Darian Liley

CIED 428-103
Dr. Barbara O’Donnell
December 7 2023

Essential Project Design Reflection – Project II

Please use the expandable boxes to describe, verify, and substantiate the following components of your
project.
Key Knowledge, Understanding, and Success Skills
Describe how the project is focused on teaching key knowledge and understanding derived from
standards, and success skills including critical thinking/problem solving, collaboration, and self-
management.

The standard our project our project focused on was K.CC.A.2, which states that students would be able to count
forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of having to begin at 1). For the
Breaker Ed Project, my group built a calendar from a used computer. A calendar allows the students to remember
the date and day of the week. It also allows the students to remember important holidays coming up. The
students could even add their birthdays to the calendar. Our idea was that the teacher could keep the calendar on
her desk, so the students could take note of the date changing each day. This allows the students to critically think
through the month ahead and it promotes self-management.

Academic Language
Explain what content areas are involved in your project and how using the language of the content area
and its standards will helps you and your students better understand the concepts of the discipline.

Academic language used: calendar, months, weekdays, and holidays.

This project covers information related to a calendar such as important dates to remember. It allows the students
to remember important holidays and events going on each day. This project allows students to start
understanding the importance of making a schedule and staying organized. The academic language listed above
will be used for the rest of their life, so it is important that students understand how to use a calendar early on.
This project also allows students to remember the order of the months and what year it is.

Challenging Problem or Question

Explain how the project is based on a meaningful problem to solve or a question to answer which was
open-ended and engaging.
The use of a calendar allows the students to answer the question of what year it is? What month it is? What
month comes after the current month? What day it is? What day of the week it is? Which days of the week are
school days and weekends? Are there any days this week that have an important holiday?

This project allows students to think through the days of the week and how it impacts them.
Was the problem or question challenging for you? How do you know?
Throughout my education, I learned how to read a calendar and the importance of it. Thus, the question was not
challenging for me since I learned about this years ago. But I hope this project helps the teacher inform students
how to read a calendar and its importance.

Sustained Inquiry
Describe the evidence you generated questions, found and used resources, asked further questions, and
developed answers and solutions.
The only evidence my group used was researching a standard that went well with educating students on how to
read a calendar. I generated questions that teachers could ask through my own experiences in the classroom. I
thought through important questions that the students need to know about a question. I was then able to
develop answers and solutions from my own knowledge as me and my group members thought through how to
best help the students learn about this topic.

Authenticity
Did the project have a real-world context, use real-world processes, tools, and quality standards, make a
real impact, and/or is connected society's concerns, interests, and identities? Substantiate your answer
with evidence.
This project did have a real-world context and connected to society’s interests. Our society operates by using a
calendar to keep trach of the date. Our calendar also highlights important holidays that our country celebrates
throughout the year. The website Reading Rockets states, “Calendars help young children learn the basics of the
days of the week and the months of the year. Your calendar offers opportunities for other learning as well.”
Thus, the calendar is a great way for students to learn societal interests. The students learn the days of the week
and important holidays. Information the students will need to know for the rest of their life.

Voice & Choice

Describe how the project allowed you to make some choices about the products you created, how you
worked, how you researched, and how you used your time.
For this project, me and my group thought through a few ideas that we could turn this dated computer into. We
discussed turning it into a jewelry box or a calendar. But we decided to go forth with the calendar idea so it could
be used in the classroom. Then my group began the deconstruction process. We tore apart the old computer and
saved the important pieces we would need to make a calendar. For example, we kept the keys of the computer to
turn them into the pieces that said the date. After we finished deconstruction, we began creating the calendar
and making it look aesthetically pleasing. Throughout the project we used our time wisely by each helping with
spray painting, the notebook, or recording the process in documents.

Reflection
In what ways did you reflect on what and how you learned, and on the project’s design and
implementation?
The breaker ed project taught me many things. I learned the importance of using recycled materials and the ways
we can turn recycled materials into beautiful creations. I also learned ways that I could do a similar project with
my future students. It was also neat to look around the classroom and see a variety of creativity. Each of my
classmates are creative in their own ways and it was sweet to see this with my own eyes. Throughout the project,
I felt supported and encouraged by my classmates and Dr. O’Donnell. I learned how to deconstruct a computer
and turn it into a useful tool for a classroom. I enjoyed working with my group on this project and learned a great
amount through it.

Critique & Revision

Explain how you were able to give and receive feedback on your work, in order to revise your ideas and
products or conduct further inquiry.
Throughout the Breaker Ed Project, my group received feedback through our classmates and Dr. O’Donnell.
During our project we had the idea of using velcro pieces to put the computer keys as the dates on the calendar
and be able to move them around. However, we could not find the right velcro pieces, so Dr. O’Donnell helped us
problem solve, and she found makeshift velcro that we could use. Thus, helping my group revise our initial idea
and think through other ways to make the calendar work.

Public Product
Explain how you were able to demonstrate what you learned through your presentation. What did you
learn from your audience?
Our presentation went well and our classmates encouraged our final product. At the beginning of our
presentation, we highlighted the ideas we came up with besides a calendar, such as a jewelry box. Then we
mentioned the struggles we ran into. For example, the computer was very difficult to take apart and we had to
ask Ryan to help us. Lastly, we described the various ways a teacher could use this calendar in his/her classroom.
Our audience loved the calendar idea and the way we included holidays and birthdays.