Background: This 5 week learning module is a culminating unit for students to reflect on what they have learnt throughout the year in their integrated units and select a topic to explore in more depth. It focuses on learner engagement, provides students with agency in their learning, and is an opportunity to apply their knowledge creatively - something we don't always have time for.

Term 4 Timeframe

Update 1: What will I investigate?

• Weeks 1-4: Brainstorm ideas
• Week 5: Rank Ideas

Update 2: Concept Mapping

• Week 6 - Generate questions, identify purpose and audience, and develop a concept map

Update 3: Why is this worth investigating?

• Week 7: Evaluate ideas, give feedback to others on their ideas, and refine concept map

Update 4: My Passion Project

• Week 7-10: Start projects, report on progress, complete and share projects

Update 1 - Purpose: To support students to reflect on topics they have studied throughout the year in their integrated units and to brainstorm areas they would like to focus on in their passion projects.  

Teaching Tips

In week 1 of the term, conduct a brainstorm for students to think about what they have learnt during the year in their integrated units. This should be a 15-30 minute activity.

Possible strategies for the brainstorm:

• Inner-Outer Circle (Kagan)
• Numbered Heads Together (Kagan)
• One Stay, Three Stray (Kagan)
• Simultaneous Round Table (Kagan)
• Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up (Kagan)
• Affinity Diagram (Langford - Tooltime for Education)

Use prompting questions such as:

• What was one thing you learnt in ..........? 
• What was your favourite thing in ........?

After the brainstorm, explain to students that they will be working on passion projects in the last 5 weeks of the term. In weeks 1-5, they will be exploring ideas and coming to a decision about their focus by the end of week 5.

Based on the initial brainstorm, students/teachers can then record possible focus areas for their passion projects on post-it notes and add them to a noticeboard. They can continue to add to the noticeboard over the next 4 weeks. Encourage students to sort the ideas - placing like ideas together; this can happen at any time by any students. Making this process visible will enable students to think about a range of ideas and refine their topic choices over time.

In week 5, conduct a ranking activity where students select 3-5 possible topics they could focus on and rank them in order of preference. They share and justify their ranking with a partner/buddy. This justification will help them to think more deeply about their ranking and perhaps reorder it. Encourage partners to question each other about their ranking and possible avenues to explore in more depth. 

Collaborative strategies:

• Pair Discussion (Kagan)
• Five Whys (Langford - Tool Time for Education) - good to challenge more able students

Having decided on their top idea, students can focus on it immediately in week 6. Of course, if they change their mind, they can go with their second or third ranked idea.

Students who have similar focus areas may work in a group - this might be a way that students who need more support can work with the teacher. This might be particularly useful for a performance too - dance, music, drama etc. More independent students can work on individual or pair projects with support from their year 3 and 4 buddies.

Alternatively, four or five groups can be formed depending on student choice, and each teacher in the unit works with a group that is focused on a particular area/topic.

Purpose: In this update teachers set goals and expectations, clarify audience and purpose, model how to formulate an inquiry question, and support students to complete their overview of their passion project, using ICT.

The planning stage is important as incorporates some of the social skills of the Australian Curriculum, ensures the passion project is more than a busy activity, and allows students to develop ICT skills in using mindmapping software.

Teaching Tips

As you complete a model of a Passion Project Overview, make your expectations clear. Students could complete the corresponding section in their overview. 

•  My passion project focus - emphasise being a person in the field of study -  scientist, astronomer, artist, musician, historian, geographer, author etc.
• The purpose of this learning - the general topic that students want to learn more about
• The audience for this project - understanding audience helps students to consider how they will present their projects. For example, a performance could be videotaped and shared or performed live; a research project could be for younger children and so would use different language and multimedia than if it was shared with adults.
• My learning goal - students are basically creating a learning intention for their focus area; referring to it as a learning intention might help students and identify the knowledge understanding rather than a task such as create a dance or build a model. The learning goal is more specific than the purpose and links to audience.
• My inquiry question - model how to turn the learning goal which is a statement into a question; this might change/be refined/become more realistic as students research more.
• My plan: this is the initial plan of action or steps that the students will take - it can be built upon and modified.
• My concept map: identify the software that will be use to create the concept map using ICT

Students then use ICT such as Simple Mind, Popplet, Padlet, MindMeister, Mindmup, Mindomo - most of these are available on Apple or Chrome.

A template for the overview is attached for students to use and, once completed, to transfer to their concept maps. They can modify their overviews as they think of more ideas when creating the concept map and with input from buddies.

Two examples (artist and scientist) are included here. They can be used to model how to complete the overview or you can create your own model related to one of your own interests.

Passion Project Overview Template

Passion Project Overview - Artist

Passion Project Overview - Scientist

Passion Project Overview - Music

​Purpose: This update supports students to critically evaluate their overviews and concepts maps. It also raises the intellectual quality of the work that students do on their projects.

Teaching Tips

Teachers should model this first for students as a large group/whole class. Then students can be supported by their buddies to complete their evaluations. Use the language of "making my plan better" rather than "evaluations". Students complete a simple Plus/Delta (Langford – Tool Time for Education, page 108) to evaluate their projects. Their buddies will use a more complex template so will find this quite straightforward. Their main focus is on how the plan could be improved.

Bluebell Plus Delta Chart

Once they have completed their Plus/Delta charts, students should revise their concepts maps.

Purpose: In this update students start their projects and learn about the criteria to guide them as they complete it.

Teaching Tips

Monitor students' progress and use a Kagan structure such as Inner-Outer Circle for students to check in with each other.

Prior to the Gallery Walk, students will complete a reflection sheet which may be used to assist them in the presentation. These reflections could be placed in their portfolios.

Passion Project - Reflection Sheet

In Week 10, students should present their passion projects to their peers and buddies. A Gallery Walk would enable concurrent presentations as individual presentations can be time-consuming. This could alsbe incorporated in the end of year event when parents visit the school.