Project based learning is when you select a small, specific topic to become an expert on. You had to start by choosing a topic, (Mine was African Elephant Poaching). Following choosing a topic, you had to come up with a key focus question. This question had to be a relevant, critical thinking question. After finding a question, we studied up on our topics by using documentaries and reading through information. We had to able to compose a list of questions for our source, so we needed to know some things in advance.Once you had made a list of appropriate questions, you then had to find a primary source (Some of us had a hard time finding one). When you found your source, you composed a letter asking for assistance in your project. The majority of sources in our class responded that they would help, so from there you either emailed, called, skyped, or arranged a meeting with them so they could answer your questions. From there, you pooled all your information together and created an interesting way to represent your learning. When you created your project though, you had to make sure you answered your key questions.
Two projects I really enjoyed watching were ‘Why is China’s Panda Population Decreasing? And Why is it important to us?” and “What is Lyme disease? And why does it affect mammals differently? Can a cure be in the future?” . I found the Panda project quite interesting because it was similar to my subject. Because it was similar to my subject, I found it was something I was very interested in. I love animals, and the fact that Panda’s are highly endangered really captured my attention. It was also presented really well. It was a original Imovie that had great effects and caught your attention.
I found the lyme disease project interesting because it’s presentation was also done very well, but it is also something that can affect us. We have lots of ticks in our area, and just because lyme disease isn’t here yet doesn’t mean it’s never going to get here. It was very informative and told you lots of ways to be on the lookout for it.
One project I had trouble connecting to was about the moose population in the Redlake area. I had trouble connecting to it, because I couldn’t really find the problem. We live so close and I don’t often hear about it, so I had a hard time connecting. The focus question is “what is the status of the red lake moose population? And how will this affect the ecosystem?”. The way it was presented was an original youtube video. I had a bit of a hard time understanding some of the things that was said, so maybe an improvement would have been to have better sound.
I have learned a lot about the environment in the past couple of weeks that we have been working on these projects. I’ve learned that my role is everywhere, and everything that has a problem is everyone’s fault. We all need to chip in and help or nothing will be able to be solved. One example would be the panda problem. If we stopped buying things made from bamboo, then there wouldn’t be a demand for the products. If there wasn’t a demand for the products, their habitat wouldn’t be torn down. The Environment is the most important part of the world, so it needs to be saved.