Module 5, Unit 2, Activity 1: Assessing Project Based Learning

I have altered the PBL I designed for Module 3 for this Module and created new rubrics that are able to better evaluate and guide the students and teachers.

TOURING ACROSS THE WORLD

Project Theme

With this project, I want to make math relevant to the student by applying math to something that most people enjoy and get excited about: traveling and exploring new places and cultures. When one is planning a trip and traveling, math problems are inevitable, from calculating if we can reach a train or airplane or time, to planning our budget and converting currencies and units of measurement.

Goals

Project delivery

Design a tour to visit 3 countries in 2 weeks. Each group of students will create an itinerary to visit 3 different countries in 2 weeks. The students will choose the countries and determine the season it would be best to do this trip and explain the reasons. They will present the budget of the trip which will include lodging, transportation, food, visa fees, tips, entrance to places of interest such as museums, medical insurance (if any), personal expenses (phone and internet use, etc.) The budget and presentation must attempt to convince others to book a tour with them, and the budget should be reasonable and clearly state what’s included in the package and the description. A printed copy with the itinerary and expected expenses must be provided as well.

- The driving question for this project: What are the details of a tour that is exciting and appealing to costumers, and with a reasonable budget?

Math

The student shows understanding and correct application of the following:

- The four elementary arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

- Percentages.

- Conversion of units of measurement.

21st Century Skills :

The student shows evidence of:

- Communication skills,

- Collaboration skills,
- Problem Solving,
- Information literacy,

- Global awareness

Project Work Description and Monitoring Plan

1.      The teacher groups the students in groups of 3-5 each. Each group must be diverse so that students can help each other if there’s the need, for example, ELL students should be in groups with other non-ELL students.

2.    Each group will determine what countries to tour.  Encourage students with different backgrounds to apply some of they already acquired knowledge regarding other countries in the project.

Communication and collaboration skills together with global awareness and Information literacy (Access information online, call travel agents, call hotels, etc. Then, evaluate the information, use and manage it) will be employed to choose the countries to be visited.

“Regular open communication, in which group members share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings, is a must for successful group work.” In group work every member shows equal commitment to the objective and take part in deciding how work should be allocated. There’s also a commitment to help each other learn and acknowledge good contributions from team members. (“Teamwork skills”, 2017).

By global awareness we understand learning from other nations and cultures and working collaboratively with individuals representing diverse cultures, religions and lifestyles with respect and open mindenenss. (P21, n.d.)

3.     After the 3 countries are chosen the students will give a short presentation (we will call this Presentation 1) on why they chose those countries and give a brief description of each country.

The student will make use of communication skills and evidence of collaboration to accomplish this point.

Here the students should receive feedback from the teacher regarding their choice, and assistance, if required, for the next step:

4.     The students will determine which country will be the first to be visited, then the second and the third. And what season is best to visit those countries.

Information literacy (Access, evaluate information, use and manage Information) will be employed to choose the order of countries to be visited.

For example, flying to India in summer is cheaper, but since it’s very hot, so it’s necessary to rent AC cars, and book AC hotels and AC trains, and all of this can add up and turn out to be more expensive than flying there in winter. Here the students effectively researched and checked important factors such as weather, when does high season start, etc. and used the information to arrive to a conclusion in collaboration with their group.

5.     Now, the students start looking for transportation options. Analyze all the possibilities and compare them. Create a spreadsheet with the comparisons, comparing cost and time for each option. Take into account that, for group bookings, some airlines may have discounts.

Information literacy, the four elementary arithmetic operations, percentages, conversion of units of measurement, analysis skills, excel skills will be needed to complete this point.

Once all the information is gathered, it’s easy to analyze and compare the costs once all of it has been entered in a spreadsheet like shown in the following image:

The teacher should check the spreadsheet and give feedback to the students. This will be spreadsheet 1. This is another opportunity to monitor students’ progress in the PBL and the teacher should monitor each group in the following steps especially:

6.     Determine how many days to stay in each Country and start creating the itinerary, including traveling time.

Information literacy analysis skills, excel skills will be needed to complete this point.

This point depends on the previous point, for example, flying will get me from Delhi to Kathmandu in just 1.5 hours, but if I choose to go by jeep it’ll take 12 hours on the road. If I choose airplane I can spend one more day in Kathmandu (or Delhi) but I will miss some important sites that are only possible to visit if one goes by jeep (e.g. Sravasti).

7.     Look for lodging options. Give the option to your customers to choose between single occupancy, double or triple. Look for discounts. Create a spreadsheet with the information (spreadsheet 2).

Information literacy, the four elementary arithmetic operations, percentages, conversion of units of measurement, analysis skills, excel skills will be needed.

Since many countries are visited, not all of them use the same currency, so it’s necessary to convert currency. One important thing to note is that, if for example, a good and clean hotel in Nepal may cost 50 USD, but in Delhi, 50USD may not get me a room with AC in it.

The teacher should check the spreadsheet and give feedback to the students.

8.     Look for places of interest to visit in each Country and give a brief presentation about them (Presentation 2).

The student will make use of information literacy to gather the information and communication skills to give the presentation.

This is another chance for the students to give a presentation and receive feedback not only from the teacher, but also their classmates.

9.     Determine what kind of transportation to use in each country. Compare different options. Create a spreadsheet with the information (spreadsheet 3).

Information literacy, the four elementary arithmetic operations, percentages, conversion of units of measurement, analysis skills, excel skills will be needed.

The teacher should check the spreadsheet and give feedback to the students.

10. Star budgeting the meals, some hotels may include breakfast, some restaurants have good buffets for groups. Create a spreadsheet with the information (spreadsheet 4).

The teacher should check the spreadsheet and give feedback to the students.

11. For each city visited, create a list of hospitals. Analyze the cost of medical care in each country and compare them in a spreadsheet (spreadsheet 5).

Information literacy, the four elementary arithmetic operations, percentages, conversion of units of measurement, analysis skills, excel skills will be needed.

The teacher should check the spreadsheet and give feedback to the students.

12. Research the customs of the Country regarding gratuities and include it in your presentation.

Information literacy and global awareness will be needed.

Make a list of the possible additional expenses. For example: ATM fees, SIM card and phone refill, etc.

Problem solving will be used to foresee any additional expenses or options if  things don’t go according to planed in the trip.

13. Present the itinerary and the details of the budget (the details should be presented in a spreadsheet, spreadsheet 6).

Information literacy, the four elementary arithmetic operations, percentages, conversion of units of measurement, analysis skills, excel skills will be needed.

The information should be presented as if one was going to present it to a customer, it should be clean and show all the details in an organized manner. See Rubrics.

14. Make a presentation to the group and answer questions (Presentation 3).

Communication skills and creativity will be needed for the final presentation, as well as evidence of collaboration.

The presentation should be a summary of all the information gathered, giving the total final budget for the trip as well as information of the countries to be visited. See Rubrics.

    

Comments on the Monitoring Plan

In order to check that students are on the right track along the project, note that in steps 3 and 8 of the Project Work Description, students are required to give presentations. Also, along the process, many spreadsheets are created and will be checked by the teacher to assess the progress and understanding of the students.

There are 3 presentations to be evaluated, and 6 spreadsheets, where presentation 3 and spreadsheet 6 are the final and most important works to be submitted.

RUBRICS

References

Teamwork Skills: Being an Effective Group Member. (2017). Retrieved April 17, 2018, from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/tips-students/being-part-team/teamwork-skills-being-effective-group-member

P21 (n.d.). Global Awareness. Retrieved April 17, 2018, from http://www.p21.org/about-us/p21-framework/256

P21 (n.d.). Framework for 21st Century Learning. Retrieved April 17, 2018, from http://www.p21.org/about-us/p21-framework/256