Planning with the QEP in mind

In a nutshell...

Use a Broad Area of Learning to frame the guiding question. Lay the foundation of the project with Cross-Curricular Competencies. Use Subject-Area competencies and methodologies (the research process in Science & Technology and Social Sciences, the creative process in Arts Education, etc) to anchor the project process. Get printable version Version imprimable française Flash Animation: English | Français

Broad Areas of Learning

The issues raised by the Broad Areas of Learning can make student learning in the subject areas more meaningful. These issues serve to establish connections between life questions that concern students and the more formal knowledge in the subject-specific programs. Because the attitudes and behaviors addressed in the BALs can only be acquired through practice, the learning situation should provide opportunities to take action.

In project development, while they can be used to help us design meaningful questions, they can also be used to look back and check the validity of a project idea or question… perhaps to reframe it. With the mystery genre in mind for an English Language Arts project we could have these questions:

• " What makes a good mystery story?"
  This question is associated with the Media BAL because it focuses on the language and structure of the mystery genre in text and other media.
• " What does a mystery writer do to write a mystery story?"
  This question is associated with the Personal and Career Planning BAL. The student will approach mystery writing through the perspective of the tasks associated with it.

Interdisciplinary projects represent another way to approach the issues related to the BAL. Each discipline will look at the problem or question through the lens of its own research process and disciplinary content.

Cross-Curricular Competencies

The cross-curricular competencies guide how the project will be structured and unfold in the classroom. The process must be transparent to the students in order for them take responsibility for their own learning and for them to be aware of and reflect on the processes and strategies that are involved in the targeted competencies. For an example of this, see: The Anatomy of a Social Studies Project.

Subject Areas

The subject area competencies and their key features provide a framework for active learning. They describe the actions which the students carry out in order to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes associated with the subject. These actions should be embedded in the various activities designed into the project.

The subject area processes describe the research and creation processes associated with different areas of learning: the scientific process, the creation process in art, the research process used by historians, etc. Sometimes they are explicitly described in the curriculum, sometimes they are embedded or implied. In all cases, you can use them instead of the generic project process. Example of Elementary Subject Area processes.

This section of the workshop was created by Christine Truesdale, Resource and Development team. QESN-RÉCIT