by Guest Blogger: Marc Solano, Class of 2012, APES student
**Disclaimer by Mrs. Riha - "I did, however, give a scantron final in addition to these projects sooo... maybe Marc's trying to tell me something? :D"
As the end of the year approaches, many students are studying (or trying to study!) for final exams. Many people in this year’s APES class are in other high paced classes, so the stress levels many be higher than they would like. Many teachers understand the pressures of a written final and have instead opted to collect final grades in the form of a final project. Many students prefer these projects over spending hours filling a scantron (I for one agree wholeheartedly). Granted, there are some pros and cons to choosing projects over written finals, which I will briefly go over.
Let’s face it: written finals tend to be boring! Think about it this way: you are on a road trip with your family. It’s been hours since the last rest stop and you are dying to get out and stretch. In another scenario you also on a trip, this time on a train. It’s been hours since the last stop and you feel the need to get up and do things. However, unlike driving in a car, you are allowed to get up and explore. Personally, I have been on a few long train rides and though it takes quite a few hours, it is much more enjoyable simply because I am able to walk around. Finals are like that. If given two choices, would you rather sit at a desk for a couple hours filling in a whole scantron or writing an essay? Or would you rather have the opportunity to get your hands dirty (figuratively of course) and be able to exercise some freedom?
People demonstrate their knowledge differently. While some people are great at mentally recalling knowledge to complete a written final, others are not. Some people are visual, auditory, or spatially oriented, so they are more likely to succeed if the grades are focused more towards their strengths. If you are an artsy person, you might like doing a relevant art project vs. an essay. Or if you like to hear things, you might want to make a video or song. If you are very hands-on, you may like to build something. If you like cold hard facts… you’ll want a scantron.
For this year’s APES class, all the students are involved in their own little project – from blogging, to building, to decorating and making signs. A couple weeks ago, we were given a list of possible projects and we chose from those, or we proposed our own ideas. Below is a basic list of projects the class is participating in:- Blogging about various environmental topics
- Decorating display cases for monarch butterflies and ecosystem services of prairies
- Building benches for a oak savannah
- Building bird houses for the oak savannah
- Creating species labels for plants in the butterfly garden
- Creating a Google map of the species of plants in the oak savanna
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