“I’ll present them with the pros/cons to all of their decisions (assigning nightly reading, what types of assessments will give them a reasoned ‘final grade’, etc.).  I’ll present them with a ‘menu’ of elements they must accomplish (solo and in rotating small groups) before the project comes to an end and the semester exam is handed out.  I’ll offer myself as a ‘free’ consultant for a specific # of days that they can ‘hire’ when they feel that they have exhausted their own instincts/research.  And I’ll present them with a series of sink-or-swim options to allow those who are invested in learning to succeed and those who want to tread water to avoid absolute drowning along the way, all the while being a sheep dog with an eye on those that near a current they can’t escape on their own. ”  

My first years are about to start a new project making a small wooden shelf. Now to get my thinking cap on and see if I can figure out how to make it a much more child driven activity…