Validation
The final stage of the Creative Sequence and any project-based learning unit is the Validation Stage. This is comprised of:
An Authentic Audience
Identifying individuals that truly care about or are effected by the driving question that the students are investigating and can give feedback to students on their
solution(s).
Voice and Choice
Giving students room and options to choose how they would like to express their
voice and represent what they learned.
Feedback
Ensuring that students both give and receive effective feedback on the final projects that they produce.
Reflection
Guiding students through reflecting on what they learned throughout the project-based learning unit.
Essentially within this phase of the project students will be testing whether their solution “works”, both in terms of whether the individual(s) that the solution was created for value it and the solution demonstrates that they have an adequate understanding of the significant standards and skills they were learning throughout the unit.
While having an authentic audience, allowing students to have voice and choice, and making sure that students both get feedback and reflect naturally come at the end of a project-based learning unit, these are elements that should naturally happen throughout a well planned unit.
PROTOCOLS/TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES
The Pitch
A "pitch" is a short and compelling description of the problem you’re solving, who you are solving it for, and one key benefit that distinguishes it from other solutions that have been tried or implemented in the past.
Overview of The Pitch
Prototype
By creating a representation (e.g. - a physical model, a drawing, etc.) of the solution to the driving question, students can ask users that might potentially utilize the solution for focussed feedback on what works well and what could be improved upon.
Overview of the Prototype
Critical Friends
This protocol is useful in helping scaffold students (and others who may be giving feedback on the students' solution) give effective positive feedback, ideas and suggestions for improvement, and ideas for resources and information that could be looked into to make the presented solution even better.
Overview of Critical Friends
Gallery Walk
An extremely useful protocol to elicit feedback on student solutions, especially when there are a number of solutions to review and you want to ensure that everyone gets a sufficient amount of feedback in a short time period.
Video/Audio
Video and audio can be a compelling medium to portray the solution(s) students propose to the driving question they are presented with. In addition, videos and audio files can be easily shared with authentic audiences through sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, or SoundCloud.
(Video Resources - WeVideo (Online Video Editor); Magisto (Online Movie Editor); Resources and Tutorials for Video Production)
(Audio Resources - SoundCloud (Online Audio Sharing); Chirbit (Online Audio Recording and Sharing); Resources and Tutorials for Audio Production)
Website/Blog/Wiki
Websites, blogs, and wikis can be an easy and effective way for students to directly communicate their solution(s) to the driving question they are exploring to authentic audiences both near and far.
(Website Resources - Wix (Website Builder and Hosting); Weebly (Website Builder and Hosting))
(Blog Resources - WordPress (Blog Builder and Hosting); Weebly (Blog Builder and Hosting); Blogger (Blog Builder and Hosting))
(Wiki Resources - Wikispaces (Wiki Builder and Hosting))
Ethose/Logos/Pathos
Within this protocol, students explore (1) is the solution that is presented credible (ethos), (2) is the solution clear and consistent (logos), and (3) how vivid or memorable is the solution (pathos).
Overview of Ethos/Logos/Pathos
Visual Communication
This is a must across all grade levels - students need to be encouraged to not only communicate their ideas in oral or written form, but also visually. Students should be strategic in their use of supporting visuals to help communicate their solutions and how it addresses the driving question they are exploring.
NUF Test
Within this technique students explore whether the solution(s) they came up with related to the driving question is (1) New, (2) Useful, and (3) Feasible.
Overview for Nuf Test
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