Engaged Learning Project Draft Template

Title of Project: All Grown Up

Subject(s): Math, Career Content Standards, Technology
Grade Level(s): 5th Grade

Abstract:

5th grade students at Martin Technology Academy of Math and Science will assume the role of a college graduate ready to
enter the grown up world. Students will research a career pathway including job requirements, education requirements,
and salary with the help of the technology teacher as a facilitator. Students will use spreadsheet software to create a budget
based on their individual salary and this budget sheet will drive their project decisions throughout the rest of the time.
Students will work with local bankers, investors, and financial advisors to create a monetary plan for saving, spending and
investing. Throughout the course of the project, students will encounter financial pitfalls and successes that will be randomly
assigned by the teacher and will help them reach their goals of purchasing a pet, a car, and a home. They will need to adjust
their budget accordingly, with the support of their financial coaching team which would include local community partners
such as real estate agents, car sales associates, veterinarians, etc. The coaching team would be community partners that are
brought in to help students understand the full financial impact of the pitfall or success that is assigned. These visits would
include interview time, and would happen throughout the course of the school year. The project will also include a research
component, where students study the financial structure of another country and compare it to the American financial
structure. Students will use various software tools to complete this project, but will create a culminating presentation in
Google Drive where they can also receive feedback from their peers, teachers, and financial coaching team. Students will
present this presentation at the annual MTA Technology Fair in a one-on-one judging scenario with local business partners,
including those that participated as part of the financial coaching team. Students will have the opportunity to advance to the
county and state technology fair as well.

Learner Description/Context:

Martin Technology Academy of Math and Science is a STEM Based Magnet school located in Flowery Branch, Georgia.
MTA is currently seeking STEM Certification from the state of Georgia and has spent the last five years as a Charter School
focused on Math, Science, and Technology. By adding the layer of Engineering, MTA students are expected to be problems
solvers, communicators, and collaborators. This project will take place in the Technology Integration classroom, which the
students attend once a week for 45 minutes. In this class, each student will have access to a desktop computer. MTA is
known for its diversity. MTA is a Title I school with 63% of our students on free or reduced lunch. We also have 5
subdivisions in our district with very affluent homes. Our school contains four self-contained special education classrooms,
three resource classrooms, and two gifted classrooms for approximately 800 students. 100% of MTA students attend the
Technology Integration course and are assessed on MTA Technology Standards. MTA has a large amount of technology in
the classrooms due to charter funding, as well as a technology forward county that uses ESPLOST funding to increase the
amount of technology in schools each year. Each classroom has a 3:1 ratio of students to devices, which is increased in
classrooms where children take advantage our Bring Your Own Device Policy. With a high population of Hispanic students,
it is important to recognize the value of their cultures view on work ethic, the American Dollar, the American Government,
and how they save and invest their financial income.

Demographics:
Teachers Students
White/Caucasian 98% 59%
Black/African American 1% 7%
Asian/Pacific Islander 1% 2%
Hispanic/Latino 0% 28%
Biracial 0% 4%
American Indian/Alaskan 0% Less than 1%

Students
Economically Disadvantaged 62%
Female 47%
Limited English Proficient 20%
Male 53%
Migrant Less than 1%
Students with Disability 14%

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

 Engaged Learning Project Draft Template
Time Frame: This Project will incorporate all 5th grade MTA Technology Standards and will be the overarching project for
the school year. It will last from August to May, with students have one day a week, 45 minutes, dedicated to working on the
project. Some collaboration with their financial coaching team may need to take place outside of that time due to scheduling
with those businesses and will be addressed on an as needed basis by the technology teacher.

Standards Assessed:
*All MTA Technology Standards, and ISTE Student Standards will be addressed in mini-lessons throughout the course of this
year-long project. The standards below are the big ideas and overarching standards for the project.

ISTE Standards

1. Creativity and Innovation: Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative
products and processes using technology,
d. Identify trends and forecast possibilities
2. Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work
collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments
b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats
3. Research and Information Fluency: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information
d. Process data and report results
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making: Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct
research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and
resources.
a. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project
b. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
c. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions
6. Technology Operations and Concepts: students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts,
systems, and operations.
b. Select and use applications effectively and productively

Georgia Common Core

1. MGSE5.OA.3 Generate two numerical patterns using a given rule. Identify apparent
relationships between corresponding terms by completing a function table or input/output
table. Using the terms created, form and graph ordered pairs on a coordinate plane.
2. ELAGSE5SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on
others ideas and expressing their own clearly.

3. ELAGSE5SL4: Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically

and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or
themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

4. ELAGSE5SL5: Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in
presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

5. SS5E2 The student will describe the functions of four major sectors in the U. S. economy.
Describe the bank function in providing checking accounts, savings accounts, and loans.

6. SS5E3 The student will describe how consumers and businesses interact in the U. S.
economy.

7. SS5E4 The student will identify the elements of a personal budget and explain why personal
spending and saving decisions are important.

Learner Objectives:

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

 Engaged Learning Project Draft Template
By participating in the All Grown Up Project, students will be able to successfully spend, save, and invest money in a
hypothetical real world situation with the support of a financial coaching team. Students will be able to use video and audio
recording hardware and software, use Google Drive to create and organize all components of the project, use Google Sheets
to create and manage a financial budget, and use video conferencing software with the support of a teacher. Students will be
able to summarize what they have learned about financial responsibility and create a plan to help students going to college
graduate debt free.

The hook or Introduction:

Have you ever said to yourself, I cant wait to be an adult! Well, now you have your chance! This year you are going to
transport into the virtual world of adulthood and learn all about how adults spend, save, and invest their money. Today so
many students graduate college with thousands of dollars in debt, and it is our chance to help stop this problem! You will get
the chance to meet with real life financial advisors to learn all about how money works in America and what you can do to
have a plan and stay out of debt. You will even create plans that we will share with the world about how to graduate college
debt free! This may sound overwhelming, but dont worry, you will have a financial coaching team to help you along the
way! Your final products will be on our website for the whole world to see, and you will present them at the end of the year
at the Technology Fair. Are you ready!?

Process:

Students will come to the lab once a week and start each class with the presentation of the task today. The teacher may
introduce a research task, a pitfall, a success, or even a community partner at the beginning of class. She will give students
their mastery for the class period and then allow students to work. Students will begin to direct the learning here, by making
choices based on the desired final outcome. The teacher will spend the class time acting as a facilitator and moving around
the room to support students as questions arise, and offer guiding questions to scaffold learning where needed. Some tasks
may require more than one class period to complete. Some students may be ready to move on to another task and the teacher
should be prepared to offer another task, or an enrichment task when needed.

Project Timeline:

August:
- Presentation of overall project, requirements, and final mastery
- Student research a career pathway of their choice including annual income
- Students create basic budget in Google Sheets
- Students begin project portfolio in Google Slides
September:
- Students meet with a local banker who teaches about spending vs saving and options for how to save money
- Students add a saving plan to their budget
October:
- Students meet with a local investor/financial advisor who talks about stocks, bonds, retirement portfolios, etc.
Students should gain an understanding of the many ways they may choose to invest.
- Students create an investment plan and add this to their budget.
November:
- Students meet with a banker, investor, or advisor and share their plans. They will be coached on how to make their
budget more effective for long term success
- Students will add audio/video evidence to projects of their coaching experience to their projects
December:
- Students will make edits to their project/budget based on their coaching experience
January:
- Students will experience their first pitfall/success
- Students will hear from a community member related to that experience (the experience presented will be based on
what community member is available at that time)
- Students will adapt budget based on the experience
February:
- Students will experience their second pitfall/success
- Students will hear from another community member
- Teacher aims to make the experience the opposite of the January experience
- Students adapt budget

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

 Engaged Learning Project Draft Template
March:
- Students will hear from a Tax Advisor about how taxes work and what to expect when filing taxes
- Students will create a section of their budget for taxes
- Students will research what taxes are used for
April:
- Students will complete a mini-research project about the financial makeup of another country
- Students will add a section to their presentation comparing American financial structure to that of the country they
studied

May:
- Students will create a College without Debt plan
- Students will meet one final time with their financial coach
- Students will add an audio/video of their coaching experience to their presentation
- Students will finalize presentations
- Students will upload Summary Plans and Presentations to class website, and present at the Technology Fair
(interview format) with a business partner

Product:

The end-product is a student presentation (Google Slides) in Google Drive that is a summary of all the financial work they
have done over the course of the school year. The presentation will include links to other documents on their Google Drive,
such as the students excel budgeting sheet, their interview documents, etc. The presentation will also include snipped
images of these documents as well and possibly audio/video documentation of interviews/coaching from the financial
coaching team. Finally, the presentation must include a reflection component about what the student learned and the impact
of the project on their real life. This reflection component will be shared with future classes before they begin the project.
Technology will be used for (1) research, (2) budgeting, (3) collaborating off-campus with financial coaches, and (4) the final
presentation. Students will work with the financial coaching team, and the teacher to come up with a rubric on a 4-point
scale that scores the standards, as well as the financial literacy learned. Students will use this end-product as their one-on-one
interview with local business partners at the MTA Technology Fair, and will publish these presentations on the school website
for the community to view. As one final component to the project, students will summarize what they have learned in a
College without Debt plan. They will create a suggested plan for how to spend, save, invest, and what to do about pitfalls
and success that will be posted to a public website for the public to read, and implement.

Technology Use:

Access to desktops or laptops is critical for students to access their work on their Google Drive. Students will also need
access to various other hardware and software including: Skype (to participate in coaching situations where the business
partner can not be present at the school building), Flip Cams or Cell Phones (to video record coaching sessions) OR Sound
recording software such as Audacity (for the same purpose), and internet access (for research, product creation, and
collaboration with outside sources). By having a variety of technologies being used on this project, the following Engaged
Learning Indicators are being met: Student-Directed, Student as Explorer, Teacher as Facilitator, Authentic/Meaningful,
Collaborative, and Performance-Based.

References and Supporting Material:

Items that would need to be created before or during implementation of this project:
1. Rubric for final presentation. To be made in collaboration with students. Can use a rubric making site
such as http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
2. Depending on the level of students, the teacher may choose to create a project template in Google Slides for
students to work within.
3. Depending on the level, and background knowledge the students have about spreadsheets, the teacher may
choose to create a budget template in Google Sheets for students to work within.
4. If the teacher is not provided with website hosting from the district, they would need to create a class
website for students to place final summaries and final presentations. Teacher can use a site such as
http://www.wix.com or http://www.weebly.com
5.
References:
1. Williamson, Jo. (207-2013). Indicators of Instruction for Engagement, Empowerment, and Deep
Understanding, Retention, and Transfer of Knowledge. Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA.

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

 Engaged Learning Project Draft Template
2. Williamson, Jo. (207-2013). LoTi Level Decision Chart. Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA.
3. Learning Quest Inc. (2007). LoTi Sniff Test. Retrieved 11 8, 2015, from LoTi Sniff Test:
https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lesson/files/JmEDnXosrT0wRg/LoTiSniffTest.pdf

What modifications have you made since you submitted your idea for feedback?
6. I added some details about what exactly will be included on the final presentation and how it will reflect a
digital portfolio based on feedback from Cindy Farr
7. I clarified the variety of partners (in the abstract) based on feedback from LaTrice Swain.
8. I clarified that students would interview community partners throughout the course of the school year,
based on the current task at hand (in abstract and process) based on feedback from Anastasia Caphart.
9. I added the component of researching the financial structure of another country to increase my cultural
component (in the abstract). I loved this idea! And it meets the needs of some deeper researching skills for
my 5th graders. Based on feedback from Tammy Rogers.
10. I added the College without Debt Plan as a final summary for students to post to a public website for
people to read and hopefully use. I wish I had a plan like this before starting my undergrad!! And how
cool that it would come from 5th gradersand hopefully they would apply it themselves and all graduate
debt free 11 years from now!! (in the product section) Based on feedback from Dr. Williamson.

Which indicators of Engaged Learning will be high in this lesson and Why?

I think the indicators of EL that are strong in this project are Collaborative (because of the financial coaching team),
Performance Based Assessments and multi-disciplinary (due to the standards being addressed across disciplines), and Teacher
as the facilitator (do to the student centered nature of the research and budget, as well as the use of the financial coaching
team). I also think I have increased the Culturally Responsive and Student as Teacher indicator based on my edits.

Which indicators would you like to strengthen?

I honestly feel like I am strong, or at least have a component of all the indicators of engaged learning. This is based on
myself looking at the checklist, and the feedback from my peers. Please let me know if you see an area that is not present.

What LoTI level do you think this lesson would be and Why?

I believe this lesson is at a LoTi level 6 because it includes higher levels of blooms taxonomy (evaluating), students have
input on their activities based on the career they chose, and how they decide to save, spend, or invest their money, there is a
strong emphasis on real-world applications, and there is 2-way collaboration outside of the classroom with community
members. The students products have a broad appeal, the unexpected paths (because there is so much student choice
involved) allow for a lot of problem solving, and the efficient use of the Google Drive by students for all aspects of the
project. On the sniff test, it mentions that in order to reach a LoTi 6, students must have access to technology at all times.
Based on the fact that this would happen in my classroom (a technology lab), this statement is true.

What help would you like to receive from us?

Any final feedback would be much appreciated. I dont want to add too much more to this already very deep project, but if
there are any glaring holes that you see I would love to know about it!

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University