How big is your classroom?

Terry Smith, fourth-grade teacher from Hannibal, Missouri, makes a habit of connecting his students with learners around the globe. Right now, just in time for Halloween, students from Pakistan, Texas, and Taiwan, among other places, are collaborating with Smith's students on the Monster Project. Classes trade written descriptions of monster "parts," then build prototypes, and eventually work their way up to full-scale monsters (which may go on to star in videos or get motorized in a robotics lab). Along the way, students practice collaboration, compromise, and group decision making, all in a multicultural context. As Smith explains, "That makes our classroom as big as we want it to be, stretching out to other rooms in other states and countries." Read more, or take a look at a photo from Smith's class in our Reinventing Project-Based Learning Flickr group.