Project Management

My students have always struggled with staying focused on larger projects. It’s easy to tell them, “stay focused this is due Friday!” However, when it comes down to it I would still have many students wasting precious class time and rushing to finish everything the day before the assignment is due.

One thing that I feel has really helped me teach my students how to manage their time and break larger activities into manageable parts, is taking ideas from the business world! How? Creating a project plan and a weekly to-do list.

After introducing the project, rubric, and examples, I had students draft out their project using this Project Management document:

Then, students broke their big ideas into daily tasks. Each day they add any remaining tasks from the previous day, and complete what they can.

Overall, the majority of students (over 60% when I took a little survey) felt the activity helped them focus and manage their time. They admitted it was often difficult to figure out what to do each day, and this gave them a clear idea!

The final result:

I would love to hear what task management strategies work for you and your students.

-Ms. K