Meaningful Products: Making the Whole Greater Than the Sum of the Parts.

The article focuses on the ways in which students can be instructed to find information for their school projects. Getting students to process the facts and other information they find in sources with a higher level of thought will result in a final product that represents the best of what students can offer. It will stretch their intellect and engage them in the learning process. When students add personal value to the results, they take more ownership and pride in their work. Going beyond the facts means that students will have to use higher-level skills to process the information found in sources, instead of just rewriting or copying and pasting those facts into a report or other product. Students can complete group projects concurrently with the individually written paper, using many forms of creative expression resulting in a presentation, performance or production using a variety of technology applications as appropriate. Collaborating across subjects and specialty areas aids students in synthesizing information and adds a grand dimension to learning.