Lewin and Shoemaker (1998) provide the following descriptions of the ways in which products, productions and presentations can fall short of the goal (p. 104):
The Razzle Dazzle: The learning performance has a lot of flash but no substance.
The Parasite: The parents pick the topic. The student may do the work but has no interest or ownership of the project. Moms or Dads, however, get to live out their dreams/interests/fantasies through their child’s performance.
Scaffolding: The student picks a project of personal interest, but may not do any of the actual work. It is difficult to determine how much scaffolding (shoring up) by others (usually parents) has occurred.
The Fizzle: Not enough guidance or direction is provided. The task is assigned, and students are expected to miraculously produce a fantastic project in six weeks. They rarely do.
The Celebration: This category results from an erroneous belief that performances should be showcases – festivals, parties or gala events – without evaluation. Everyone should be honored – no matter the quality of the work.
The Uneven Playing Field: Some students draw from resources (eg, parents, computers, libraries, and art supplies) in creating their projects, while other students draw from little or no resources.
Near Death: Teachers, near exhaustion, walk around school with glazed-over eyes mumbling, “Why did I do this to myself? I will never do this again!”