College Success PBL

Students in Mr. Tyler Kirby’s 4th period Introduction to Career Clusters for 8th grade launched a journey into Project Based Learning by investigating the question “What does it require to effectively transition from a high school senior into a successful college freshman?” The students began conducting research by having juniors and seniors in Dorman High School in Mr. Austin Baker’s, Mrs. Jeneane Allgood’s, and Mr. Ray Tedder’s classes complete surveys. The students used the survey responses and articles to construct their “eight college essentials” that every freshman should possess. Over the next couple of weeks, students heard college professors speak to their class, learned about interviewing and letter writing, and sent emails to college professors and students asking for suggestions. Students then created a unique presentation to share what they had learned. The culminating product was a group Google slide presentation that they shared with seniors in Mr. Cash’s class at Dorman and answered questions. At the end of the presentations, the upperclassmen provided feedback on how the students did and what they could improve on. Overall, our eighth grade students handled the situation well and got a head start on how to be prepared for college and the work force!