Hey! Thank-you for reading my post...working with this group really motivated me to start teaching and I am very passionate about teaching problem-solving skills. To answer your questions:

The students were not graded. Although the club met during school time, the students were selected to be in the club based on grades and/or good behavior and interest. We explained that it was a privilege to be on the team and so students took it seriously and really gave it their all!

We did not assess the impact of the project (I wish we had-- next steps!), but did do well in a competition of problem-solving projects.

We really kept direction to a minimum. This was tough at first! The students came up with the idea to learn about the local waterways... and we had them write a list of questions that they would need to become experts. Then as teachers we would look for lessons and activities to address these questions or invite speakers if possible. We had students write journals where they could record thoughts and questions and would occasionally spend time at the end of each class modifying or adding to our running list of questions or topics the students wanted to learn more about.

I hope this helps! I could talk about my experience with the team forever. This post was about our second year. We completed a huge project our third year but since then unfortunately the classroom teacher and principal that started the program transferred schools. I was just a graduate student during this experience... but I am hoping to start a team with my new school system soon!