Reflections
What Went Well:
The students loved this project! It was fantastic for reaching students of all academic levels and personal interests. Students who had struggled through projects in the past were highly engaged and developed greater math and problem solving skills, developed the ability to apply knowledge to unique situations, found ways to meet deadlines, and completed good quality work. The highest level students were challenged and created incredible products worthy of college-level architecture work. "This New House" was also very fun as a teacher. Rather than being an expert whom the students look to for all the answers, the teacher acts as a consultant and project manager. But the ideas come from within the students and from the first day of design development you will notice the students drawing, thinking, discussing, debating, measuring, cutting, painting, building, and running around to get their work done! It's intense, but well worth it. Also, providing the materials for the students to make the blueprints and models was one of the best parts of this project. It allowed students to make great products regardless of how much money they have to spend on materials and how much help they get at home. The best work was completed in class by the students.
What I Would Do Differently:
There can be much more chemistry taught in this project - I taught moles and gases at the beginning and end of the project, but it could have been integrated much better (I haven't included these worksheets because of that). Also, after talking with architects who saw the students' work, I would have required one scale for all the models, rather than letting them choose the scale. Doing this would make it easier to help students with problems and check work for errors.
Supporting Diverse Learners
This project offers a great context for supporting students with different learning styles, needs, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Working in teams, students are able to support each other, learn from one another, and teach each other. Students have to create designs, draw blueprints, build models, write pamphlets, solve problems, complete calculations, plan and organize for project management, troubleshoot computer calculation problems, apply new knowledge to unique situations, read resource materials, and communicate with others.
A variety of reading/literacy techniques may be used for the various project readings. We used reciprocal teaching to decipher challenging technical texts and jigsaws for especially long readings, where students would become experts on a passage or subject and teach each other.
Exemplars offer another key support. Professional architecture models are displayed in the class from the beginning, and students complete case studies of existing projects. These allow students to visualize what they are working toward. Perhaps the greatest support, though, is ongoing assessment and close communication between teachers and students.
What this project might look like with greater curriculum integration:
For its second run, this project will be integrated with a humanities class. We will study the Industrial Revolution, the move from agrarian to urban society, changes that took place in construction, technology that was developed in that era, and the cultural and environmental effects of the Industrial Revolution. Fast-forwarding to the present day, we will examine current legislation about the environment and global energy use. Chemistry will focus on building materials used during the Industrial Revolution and today, pollution, fossil fuels versus alternative energy, and basic thermodynamics.
The products will be nearly the same, but instead of building individual houses, the entire class will design an eco-friendly and sustainable city that shows influence from the Industrial Revolution but would be fit for tomorrow's standards. Once the class determines the layout of the city, each team will design an area (a mall, park, school, community center, house, apartment building, commercial center, etc.) using the same techniques and skills as in "This New House." Also, the students will create an advertising campaign for their project, which will engage them in the study of media and design. In the end, students will present their work to a town board to receive feedback on how their city plan would hold up in the real world.