Problem/Project Activity Reflection

The problem/project activity was a very meaningful experience for me to participate in. At the beginning of the task, I was very unsure of the whole process and was not looking forward to a seemingly difficult task. However, I learned that this project was actually a very insightful task and I feel that I have taken a lot away from it. It is extremely important for me, as a future teacher, to keep my students engaged in the classroom. In addition, I must make my activities and lessons relatable to my students. I believe that it can be very difficult for teachers to do this on a regular basis. We are told what to teach and, in some instances, how to teach it. There is little wiggle room for creativity or “extra” projects. In hindsight, these real-world projects may actually be the one thing that gets students engaged and focused, and actually working toward an end result.

My group and I brainstormed a lot about potential problems/projects. When we finally chose the one we focused the project on, we were all very excited to begin planning. The problem that we posed to our students was that the local park was having some troubles. Trash was everywhere, the garden was full of weeds and dead plants, and beehives were all over the playground. It needed to be cleaned up so that all of the community could enjoy a beautiful, safe park. To help with this community issue, students were to fundraise money to donate to the park district. To do so, they would create products in their small groups to sell. Throughout this weeklong project, students used a variety of mathematics and other interdisciplinary content. I felt that this problem/project was an excellent one to pose to students. First and foremost, they were working towards an important cause. By fundraising the money, they were helping to better their local park for the enjoyment of themselves and others. Having students work to price, create, and sell products gave them hands-on experiences and a very basic idea of entrepreneurship. I think combining both of these ideas was a very interesting and effective way of having students work on this problem/project.

As I said before, this was a very interesting and insightful experience for me. I now know that real-world problems and situations can and should be integrated in the classroom, and can have some great benefits to both students and teachers.