Makerspaces, STEAM labs and fab labs are popping up in schools across the country. Makerspaces provide hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to design, experiment, build and invent as they deeply engage in science, engineering and tinkering.

Students at Marist High use the Fab Lab for STEM designing and creating ....Hands-on..great engagement. 

EFFECTIVE GROUP MANAGEMENT

^{What can be done to move the group along to the} 

^{goal of being a high functioning group?}

^{From the PLT on Group Management I gained a lot of insights on different ways of doing group norms and monitoring student progress.}

At PMH, Group contracts and Team management logs are used. However, regular checking and updating is definitely work in progress as said by students who have been interviewed lately.

• Group norms could vary depending on the EI of students

Check this out:

 http://www.edutopia.org/blog/key-effective-teams-schools-emotional-intelligence-elena-aguilar

• Assign a group leader
• Groups complete a group contract at the start of the project.
  Include a discussion database where students exchange ideas/questions
• Use Team Management log OR project pacing chart and review regularly
• Incorporate daily log for students who need reminders to stay on task
• Use Peer feedback as often as necessary.

Benchmarks in PBL projects : The Benchmark Focus is the Newtech Network approach in structuring PBL projects. At Parramatta Marist High, projects in Science are designed with a Benchmark Focus where students are to attain different levels of learning required to complete and work towards their End product.

- Benchmark Focus can be...
 Skills based where students gain necessary skills to complete their end product. eg. First hand investigations, Report writing, Experiment design etc.
Content based leading to skills where the activities can let students gain multiple skills.
eg. Ipad activities on specific content eg. Food chain/Food web

Varying Benchmark focus to suit the project and students can allow students to progress to Benchmarks at their own pace.  Allowing the freedom to choose Benchmarks will cater to differentiated instruction.

Benchmarks in Projects should serve as a Checkpoint and tell the learner and the teacher the level of learning attained.