DECEMBER 12, 2017

PROJECT BASED LEARNING IN ELA

CYRANO IN THE 21ST CENTURY

JULIE KRISTIN
EDET709-J61
Kristin.julie@gmail.com
PROBLEM STATEMENT & PROJECT IDEA

In the 21st century, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to gain high school

students’ interest in classic literature. Students are now preoccupied with technology and other

modern matters, and reading classic literature is not high on their priority lists. However, it is

important that students engage in English language arts (ELA) courses and master common core

standards so that they can understand and analyze texts and improve their own reading and

writing skills. Project based learning (PBL) is a great solution to get apathetic ELA students

interested in reading classic literature; PBL can help students understand various concepts as

they are applicable to their own lives, and learners are also able to create an authentic product

during a PBL.

It is imperative that students discover the connections between their own lives and the

characters’ lives in the texts that they read in order to become invested in the stories and lessons.

In this PBL, “Cyrano in the 21st Century,” students will explore the question, “How can we

connect our current culture with classic literature?” Among other creative practices, students will

construct social media pages for characters in Edmond Rostand’s play, Cyrano de Bergerac.

Authentic and unique products will be created as students form personal connections to the

characters and themes within Cyrano de Bergerac. The PBL will include various social media

and technology-based products and will culminate with a group performance, video, or written

product that transforms classic literature into a 21st century creation.

TARGET AUDIENCE

The target audience for this PBL is a 12th grade inclusion ELA course, and the class

ranges from low ability to average ability students. Only five of the 23 students are minority

students, and none are English learners. Nine of the students receive extended time on

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assignments, and only five of the students met the state standards in ELA testing in the previous

year. All of the students in this course have failed at least one ELA course previously, and as a

whole, the class lacks enthusiasm toward classic literature. There are both a lead teacher (a

regular education teacher) and a co-teacher (a special education teacher) who help facilitate a

student-centered learning environment.

INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL

Project-based learning will be incorporated into the 12th grade ELA Cyrano Unit to

generate genuine and relevant learning experiences that create and hone critical thinking skills.

EXPLANATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL

Constructivism centers on students using their own experiences to create meaning in

academic content, and the teacher only serves as a facilitator to “assist the children in their

search for knowledge” (Ashton-Warner, 2003, p. 153). Students learn and retain the most from

lessons when they are actively participating and when students’ cultures, home lives, and

interests are incorporated into the instruction; students need to be active participants who can

relate information back to their own lives and beliefs (Haberman, 2003). When students can

relate academic learning to matters that are important and relevant to them, then they will learn

effortlessly (Smith, 2003).

An instructional model that values students’ independence and interests is project-based

learning (PBL). PBL is an instructional method that takes a student-centered approach to

learning and values distinctive, pertinent, and meaningful artifacts as demonstrations of

knowledge (Grant, 2002). Artifacts help students make real-life connections beyond the

classroom and can take countless forms as varied as written prose, a performance, or a

technology-based product (Larmer, 2014). Since PBL encourages student autonomy, learners can

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choose and construct artifacts that meet their own personal learning preferences and skills

(Grant, 2002). While the teacher facilitates learning, students do have voice and choice in the

learning process and the final product. The teacher typically imparts a timeline and milestones,

giving opportunities for feedback and evaluations to help learners throughout the learning

process (Levstik & Barton, 2001). By collaborating with teachers, peers, and others in the

community, students improve teamwork skills like problem-solving, communication, feedback,

organization, persuasion, and conflict resolution. PBL is a clear choice for teachers who want to

teach students “how to learn” to develop life-long learners who possess vital critical thinking and

problem solving skills.

While elements of a PBL may vary by subject, topic, class, teacher, etc., Grant (2002)

identified seven key elements of PBL: (a) introduction, (b) task, (c) process/investigation, (d)

resources, (e) scaffolding, (f) collaborations, and (g) reflection. Teachers can adapt these

components of PBL to fit their classrooms’ unique needs. While PBL can appear overwhelming

for some teachers who have always practiced a traditional classroom, PBL has the potential to

drastically improve student interest, engagement, and thus, learning.

RELATIONSHIP OF MODEL TO SPECIFIC PROBLEM

The seven basic components of PBL can easily be applied to the lesson “Cyrano in the

21st Century” to help students make modern-day connections to classic literature. Undoubtedly,

when the teacher initially gives students more control over their learning, the students will show

more interest in the classroom. In addition to having ownership over their education, students

will be more invested into the play as they uncover personal connections to their own lives.

While students have unique interests and life experiences, the majority of students view

technology as a significant part of their lives. Purposeful integration of 21st century skills and

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ideas creates energetic and engaged classrooms, and technology that is combined with project-

based learning (PBL) provides the most prolific and authentic way for students to improve

reading, writing, listening, and speaking (Boyle, 2015). Students will understand the significance

and relevance of Cyrano de Bergerac through the essential elements of a PBL (Grant, 2002):

o Introduction: Students view “Shakespeare on Twitter” to see how Romeo and Juliet can

be modernized to show connections to current social issues.

o Task: How can we connect our current culture with classic literature? Students will create

a meaningful artifact to demonstrate the connection of Cyrano de Bergerac to our current

culture.

o Process/Investigation: Students must use resources as they complete various activities

and steps necessary to complete their task; students will analyze, synthesize, and evaluate

information to understand the characters and themes in Cyrano de Bergerac.

o Resources: Students use various resources like the text, social media, websites, and

technology.

o Scaffolding: Periodically, the teacher guides students via conferences, worksheets,

timelines, templates, etc. as students work toward the final artifact.

o Collaboration: Students work in groups and provide peer feedback.

o Reflection: Students reflect through writing, discussions, and finally, through a self-

assessment and conference with peers and teachers.

Furthermore, by emphasizing significant content, 21st century skills, critical thinking,

student choice, collaboration, critique, revision, and a larger audience, the PBL model of

instruction will reveal the relevance of Cyrano de Bergerac and will help students engage in

genuine learning experiences.

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STATEMENT OF LESSON PLAN OBJECTIVES

The lesson objectives are listed below along with Bloom’s Taxonomy levels of

understanding.

Objectives & Bloom’s Taxonomy

• Examine literary themes and conduct a character analysis (Evaluate &

Analyze)
• Compare & Contrast issues in text, making connections between
contemporary and classic social issues (Analyze & Application)
• Apply knowledge through multiple mediums, formally and informally,
while collaborating with peers and teachers (Application &
Comprehension)

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 DETAILS OF THE LESSON PLAN

This PBL is based on ELA Common Core Standards and original lesson plans used in a

public high school in Hall County, Georgia, along with detailed instructions that were added and

modified from PBLU.org (Pieratt, 2014). For planning purposes, students could need 15 – 30

hours of class time for the learning process and the completion of artifacts. The “Project Work

Time Agenda” (Appendix A) and the “Performance Pitch Worksheet” (Appendix B) are

worksheets that a teacher could use to guide students, and additions/modifications could also be

made by the teacher depending on factors like class size, grade, etc.

INTRODUCTION

TEACHER ROLE GROUP/STUDENT ROLE

PRIOR: o Students read the entire play of Cyrano de

o Pre-teach any skills that learners are lacking (literary Bergerac
analysis, reading comprehension, writing skills, working o Students form groups per teacher guidance
in teams, computer skills, social media sites, etc.) o Students keep track of project work time
o Lead class in reading and discussions of the play agendas (Appendix A)
o Allow students to pick groups or group them in a specific o Students discuss modernized Shakespeare on
way (depending on various factors) and explain how Twitter
groups will be held accountable via project work time o Students journal/discuss the twitter
agendas (Appendix A) presentation

INTRODUCTION
o Google search versions of various Shakespeare plays
that have been modernized in “tweet” form (pick ones
that your class is familiar with!).
o Do an Internet search of “Shakespeare Twitter”
to find many examples. Choose an example of
a play students are likely to know, such as
Romeo and Juliet.
o Have students discuss how the themes,
characters and “staging” of the play were
modernized on Twitter. Discuss how the
themes of Romeo and Juliet remain modern,
since teenagers still fall in love despite
differences between their families.
o Show former student examples if possible

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 MAIN TASK
TEACHER ROLE
TASK
o Write the following Driving Question on the board and tell
students it will be the focus for the upcoming project:
o How can we connect contemporary culture with
classic literature?
o Teacher presents students with the idea of the “big
finish” --end product of a live or videoed performance or
modernized version of Cyrano that will be viewed by a
bigger audience (in addition to the class, other
classes/teachers, and possibly posted online for
educational purposes and/or on social media and shown
in other classes that are reading the play)
o The goal of this step is to get students excited
about the project–and motivated to do good
work—by showing them there will be a “big
finish” in front of a public audience.
o Help students generate a “Need to know” List
o The list can be recorded on the board, chart
paper, or digitally. Ask them to share out what
information or skills they will need to know to
complete this project and answer the Driving
Question.
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GROUP/STUDENT ROLE
o Students journal/discuss the driving question
o Ask questions/pay attention to info about the
end-product possibilities to answer the driving
question
o In groups, discuss and record the “Needs to
know” list of skills and info they will need
throughout this project. For example:
o What is Cyrano de Bergerac about?
o Who are the characters and how do
we analyze them?
o What are literary themes?
o What are “social issues”?
o What are the connections between
contemporary and classic social
issues?
o How do you create a Spotify playlist?
o How can we use Spotify to represent
what happens in Cyrano?
o How will we make our presentation?
PROCESS/INVESTIGATION

RESOURCES/SCAFFOLDING/COLLABORATION/REFLECTION

TEACHER ROLE GROUP/STUDENT ROLE

STEP 1: Personal Reflection. STEP 1 & 2:

o To warm students up to the topic of social o Students screenshot/print out various posts,
issues, write the following prompt on the board memes, etc. from social media sites to share
and ask them to write about it for a few with group/class
minutes and then discuss. o Students categorize the posts into 3
o What are some social issues you see categories: love, friendship, anger.
facing your peers today? (for o Students write and discuss about social issues
example, love, friendship, loyalty, now and in the past
etc.) What does it make you think
about? What does it make you
wonder? *Think about your
immediate friends, classmates or
acquaintances at school.
o What are some common themes we
are hearing? Do you think these are
new issues? Old issues?
o The purpose of this exercise is to help
students see that social issues such as love,
honor, friendship, etc. affect us all and are not
new.
STEP 2: Social Media
o Teachers will guide students to do the
following: Ask students to print out or take a
screenshot of one of the following examples of
various types of posts/communications on
social media from “their world”: twitter, IG,
Facebook, Twitter
o In their groups, students will categorize their
social media findings into at least 3 categories
(love, friendship, anger)
o What are some common themes we
are hearing?
o Do you think these are new issues or
old issues?
o Connect the discussion to themes
from Cyrano and explain that these
issues are what will allow us to
appreciate a book written in the
1800’s, because we can connect with
the same feelings from our own
experiences.

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STEP 3: Groups begin character analysis. STEP 3:
o Groups are assigned the 3 main characters o In groups, students complete character
and start recording info for character analysis; analysis on main characters which includes a
Teachers guide students to do the following: social media page for their characters.
o Part 1: Character analyses should be on
going throughout the play and can take any of
the various forms:
o drawing caricatures or epitaphs;
writing eulogies; designing a
scrapbook page; completing basic
graphic organizers; responding to
writing prompts such as those
provided by
o The more you scaffold this process
for students, the better they will be
able to make inferences necessary to
develop a social media page (the
next stage of the project).
o Part 2: Teacher guides students to create a
facebook social media account for your
characters online if permitted by school
(teacher can create alternative paper-based
solution otherwise)
o Students need to take on the
perspective of their characters and
complete all the information in the
first person. Have students complete
the following tasks for their character,
but encourage them to add more:
o Create the Facebook profile,
including: work, education, location,
philosophy, sports, arts and
entertainment, activities and
interests, basic information, contact
information; create a profile picture
album and/or other albums; show
who they would be “friends” with
(from the play and you could include
current actors/characters as long as
you can explain the relationship);
recommended pages; people they
may know.
o For every act, you must include one
“post” or “status update” that
summarizes This is an ongoing
assignment, and is the in-class
display of their character analysis.
Set a schedule with the class for
Facebook updates to be shared and
displayed.

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 o As you complete the next task (Task
4), you will also post songs on your
facebook page for each act.

STEP 4: Creating a soundtrack for all 5 acts STEP 4: Creating a soundtrack for all 5 acts
o Part 1: Students begin making musical o Part 1: Students begin making musical
connections to the text, & the teacher guides connections to the text via notes on themes
them to do the following: o Part 2: Students create their playlists
o Like the way in which Facebook-style
pages feed an ongoing conversation
about characters, students will create
a musical soundtrack for the play,
which is the basis for a discussion of
the play’s themes.
o As the groups review each act, they
should keep notes about how they
might make musical connections to
the play.
o After each act, ask students to think
about a song that represents a major
theme. Have them cite specific
quotes and page numbers from the
book, paralleled with specific lyrics
from the song.
o Part 2: Creating the playlist—teachers will
guide students on the instructions below.
o Students can choose how they will create their
playlist (imovie, Spotify, etc.)
o At the conclusion of Act 1 (and at the
conclusion of each act) students create a
soundtrack, presented as a playlist.
Depending on technology access in the school
and for students at home, you may choose to
complete this step in a variety of ways.
Students could create mixes in a program like
iTunes or iMovie that, when played in order,
provide a soundtrack for the play. Students
could also use an online service such as
Spotify.com.
o Regardless of how the music is presented,
students will write liner notes for each song,
which should be a minimum of one paragraph
of reflective writing that illuminates the
selection of the song for a specific act of the
play. The liner notes for each song should
show exactly where the music physically fits in
the play, including a specific textual reference,
and a brief explanation of how or why that
song was chosen.

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 o Students will incorporate links to
different songs/music within the
facebook profile posts as well.
o They will need to create a playlist that parallels
all five acts of the play. In total the playlist will
consist of 5-10 songs—at a minimum the
playlist should include one song per act.
o Teacher will show examples of soundtracks by
googling some popular movies that their class
is familiar with. Below are some samples of
well-known soundtracks for literary works or
books students may have read. You may
choose to review them as models with the
class prior to starting this step of the
project. You may need to provide a brief
overview of the plot and then ask students,
“Why do you think this song goes with the
storyline?”
o Romeo and Juliet
o Harry Potter
o The Hunger Games

STEP 5: Teacher revisits the “main event” and groups STEP 5: Groups collaboratively decide on an act/scene
pick act of play to modernize for their main event
o Students should have the option to pick which
act they would like to work on for the next
segment of the project. By being given choice
in this crucial step, students are likely to be
more motivated and engaged in the content of
their final product/performance.

STEP 6: Teacher explains that Students must “pitch” STEP 6: Groups collaboratively develop a “pitch” for
their final product their original transformation of Cyrano de Bergerac to
o Groups create a pitch for their performance present to an audience.Use Appendix B.
and will use the pitch worksheet to record their
info (Appendix B). Remind students that they
should consider themselves media moguls,
who have identified archetypal characters and
timeless themes in this classic play, and now
wish to bring Cyrano de Bergerac to the
current generation in the form that they
choose.
o The pitch should be a collaborative effort by all
members of the team. The pitch should be a
2-3 minute presentation and it should include
the following:
o Which act of the play they will be
working on and a 2-3 sentence
summary of the plot of that act.
o The chosen medium for performance
(see options provided below)

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 o Who will be involved
(actors/characters, producers,
writers, etc.)
o Where your work will be done (e.g., if
students are filming, where will this
happen?)
o What song students plan to use if
they are doing a music video
o What preparation you will need to do
o Concerns or challenges you foresee
o Students may choose to do any of
the following—or suggest other
ideas—for their performance: Video
projects, such as: A trailer for a movie
of Cyrano de Bergerac; An animated
version of their act of the play; A
music video based on their act of the
play Live performance projects, such
as act out a modern version of their
act of the play; perform original music
based on their act of the play;
Perform spoken word based on their
act of the play; Publishing projects,
such as: Write and publish a modern
version of their act of the play; Write
and publish poetry based on their act
of the play; Write and publish a
graphic novel of their act of the play;
or possibly combining elements of
these performances/products, such
as writing, publishing and performing
a modern version of the entire play.

STEP 7: After completing their pitch, advise students STEP 7: Students give and receive feedback from
that they will show their pitch through a “fishbowl” peers through “fishbowl” activity
experience in order to give peer feedback.
o A detailed protocol is provided below: Have
two teams (A and B) sit with their chairs
across from each other in the middle of the
classroom. The remaining students in the
class create a circle with their chairs around
the two teams, watching the protocol. Team A
pitches their idea to Team B first. Team B
provides feedback. Then the teams switch
roles and repeat the protocol. Point out the
importance of providing “kind, specific, and
helpful” feedback.

STEP 8: After this activity ask students to make any STEP 8: Students edit pitches based on feedback.
necessary changes to their pitch, including suggestions
offered by their peers.

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 o To check their pitch, the teacher can do one of
the following: Have students write a bulleted
list of their revised pitch and hand it to you on
their way out the door that day. Hold a short
conference with each team to discuss their
revised pitch.

STEP 9: Students finalize their pitch to the class by STEP 9: Students finalize pitches to class and make
doing the following: any last edits to their final project idea
o 1. Presentation: Students present project in
the form of a storyboard to the class and
summarize ideas, hopes, and fears for the
process and final product. (2-3 minutes)
o 2. Clarifying questions: The audience asks
questions to better understand the project: the
purpose, process, or final product. (3-4
minutes)
o 3. Warm feedback: The audience shares
perceived strengths of the project design. The
presenter may not respond during this time.
(3-5 minutes)
o 4. Cool feedback: The audience shares any
concerns they may have with the project
design. Cool feedback may be presented as a
probing question. The presenter may not
respond during this time. (3-5minutes)
o 5. Response to feedback: Presenters can
respond to any of the feedback they received.
(3 minutes)
o 6. New designing: The group (presenter and
audience) work together to redesign a project
that incorporates or responds to the feedback
provided. (5-10 minutes)

o STEP 10: Students receive critical feedback STEP 10: Students make their finalized pitch to an
from professionals, experts or other adults on “expert” in the “real world.”
their drafts/storyboard.
o Once students have finalized their pitch, their
pitch should be given to an authentic
audience. If possible, the teacher should line
up “experts” to come into the classroom to
hear these pitches. Experts may include
drama, chorus, and band teachers, parents,
community members such as musicians,
individuals working in the field of multimedia,
or an editor or producer. If an individual cannot
come into the classroom, an email, conference
call or Skype meeting can also work. The
purpose is for students to get feedback from
the “real world.” You may choose to do these
pitches in front of the entire classroom or in

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 smaller groups. Speak with the expert in
advance to explain the project and provide a
framework for discussing student work. A
basic protocol for providing feedback on the
drafts could be: Something I liked
was...Something I wonder is...
o This benchmark should be evaluated to
ensure that (1) students are prepared to meet
with the expert, (2)students have completed
their draft, and (3) students have thought
through the necessary details and are
confident with their content.
o Teacher should be present during the time
allotted for expert feedback, but if this is not
possible, plan to follow up with the expert and
the students to hear what feedback was
offered and provide further suggestions or
support for students to address what the
expert discussed.

STEP 11: Provide time and resources for students to STEP 11: Students work collaboratively to
rehearse/create their final product. create/rehearse their artifact (live performance, written
document, recorded performance, etc.).

STEP 12: Provide time for students to present their
artifact to the class and larger community in various
ways and use the rubric to assess the final artifact.
STEP 12: Students will perform or show their artifact in
various ways in class and in the “real world” in some
way--to other classes, teachers, and/or posted online
for a greater community (ie teachers youtube, social
media, etc.); students will complete a self-assessment
rubric.

STEP 13: Conference with students to discuss both STEP 13: Conference with teacher to discuss both
their self-assessment and teacher’s assessment on group’s self-assessment and teacher’s assessment on
rubric for final product. rubric for final product.

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 RESOURCES

TEACHER ROLE STUDENT ROLE

o Computer lab in classroom & media center o Utilize the resources

o Library Resources o Discover other various resources during the process
o Student phones
o Various apps (imovie, Spotify, snapchat, facebook, etc.)
o Cyrano de Bergerac Text
o Example Soundtracks
o Various worksheets/timelines for students/groups to help
students stay organized as needed
o Presentation Rubric

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ASSESSMENT COMPONENT

In addition to continual feedback/milestones throughout the process of the PBL, a rubric

will be used to assess the skills used and quality of the final artifact that align to the learning
objectives. Not only will the teacher assess each group, but the group will do a self-assessment as
well that the teacher will use to conference with each group before/after the presentation.

Awesome Admirable Acceptable Unacceptable Self- Teacher

Assessment Assessment
4 3 2 1
Critical Thoughtfully and Identifies relevant Usually justifies Misinterprets
thinking accurately arguments, justifies results and data, gives
interprets results, results, offers reasons offers reasons unjustified
shows in-depth arguments
understanding of
major ideas
Quality of Covers topic Includes essential Includes most Lacks essential
information thoroughly, information, includes essential information
includes details some supporting information,
that support the details details are
topic somewhat
sketchy
Organization Well organized Organized, some Some Not organized,
and coherent, topics are out of organization, topics make no
topics are in logical order, topics jump sense
logical sequence, conclusions are around,
includes clear generally clear conclusions are
introduction and unclear
conclusions
Grammar All grammar and Only one or two errors More than two Very frequent
and spelling spelling are errors grammar and/or
correct spelling errors
Creativity Visually Visually attractive, text Text is Text is very
appealing, clean is easy to read, colors sometimes hard difficult to read,
simple layout, text enhance readability, to read, layout is
is easy to read, graphics and special sometimes cluttered and
graphics enhance effects do not distract graphics or confusing
understanding of from understanding special effects
ideas ideas distract from
understanding
Oral Well prepared, Engages audience, Clear and Not clear, not
presentation speaks clearly, fluid delivery, uses understandable, understandable
makes eye contact different approach uses limited
with audience, other than simply delivery
delivers with ease, reading screen, invites techniques
invites questions questions
Teamwork Willingly accepts Fulfills individual role Works toward Works toward
and fulfills within group without group goals with group goals
individual role in prompting, respectful occasional only when
group, sensitive to of others prompting, prompted,
feelings and needs maintains needs
of group members positive attitude occasional
reminders to be
sensitive to
others

Total

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DEFENSE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL

PBL challenges the idea of a traditional teacher-led classroom and incites student-

centered learning that builds and hones critical thinking skills that will create life-long learners.

Because students investigate and research how the characters and themes within Cyrano de

Bergerac connect to their own lives, project-based learning is a superlative model for students to

follow to foster genuine learning processes that lead to authentic artifacts. This PBL helps

students find relevant meaning in seemingly irrelevant classic texts.

In this lesson, “Cyrano in the 21st Century,” the teacher relinquishes much control to the

students and acts as a facilitator to their learning experiences. Students must work

collaboratively, and they do so in a safe environment where they are not afraid to make mistakes,

but rather, they know that mistakes are a crucial part of the learning process as they work

together. Project-based learning was the most suitable instructional model because there was a

driving question that led students to investigate and create authentic artifacts throughout a

process; the teacher served as a facilitator, scaffolding and giving feedback, along with expert

and peer feedback (Grant, 2002). The driving question is open-ended, and therefore, there is no

“right” answer which allows students multiple ways to respond. PBL gives students power over

their learning; students select the type of music, the song, the act in the play, and from many

possibilities for a final product. Students exercise self-expression as they work in groups to

collaborate, organize, prepare, revise, and perform different assignments. Learners collaborate

and use their individual strengths to contribute during the various processes of completing their

final product. This instructional model includes key components of ensuring students’ success:

learning is personalized for each learner (Basham, Hall, Carter, & Stahl, 2016), and students can

choose from a varied list of tasks (Ames, 1992). Since PBL heavily involves student

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collaboration and is student-centered, it could be easy for some students to slack off and rely on

others to do their part of the work; the teacher must be cautious of this potential problem as

he/she facilitates learning. Through observations and group/student conferences, teachers can

address the problem of uninvolved students as needed.

Other constructivist approaches, like anchored instruction and problem-based learning,

could be considered for this ELA classroom because both types of instruction encourage students

to be active participants who create meaningful work. While both anchored based instruction and

problem-based learning are student-centered with the teacher as a facilitator of learning, neither

type of instruction would be suitable for this ELA classroom (Fandrey, 2012; Larmer, 2014).

Anchored instruction would not be an ideal model since it involves students viewing a story that

eventually leads to a predicament that they need to solve (Bransford & Stein, 1993), and this

model would not fit as well with the learning objectives for this class and Cyrano de Bergerac.

Additionally, problem-based learning would not be the best fit to help students find personal

connections to classic literature because it uses scenarios or studies that help students solve a

complex problem (Larmer, 2014). Furthermore, a cognitivist model like Gagne’s Nine Events of

Instruction would not be appropriate to help students find relevance through collaborating to

create an original, relevant, and creative artifact because Gagne’s model of instruction restricts

students from guiding their own learning (Gagne, Brigg, & Wager, 1992). Gagne’s model creates

a passive learning environment for students that restricts creativity.

However, Keller’s (1987a) ARCS model of motivational design is one method that could

be applied to this ELA classroom and the “Cyrano in the 21st Century” PBL to enhance student

motivation. Keller’s (1987) four components, or conditions, (a) attention, (b) relevance, (c)

confidence, and (d) satisfaction, can be applied to various types of instruction to make the

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instructional materials more appealing to students. Since the goal of this PBL is to help students

meaningfully understand the relevance and importance of classic literature, this model of

motivation would undoubtedly enrich this PBL instruction. While other models of instruction

could potentially be used or combined with this lesson, PBL fits this particular problem of

instruction best, allowing students to take ownership of their learning. Students learn the content

or specific skill, but they also “learn how to learn” through PBL instruction so that they can be

successful critical thinkers and problem solvers throughout their lives.

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 REFERENCES

Ames, C. (1992). Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. Journal of Educational

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 Appendix A
Project Work Time Agenda
Instructions: In class, make notes on the suggested timeline of events and mark what was
accomplished each day.
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

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 Appendix B
Performance Pitch Worksheet

Team Members:_______________________________________________________________

Choose your act: I II III IV V

Write a 2-3 sentence summary of the plot of that act:

How does this summary connect to your pitch?

Roles: What roles will each group member take on for this performance? (actors/characters,
producers, writers, etc.)

Location: Where your work will be done (i.e., if you are recording, where will this happen?)
Song: If you are doing a music video or musical performance, what song do you plan to use?
Why?

Preparation: What preparation you will need to do to get ready for this benchmark?

Anticipation: What concerns or challenges do you foresee preparing for your final performance?

Resources: Who/what will you access as sources of support in preparing for your final
performance?

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