Goals

 

Details

Assessments: Performance/presentation (i.e. speech, play), Video production, Oral defense, Group work

 

Description

Decide which groups will present in which rooms ahead of time, to diversify (so no one room had 4 French revolution machines, etc) and spend the previous week in rehearsals, in the rooms and with the students that will be performing in those rooms, with their machines there already. This will really help create a supportive and motivational environment for preparation. Groups decide who will say what when, practice answering questions, create notecards, and choose the MCs for the room.

Students can be divided into about 4-6 groups (depending on your numbers/faciliity) per performance room, and their machines are placed in a gallery fashion with the blueprints posted behind them. Each group will introduce itself, the revolution at hand, and will walk the audience through an explanation of the scientific significance and historical symbolism behind each function, using their digital presentation.

Then a prepared panel (staff volunteers, parents volunteers, and/or older students) asks the performing group questions around physics, metaphors, their revolution, and leadership skills.

Finally, the floor is opened to the audience for any last questions. The panel grades each individual student, and each group's keynote according to the rubric. Teachers meet at a later date to determine class scores (see reflections).

Exhibition Example
The French Revolution as a machine....
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Exhibition Panelist Instructions
Some notes for the panelists who are grading students' machines/performances at exhibition...
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Exhibition Pictures
Here is a simple slide show, showing construction, room setup, and students with their machines on exhibition night....
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Exhibition Question Prep
This is a "Question Prep" overview given to students one week before exhibitions. Students were aware that the question...
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Exhibition Rehearsal Feedback Form
A form we used for teachers and later for peer assessments during Exhibition Rehearsals....
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Metaphor Machines Exhibition Rubric
Exhibition Rubric...
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Author Reflections

This was a great exhibition!! Panelists and teachers changed up the questions from the rehearsed ones, as students knew they would, and they really shone during the oral defense. Having the machines present but not needing to be functional (with the blueprint in the background) was also handy, as the audience can see the machines in action through the videos.

We ended up using the last row of Part One: Metaphor Machine & Keynote (Presentation Skills) for the group grade.

We assigned grades in all four core classes: Math graded based on Benchmark completion (since that was the workshop/construction class), and the following classes graded based on specific Q&A during the defense (Science gave a grade based on answers to physics questions, History graded based on revolution questions, and English graded based on answers to metaphor questions).