The Ultimate Learning Experience: Why Every Unit Needs a Culminating Event

Imagine This:

Imagine spending a significant amount of time training students how to create their own robots.  You teach them mechanical engineering, electrical systems, computer programming, and pneumatics.  You guide them on how to use specific tools needed for construction.  And since your robots would be built for a purpose, you would assist your students in the planning and building process of the robots with specific functions in mind.  

Now imagine that your students’ robots have finally been created.  After weeks or even months of successes and failures, the robots are built and ready to run!  You walk around the room and look at each robot, consider how well each student has done, provide each student with a grade based on their performance, and then you tell your students to bring their robots home.  

Wait…what?  You’re not going to let the students run their robots?  You’re not going to see if their robots can perform the functions they were created for?  You’re not going to provide your students with the opportunity to show off what they’ve learned? 

What a downer.  And yet this is often how we go about educating our students about a particular topic.  We teach students content knowledge, have them convey what they’ve learned with some form of assessment, give them brief feedback, and then move on to the next topic.  No wonder our students can become easily disengaged from the process of learning!  

We shouldn’t be teaching our kids just to acquire knowledge.  We shouldn’t be teaching kids just to perform so they can earn a grade or prove competency.  We SHOULD be teaching kids information so that they can APPLY what they have learned.  

But how do we as educators provide opportunities for our students to apply what they have learned, other than the usual suspects – tests, essays, homework assignments, etc.?  How do we provide opportunities for our students to show off what they have learned in order to not only achieve a grade, or a competency status, but to experience joy and pride in their newfound expertise?  

We provide our students with the glorious finish line at the end of the race!  The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!  The holy grail at the end of the quest!  We provide them with an activity at the end of their unit of study that helps them convey what they have learned in an enjoyable way, that fosters a love for learning, and increases the chances of enduring understanding!  We give them, drumroll please…THE CULMINATING EVENT!

What Is a Culminating Event in Education? 

A culminating event is the final activity of a unit of study that has the ability to highlight a student’s authentic understanding of what they have learned.  This endeavor provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate their abilities through different methods, in engaging and meaningful ways.  

What Is the Value of a Culminating Event?

• A culminating event allows students to convey what they have learned in an authentic manner.  Instead of determining what a student knows using a more traditional method such as test-taking or essay writing, students can participate in an authentic context that makes more sense to the learner.  Students can engage in tasks that are directly connected to the application of the knowledge they have gained. 
• A culminating event can provide educators with a more accurate view of a student’s true abilities.  Allowing a student to apply what they have learned without being discouraged or distracted by added elements (i.e. test-taking abilities) generates a more valid assessment of his or her capabilities.
• A culminating event can help with cultivating enduring understanding.  When a student participates in an experience in which they can prove to themselves and others that they have grasped the concepts they have been taught, their understanding strengthens.  When students make connections between their learning and meaningful experiences, the application of their knowledge often results in enduring understanding.  
• A culminating event can foster a joy and appreciation of learning.  When students have the opportunity to see their acquired knowledge wasn’t just good for a test score, or for proving competency, but for real-life use, they come to a greater appreciation for their learning experiences.  The common “Why are we learning this?” question can be answered with culminating event experiences, and in turn, students are able to experience not only success but joy and purpose in the process of their own learning.  

What Are Examples of a Culminating Event?

Science Unit: If students have been studying astronomy, a culminating event could be an evening of stargazing, or an engineering design process project in which they create spacecraft specifically designed to visit a particular outer space destination.

Social Studies Unit:  If students have been studying a unit on Westward Expansion, a culminating event could be a historical simulation of students attempting to survive the rigors of traveling to Oregon.  

Writing Unit: If students have been studying how to write fictional stories, a culminating event could be reading their completed stories to younger students.  They could even go through a “publishing” process before reading their manuscripts.

Math Unit:  If students have been studying how to calculate the volume of rectangular prisms, a culminating event could be for students to find the volume of their own classroom, and then figuring out how many tropical fish could comfortably fit in their classroom if they turned it into an aquarium.  

Language Arts Unit: If students have been participating in a novel study, a culminating event could be for students to write a newspaper article about the main character, or write a letter to the author about specific questions they have about the text.  Students could also construct the setting of the story in a diorama or out of construction blocks.  

Visual Arts Unit: If students have been participating in studying different eras of art history, a culminating event could be for students to work in small groups and create works of art that resemble the different eras of art.  Students could then hold an art show for students or members of their school community, with their art gallery featuring the different eras. 

Physical Education Unit: If students have been participating in learning how to play basketball, a culminating event could be for students to play against staff members or community members.  They could also make an instructional video for younger students on all of the different facets of how to play the game of basketball.  Each student could have the opportunity to explain and demonstrate the different rules and skills of the game. 

Health Education Unit:  If students have been participating in learning how to eat healthy, a culminating event could be for students to create their own weekly meal plan.  They could also determine the cost of shopping for their weekly meal plan.  Students could participate in making a healthy snack or meal for their family, and then reporting back on how the student’s family members liked or disliked the prepared food. 

Music Education Unit:  If students have been participating in learning how to play the recorder, a culminating event could be for students to hold a concert for community members or younger students.  They could also play for a local nursing home or children’s hospital.  

Library Education Unit: If students have been participating in learning about how to use specific types of media on specific devices at school, a culminating event could be to help the librarian / media specialist teach younger students how to use the same types of media.  Another possibility would be for students to use their knowledge of what they have learned and instruct teachers on how to use different types of media in the classroom.  

Conclusion

The value of a culminating event is akin to the value of buried treasure to a pirate or the value of a pot of gold to a leprechaun.  Students don’t particularly enjoy their educational journeys without being able to experience the fruits of their labor.  Participating in an experience that allows them to apply what they have learned in a meaningful way can produce learning, and a love for learning, that lasts a lifetime!