So the technology did not work - - but is that what this is really about anyways? Or was this experience really about creating an independent learning project for students where they were able to be scaffolded through a process to achieve mastery in understanding a topic of their choice? Was this really about how to backwards map both content and the steps need for independent learning? I think when reflecting on this experience it was wholly about creating rich, authentic, independent learning opportunities in my classroom that all students could access.
I had a major breakthrough in my thinking out planning and implementation of curriculum through this process. They way that one needs to plan when creating a badgified learning opportunity you have to think to the end of the instruction and really plan out all of the steps. This was a huge shift for me. I felt like it tied my hands at first - how was I going to use formative assessment to then change or shift my instruction? I had to think through all of the steps students would have to take - have very clear end goals put in place with the supports and resources already compiled and ready for a student to just jump in and look at it. It reminded me of an old high school history teacher - taking out the binder for their unit on the civil war, and then on the first day of the unit going to the trusty power point slides the had compiled five years ago and boom! they are ready to teach for the next four weeks and then all they have to do is copy the final assessment - a test created long ago that they knew would hit all the key concepts and facts that they wanted students to know.
As a middle level instructor this felt so weird to me. How am I going to plan through to the end of a unit and then let students just chip away at it. But in reality it made me really stop and think about what was the most important things every student needed to know. What were the key experiences that they needed to walk away with. In designing curriculum using a "constellation" model, which was recommended by badgestack I feel like I was really able to create an independent learning opportunity for students that was both authentic in its independence and in the rigor of instruction
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