PHASE THREE: DO

In the DO phase, students are immersed in project management. Students involved in The Watershed Project are doers: they apply science in practical ways and model what it means to be prepared for this new era. Gold Standard Project-Based Learning practices ensure that students employ the “Universal Constructs” or “habits of mind” the Iowa Core has identified as “Essential to 21st Century Success.”

DO: RESOURCES

Telephone Script/Conversation Starters

The Telephone Interview Script / Conversation Starters may be used to help students prepare to make cold calls in search of project collaborators or for interviews with established partners. Use the prompts to help students compose a script for each conversation and to think through what they intend to say and how they intend to say it. Most students have never made this kind of a phone call. They should rehearse speaking in a clear, conversational tone about their project objectives and the specific reasons why they are contacting this particular person. It is also critical for students to explain how they found the contact’s number. Transparency and trust are essential in developing relationships and rapport. Click here

Video: The Elevator Pitch

The Elevator Pitch is a concise, practiced overview of a business or project idea put in a way that is simple and memorable for the listener to understand. The key ingredients: make it simple, memorable, convincing. This is your one chance to say the few most important things that are most likely to make the listener want to hear more, to make them see why your product, your idea, your service, why YOU are worth investing in. Click here

Model: Contact Your Elected Officials

This model project was intended to make students aware of how to correspond with their elected officials and to encourage students to be active in civic participation with issues of their concern. Students researched a current topic of environmental concern and then composed letters to make an argument for which way they would like their representative to vote. Click here

Model: Collaboration Rubric for PBL Reflection

In order to maximize student growth throughout the project, ongoing reflection is necessary. A couple weeks after starting to work with their project groups, students use the Collaboration Rubric for PBL from the Buck Institute to reflect on their current behavior as a group member, and then set 2 goals for their future work in the group. Click here

Template: Project Management Cycle Log

Students need a place to document their work through the Project Management Cycles, so their group can stay on the same page, can refer back to meetings that happened and work that was assigned, and as a tool for reflection. There is also a need for teachers to have a way to gain insight into the group dynamics and the work that has been completed by each group member. Click here