restricted electives in their programs of study. Work undertaken in these courses also supports the PBI process and, ulimately, the creative synthesis. Students will explore aspects of their compelling question that are situated within the context of their content/licensure areas. Evidence from these courses will contribute to the Creative Synthesis.

Design Studio Showcase:

 * For those graduating from the NLGL Program, a culminating Creative Synthesis of Project-Based Inquiry process and products will be presented in the Design Studio Showcase.**



Provides an overview of the creative synthesis, addressing the following:
 * NLGL Creative Synthesis Rubric **
 * **Presenter’s Name:** |||||||| **Expectations**  ||
 * **Criteria** || Not met -0 || Partially met - 1 || Mostly met - 2 || Fully met -3 ||
 * **Written Description/Abstract (250-300 words)**
 * What is your question?
 * What is your rationale?
 * What are your findings? ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * **Visual Representation**

Project demonstrates visual representation that is well designed and supported through appropriate new media. ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * **Curricular Connections**

Project demonstrates evidence of connections to:
 * Common Core ,
 * The Essential Standards, and/or
 * Other relevant professional standards. ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * **Creative Synthesis**

Project provides evidence that the learner has: Project answers the compelling question by presenting new insights relevant to you and the educational community in general. ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Generated a clear **synthesis** of learning based on ideas from NLGL core courses and your licensure area.
 * Constructed new knowledge based on combining, remixing, and/or transforming information/media.
 * Demonstrated a clear connection between synthesis and student learning outcomes.
 * Articulated elements of personal identity development and/or transformation (i.e., how has my professional identity evolved as a result of my work?) ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * **Conclusions**
 * **TOTAL SCORE** |||||||| **______/15 Possible Points** ||


 * (updated 08/21/2012)**