Professor SuJin Choi's GTCH 3103 is a Project learning community-engaged class where students craft mathematics and science lesson plans for implementation in Washington DC schools. These lesson plans and their creation are informed by the students’ observations and assistance in middle and high school classrooms and what they have learned in the GW Teach classroom. As future educators, students gain in-classroom teaching experience throughout the semester as they implement their lesson plans. Students in Professor Choi’s GTCH 3103 Project-Based Learning designed full units of connected lesson plans for STEM courses in Washington D.C. public schools. Students served at 6 different high schools in the District. At these schools, students assisted in and taught various STEM subjects, including environmental science, algebra, physics, and Biology.
For information about Community Engaged Scholarship at GW: GW:https://go.gwu.edu/cesc
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Fall 2024
Professor: SuJin Choi
Students Reporting: 14
Time Reported: 932.25 hours
Community Partners:
In this course, GW students designed, developed, and taught project-based learning (PBL) lessons in DC middle and high schools. Students partnered with teachers at several local schools where they observed classes, assisted with instruction, and ultimately designed and taught their own week-long PBL units.
Calvin Coolidge Senior High School: GW students worked with science classes to create engaging PBL lessons that connected science concepts to real-world applications.
Columbia Heights Educational Campus: Students developed PBL lessons that incorporated STEM principles while supporting the school's diverse student population.
MacArthur High School: GW students designed and implemented PBL lessons for high school classes, focusing on making complex concepts accessible through project-based approaches.
McKinley Middle School: Students created PBL lessons for middle school students, adapting educational strategies for early adolescent learners.
School Without Walls High School: GW students developed motivating lesson plans that fostered growth mindsets through project-based learning approaches.
Stuart-Hobson Middle School: Students designed and taught PBL lessons tailored to middle school curriculum and collaborated with teachers to enhance classroom learning.
Student Comments:
"I learned that teaching in a project-based manner helps foster a growth mindset in students and motivates them about the course content through its application in the real world." - Student working with School Without Walls
"Learning classroom dynamics was a crucial part of the experience, especially when designing well-researched and motivating lesson plans for an entire week."- Student working with McKinley Middle School
"I learned how to design well-researched and motivating lesson plans for 7 days. This gave me insight into classroom management and how to adapt my teaching to different student needs"- Student working with School Without Walls
Fall 2023
Professor: SuJin Choi
Students Reporting: 13
Time Reported: 1,316.50
What students learned:
- Lesson-planning
- Lesson-editing
- In-person teaching methods and practice
Community Partners:
| Community Partner | # of students at the site |
| Calvin Coolidge Senior High School | 1 |
| Columbia Heights Educational Campus | 1 |
| Jackson-Reed High School | 1 |
| Jefferson Academy Middle School | 1 |
| McKinley Middle School | 2 |
| McKinley Tech High School | 2 |
| School Without Walls High School | 4 |
| Stuart-Hobson Middle School | 3 |
Student Comments:
“Unlike my previous GWTeach, PBL has given me the unique opportunity to challenge myself in creating a series of lesson plans for an entire unit. Thinking through how to best maintain student engagement while making each lesson cohesive and a continuation of previous lessons is daunting, but it’s been such a rewarding experience. I love how PBL has such a strong focus on engaging students with their community – it has been so incredible to see the different ways in which students approach the project and the connections they are able to make between the project and their own lives. The long-term nature of the PBL field experience has also given me the opportunity to get to know my students as individuals; having six days with one class has been such a great way to build relationships with the students, which only enriches the lessons. Taking PBL has been an exciting challenge, too. Teaching students an entire unit is a massive responsibility, and it’s empowering to know that when students think back to any content related to that unit, you’ll have been the one who taught it to them!” - Student who worked with a class at Jackson-Reed High School
“Overall, this was definitely by best GTCH experience; I loved this class and my assigned class!” - Student who worked with a class at School Without Walls High School
