Last night was an amazing Twitter filled evening. It was a brilliant mash-up of two Twitter chats that had participants discussing the blending of culture, authenticity, and agency in education co-moderated by New Tech Network and the team from #HipHopEd . The focus was on Project Based Learning and Hip Hop Education, which some might think makes an unlikely pair. Those people would be wrong.At the heart of the conversation were the core principles of both hip hop and PBL. Engagement in learning and student choice were prevalent themes as was the focus on synthesis of new and existing information and how to represent that through technology, art and community. Hip hop allows for self-expression through multiple medium
s like a well-crafted PBL unit does, often resulting in higher engagement while promoting student choice and demonstration of content knowledge. The natural marriage of these two topics also encourages cross disciplinary projects.
What was so exciting to watch were all of the creative thinkers who are experimenting with project design in after school programs, stand-alone PBL classrooms, and all types of communities sharing their resources and experiences so freely. The ideas came fast and furiously as questions were posed about the organic intersection between Hip Hop and project based learning in a variety of content areas where facilitators are making that integration come alive. Here are just a few resources and people who contributed to the rich conversation and some possible project/problem ideas for your own classroom.
Go to my full blog post for a breakdown of my favorite resources that were shared!