Here is a link to a project I did in my Algebra 2 Trig class.  I’ve been really impacted by the Ted Talk we watched in the beginning of the year about bravery vs. perfection and I’ve been frustrated at my student’s obsession with following the rules.  This project was very open-ended and the description of what I wanted from them was left purposely vague.

Plusses:

• The students were very into this project.  
• This was a great way to use/teach permutations/combinations without doing traditional instruction.
• The students had to take on much more ownership of this project and had to stretch to think about ways to deliver on the project.
• It was much easier for me in terms of developing this project.
• They enjoyed being resourceful in finding the toppings on Wendy’s home page and deciding that they needed to do combinations as opposed to permutations.
• Some groups were more creative than others in developing their final product (I received some very nice videos and presentations) and some were more traditional (simple posters).  

Minuses:

•  It was really hard for me to leave it totally open-ended.  When they pressed me on what the “product” should be, I did give them suggestions.  I wonder what they may have come up with if I hadn’t announced types of products.
• Even though I told them not to, some students did google the answer and gave a solution which some did not fully understand and others could have been so much more inventive if they didn’t go right to the solution.  But, to foster that sense of being resourceful, I had to let them have access to the internet.  Other than dinging them based on their grade, I don’t know how to prevent this obsession with just getting the answer.