Transcript Mushroom Management - NAU jan.ucc.nau.edu web server

Mushroom Management
Steps for Successful Group Projects
By:
Tricia Moore
Kathy Stemmler
Kristen Moorhead
Mushroom Management
Mushroom Management is a learning structure for organizing
classroom instruction around a problem-centered curriculum.
It is characterized by four phases of instruction:
1. Put ‘em in the dark
 Arouse interest and desire to
learn
 Help students want to invest
energy in solving a problem
2. Feed ‘em manure
 Carefully plan to provide
necessary materials, resources,
tools, and experiences
3. Stand back and watch ‘em
4. Chop off their heads and ship ‘em
 Plan a culminating activity that
brings the pieces together:
students present their projects
and receive feedback

grow
Give students time; trust that
you have provided the right
“fertilizer”; resist the urge to
solve the problem for them;
be available to serve as
coach and facilitator
Mushroom Management: Advantages
Process/problem-centered as opposed to content centered
Encourages higher-order thinking
Motivates and engages students
Encourages students to self-assess
Mushroom Management for Dental Hygiene Students
by Tricia Moore
Put ‘em in the dark
Problem: Show students a controversial ad (for example: Rinsing
with Listerine is better than using dental floss)
Feed ‘em manure
Provide students with resources (articles, search strategies etc)
that will give them background knowledge to understand the
issues involved (for example: characteristics of plaque biofilms,
effective methods of plaque removal, research methods, other
abstracts and articles on flossing or rinsing)
Stand back and watch ‘em grow
Let them ask questions, find answers, compare studies, analyze
data, methods etc.
Chop off their heads and ship ‘em
Invite a sales representative from the company (Listerine) and let
the students ask questions. They can then write reflections about
what they learned and how it will affect the decisions they make
in practice.
Mushroom Management for Middle School Earth
Science
by Kristen Moorhead

Put Them in the Dark:
Introduce students to several unusual rocks. Ask students what they notice about the
objects. Ask students what information they might want in order to find out more about
where the rocks came from and why they look the way they do.
•
Feed Them Manure:
During this phase, student will learn how to find out more about rocks through learning
about various rock test and what those tests tell students. For example, students will
learn that applying hydrochloric acid to a rock can tell you if the acid fizzes, the rock
contains calcite.
•
Stand Back and Watch Them Grow:
Student use the tools, techniques, and knowledge they learn in the “feed them manure”
phase to categorize a variety of rocks as sedimentary, metamorphic or igneous rocks.
They will justify their findings using evidence at a class science conference.

Chop Off Their Heads and Ship Them:
Finally, student will go on a field trip to the Grand Canyon. With the aid of the guide,
students will use their tools and techniques in the field to identify rocks that make up
different layers of the canyon. After identifying most of the rocks as sedimentary,
students will use this information to develop a theory of how Grand Canyon was
formed.
Mushroom Management for Economics/ Government
by Kathy Stemmler
You and your family have just won 4 million dollars
from a lottery ticket Santa put in your 4 year-old
sister’s Christmas stocking. What kinds of
experiences and choices will you and your family
have to make quickly?
Tricia’s Reflections

It was not easy to think of appropriate mushroom projects

I really like the idea of letting students learn by doing
themselves. I believe it is important to provide scaffolding
and check in with them along the way (watch them grow) to
be sure they are making best use of the resources (be sure
the manure you have provided is what they need)

I need to worry less about a good product and more about
students learning the process

What fun to learn how to add all of the sounds and
animations to a PowerPoint project and to combine ideas
with colleagues
Kristen’s Reflections



Creating a presentation on mushroom management has
been fun and challenging. Finding mushrooms was fun.
Who knew there was a plethora of mushroom clip art on the
web.
Developing a mushroom management lesson for a
classroom and succinctly explaining it on one slide was
challenging.
The process of creating this presentation collaboratively was
fun, because my colleagues’ creativity stretched my thinking
and abilities.
Kathy’s Reflections



This project-based, problem-centered alternative approach
to teaching grabs students immediately and encourages
them to design their own learning to solve real problems.
This presentation is exciting and a joy to participate in with
highly motivated, creative group members who know where
to find the best graphics and lay them out!
The subject matter is a teaching model that needs additional
research and clarification. I could find little at either the Cline
library or online except for information on the traditional
“negative” mushroom management style found in business
climates.
Mushroom Management
References
Norton, P. (1992) When Technology Meets the Subject-Matter
Disciplines in Education Part Three: Incorporating the Computer
as Method. Educational Technology 22(8), 35-44.
Kidder, J.T. (1981) The Soul of New Machine. Little, Brown and
company, Boston.
A Summary of Mushroom Management. Retrieved February 22, 2003,
from http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~tmh37/Web
Wizard/MM/mmusm.html
Stoehr, H. (2001). Mushroom Management. Retrieved February 22,
2003, from http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~has22/Mushroom/MM.htm