In the classroom, I remember that leading up to and after a break there was always lots of excitement, but also distraction because of the upcoming event. After the break or holiday, time was spent resetting behavior expectations in the classroom and refocusing. In project work, sometimes after a break it can feel like all of the hard work that was done before is lost, but there are definitely ways you can refocus on a project after a break.
Think back to the beginning of the project in Phase I, when there were the focusing activities as students messed around with different topics. Focusing activities such as bringing in new artifacts, reading a book about the topic, webbing, or doing an observational drawing, can be done to refocus at a later point in the project as well. Another great way to refocus and reinvigorate a project is to do a field site visit or bring in an expert. If you’ve already done a field site or expert visit, additional visits can lead to new discoveries. If there are limitations for a future field site or expert, showing and discussing photos from past visits can also be a way to spark new questions and excitement.
All that said, sometimes after a long break, you may find that even after trying to refocus that the interest just isn’t there anymore, and there may be a new interest. In this case, the first topic becomes a mini practice project. Students were able to practice some of the skills that will make them successful in the next project, even though they were unable to fully investigate the first topic. To practice the skill of summarizing and sharing knowledge, still wrap up and have students share what they have learned before embarking on the new topic.
Looking for examples of artifacts? check out past project artifacts here
Looking for examples of experts? check out past project experts here
Looking for examples of field sites? check out past project field sites here
Written by Amelia Troutman