This year, we completely changed our science fair. All work was done in the classroom, and we attained authentic student work. More important, we emphasized reflection and sharing with all students. All projects had to display a reflection celebrating successes and sharing particular challenges (or what didn’t work). Many students also included thoughts on what they would do differently on future projects! On the day of the fair, our fifth graders then “taught their projects” to students in 3rd and 4th grades. Students teaching students has a power and beauty all its own, and furthermore, the peer teaching really demonstrated that our fifth graders knew their work inside and out. This was an easy, fun, and meaningful way to add design thinking into student work that is already a part of the curriculum!
Does your school do something similar?
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This is an excellent project, and it looks like a lot of fun, too!