Chapter 7 Reflection

A Guiding Hand-Keeping a Project Moving

Make Classroom Discussion more productive

• Teacher to teacher- If a project seems to not be going as planned it is helpful to ask other teachers for advice on how to keep it on track.  Sometimes they can help you see the bigger picture and give you suggestions on how to improve the project 
• Student to student- students should be discussing their progress during their work on the project.  Different teams should be sharing their work with each other. 
• Teacher to student- The teacher will be communicating with the students to make sure they are on track.  
• High order questions- "In project-based classroom, high-order questions need to be a regular part of the learning experience-regardless of whether you are talking with an individual student, small group, or the whole class." (115) 
• Questions for inquiry- Students should come up with some of the questions, but as the teacher you have to make sure the questions aren't off track.  As the teacher you have to help students remember their ideas and lead them to figuring them out. 

Questions for Checking in   

• Procedural- is the project staying on schedule
• Teamwork- Are the team members getting along?
• Understanding-check in on students and observe them.  Ask probing questions. 
• Self assessment-ask questions that encourage self reflection. 

Optimize Technology

• Is the technology helping the students accomplish their goals?
• Are the students using technology to stay organized?
• Are the students using technology to expand?
• Do the have the access they need to use the technology?

Chapter 7 Reflection

A Guiding Hand-Keeping a Project Moving

Make a Classroom Discussion More Productive

Levels of Classroom Discussion:

·         Teacher to teacher-during projects it is very important to plan together and collaborate with one another. This will make the project go more smoothly and as teachers, you will be able to bounce ideas off of one another. 

·         Student to student-students should always be talking with one another while creating projects and be communicating with other teams as well.  If the students have effective teamwork, they will be able to stay on track more easily and be organized.

·         Teacher to student-When in a PBL classroom, the traditional teacher lecturing to the students will not be happening.  The teacher will be observing, talking to small groups, and circulating throughout the classroom in order to be in contact with the students. 

Higher-Order Questions:

When in a PBL classroom, higher order questions are crucial.  These questions need to be asked to students on a regular basis.  This can be to a small group or an individual, but lower-order questions are not an option.  These questions include: How and Why questions and then following those answers up with more questions.  The students need to be fully engaged and thinking about their learning and their experiences and this is one of the best ways to do that. 

Questions for Inquiry:

This is a great way to get students into the expert role! As the teacher, you can help them learn how to ask good questions.  A great of doing this is to have them interview someone in the community.  An important part of this, though, is to work with them before they head out into the community and help them develop a good list of questions. 

Optimize Technology

A few good questions to ask yourself about the technology the students are using in your classroom:

·         Is the technology helping the students reach their goals?

·         Is the technology helping the students become and stay organized throughout this project?

·         Is the technology helping the students expand their knowledge into the community?

·         IS this technology accessible to the students?

Throughout our project, the students will be using technology and getting the best use out of them.  In order to make sure the students also use their time wisely while in the classroom, questions that cause them to think critically will be asked and questions to help them further explore will be helpful. 

Chapter7 Reading Reflection

1.) Description of the three levels of classroom discussions:

1.  Teacher to teacher: Teacher to teacher conversations are the teachers' reflections of how well the students are taking to a project and possible ways to implement new ideas.These conversations are needed to evaluate, analyze and help the teachers communicate about various aspects of a project. Its important to stay connected with teachers in order to share information about the positive and negatives of a project  and to collaborate on where the lesson may need modifications. 
2. Student to Student: Student to student conversations should entail observations about their learning experiences and how their thinking has unfolded throughout the project. It should also a chance for them to understand each other's thought processes as well as challenge each other. Students should be giving each other effective, constructive feedback and keeping their lines of positive communication open. 
3. Teacher to Student:  Whole class instruction should not be the main form of communication between teacher and student,unless the teacher needs to introduce a new skill or concept that students need to keep their project going.Teachers can use blogs or wiki spaces to make general announcements. Teacher's are there as a learning resource for a student, meaning they should be walking around and talking to students in small groups ; not the main conveyor of all knowledge.

2.) "Checking in" questions for  students doing a project: In a PBL environment, different groups move at different paces, which means there is going to be a lot of different things going on at once. As a teacher,we need to make sure we are keep the students on track, making sure they are working together as a team, and understanding their group/project dynamic.

• Procedural: The  has to do with the organization and management of the project. Making sure that students are staying on schedule, setting deadlines for assignments, having the right materials available and planning different parts to the overall project.
• Teamwork: Teachers should pay close attention to the dynamic of the team. Looking at how  successful certain students work together or making sure the workload is equally distributed are a couple ways to check in. Teachers can have students write about the progress of their project, how their group is getting along. Or,  for a more personal approach, the teacher can set up a poll that  asks about team dynamics that is a safer place for students to open up.
• Understanding: Teachers should be observing students conversations, project progress and in return pushing students to think deeper about their projects. Teachers need to understand how students are responding to the project by observing their conversations, online work spaces and reviews of their information.
• Self-Assessment: A really cool assessment is the project journal. I believe students should write a reflection every week of their project: what troubles they had? How did they over come these challenges? Progress of project and so on. 

3.) Optimize Technology=Students Benefit

I loved the way this particular teacher Mr.Fagg incorporated  the students' MP3 player   into his lesson  instead of confiscating them. He catered to the students interest despite not having much knowledge on how to use one himself.  Optimizing technology is when a teacher can  integrate  the technology and resources that are readily available- such as a students MP3 player- and  use them  to enhance their lesson. Thinking of things as an enhancement rather than a hindrance can give students more opportunities to be creative and expand their own talents. Students  are actually INTERESTED in what they are doing because  they have a personal attachment to their technology skills.

How do we help students maximize technology potential:

• Stay  focused on the goal trying to be conveyed and less time on fluffing the project with graphics,
• Have the students use technology for planners and organizational tools. 
• Make sure students learn about emailing and reaching people on a broader level.  Keeping parents informed through online communities.
• Make sure that technology is accessible and available.

4.)21st Century skills that make or break a project:

21st Century Skills: 

• Students need to know how to troubleshoot. Working through a project and overcoming the challenges is a skill that is learned through a PBL setting. PBL offers a closer connection with real life than traditional classrooms because students learn by failing, often times. When students work through a problem they learn to be persistent and persevere which are both qualities of success. 
• Communication is a way to build a community of learners. Discussions among the students build a safe environment and teach kids to communicate their ideas in a diverse setting.  
• Teamwork is a skill that has to be present in order for a project to succeed. Since PBL requires a group effort, team members need to communicate correctly, designate responsibilities and fulfill their end of the bargain equally. 

5. When this chapter brought up student to student conversations I think the PBL  process leaves no choice but for us to continuously evaluate what is working in our project as well as  the many obstacles and triumphs we have had throughout this process. We have realized that communication is a significant factor in how  successful our project turns out.  Thus far, I have learned most about time management when it comes to technologically based assignments and clear communication amongst group members. I also feel that our classroom is definitely ran as a PBL environment because the professor introduces a concept or skill and then lets us figure it out. It definitely seems that people who learn independently would benefit the most from PBL. 

Concept Map :)

Chapter 6 reflection

Chapter 6 Project Launch Implementation Strategies.

Laying the groundwork

When students are doing a project they will do several things like “inquire, study, plan, evaluate, compare, collaborate, manage, create, and present”. (95)  Each project that you give your students should involve all of the things above.  Students may also try new tools during a project along with assisting others in using tools that they are familiar with.  Before students begin a project they should complete a self evaluation that involves what will be taught with the project.  After the project is done students will complete another self evaluation to see if the students learned what they were supposed to from the project. 

Get Minds Ready

Figure out what students know already before beginning a project.  KWL charts are great for this because you figure out what your students already know, what they want to learn. 

Ideas for generating interest and promoting inquiry

Use discrepant events to help with attention getting.   This will help challenge your students to see if they are confident with what they just learned.   

Teach Fundamentals first

Before you start a project you as a teacher need to make your students know the basics for the project.   Sometimes we find ourselves assuming that children know basic facts when they really don’t.  It is your job as a teacher to know your students to make sure they are all up to speed before beginning a project.  

Chapter 6 Reflection

Project Launch-Implementation Strategies

Assessments and evaluations are huge during projects.  For our project, one of the main aspects that we are having our students do is self-assess at the end of their project.  We want them to assess their progress along the way and then at the end of the project, observe their work and assess their group and themselves.  The one technology tool that we are using is a digital camera, but I liked how the book suggested using blogs, online survey tool, and tools like Zoomerang.

 

Teach the Fundamentals First

Before doing a project, learn what the students already know.  A good way of doing this is with a KWL chart.  This gets ideas flowing and then you are able to see what needs to be taught.  A next good idea is to teach any prerequisite skills that the students will need to know in order to be independent throughout this project.    As a teacher, you want to teach this part quickly.  This is so the class can move onto the exciting inquiry part as fast as possible and have the students engaged quickly. 

 

Set a Stage for Independent Inquiry:

The KWL chart gets students engaged in thinking about what they want to learn and what they wonder about in this project.  This will keep them engaged throughout the entire project.  From this part of the project, the teacher can encourage the students to think deeper by asking “how” and “why” questions.  These questions are much better than direct answer questions. 

 

Share the Assessment Rubric:

This is a big one! You should share the rubric that you are grading your students with to the students.  This way they will know what is expected of them and how they will be able to achieve the best possible grade and experience. 

 

Promote Inquiry and Deep Learning

When planning a project, choose questions to start their investigations.  Some questions can be:

               There is a relationship between need and opportunity, and between scarcity and abundance.

                Modern money has symbolic worth as an exchange medium.

                Economics, health, and well-being are related.

                Humans are interdependent.

Great inquiry questions are guided towards 21 century literacy thinking:

                “Which one” questions ask students to collect information and make informed decisions.

                “How” questions ask students to understand problems and to propose solutions.

“What if” questions ask students to use the knowledge they have to pose a hypothesis and consider options.

 

Throughout our project we ask students these questions a lot and with PBL I think it is especially important in order to get students really engaged and thinking critically. 

Chapter 5 Reflection

Chapter 5 is about project management strategies for teachers and learners. 

Gathering resources: What and (who) will you need?

·       What supplies will you need?

·       What do you have already? Check you inventory

·       Use your community as a resource too.

·       Parents

·       Will your project include technology?

·       Will your students need to learn new technology?

·       If you need help with technology don’t forget about the school’s technology coordinator, media specialist, and other specialist in your district.

Milestones and deadlines: It’s about time

·       Teach your students about time management

·       Have a schedule for your students to follow with deadlines

·       At the beginning of the year have a project calendar with specific milestones.

·       Share your calendar with parents

·       Educate yourself about the types of management systems

Team Planning

·       Make your students branch out to students they don’t normally work with

·       Don’t forget that the students will be at different steps of the project at different times

·       Students may work separately at times and that is ok. 

·       Team management takes time and effort. Be Patient

Plan for assessment

·       You can use technology for assessment activities

·       Use multiple assessment methods to help evaluate if your students grasped the concept you were trying to teach.

·       Use scoring rubrics to help with the assessment that way you can see where the students are and help them get where they need to be.

Start simply, then elaborate

·       Sometimes it is better to start simple to make sure students have the proper understanding before expanding. 

·       Project wiki is a good way to start small. 

·       A wiki gives “audio introductions from the teachers and students to each other”. (88)

Personalized Web Pages

I have always liked the idea of having students make their own web page.  However, I would only have the parents and other students in the classroom are able to have access their pages for safety reasons.  Students could put some of their work on their web page to share with the rest of the class.  Also, that could be where students turn in certain homework assignments.  Lastly, this chapter provided great information on how to have good project management strategies for teachers and learners.  

Chapter 5 Reading Reflection: Project Management Strategies for Teachers and Learners

1.) Items to be Considered before starting a project with students: This whole chapter boils down to being extremely prepared, organized, conscious of time and proactive.

Be Resourceful:  Schools are on a budget and teachers dont make enough to buy everything new, or most things at all. Using the supplies, tools and other materials in the school itself will help save cost and get what you need. There are online resources as well that offer good deals on supplies such as craigslist or ebay as well as checking local newspapers in the classified ads. Teachers can also send out letters to the parents of the students which have a needs based list for specific projects. Teachers should also use the technology coordinator, media specialists and other specialists to help navigate through the digital world. These people study technology for a living and would probably love to share their experience.

Use Technology:  When using technology, make sure that it offers the essential learning functions of the project so that it will help enable students to meet goals rather than be a distraction. If the project requires students to need easy access to technology, make sure that you are planning ahead and accordingly. For instance, at the beginning of the year teachers should have a general idea of when they will be using technology and can reserve those slots way ahead of time.  Videoconferencing and digital field trips make it possible to find information without having to physically be there, which can be time consuming and costly.

Gather Expert Opinions and outside resources  If the project requires students to utilize a person or people outside of the school environment then there are a few ways that can be achieved without the person having to physically be there. First, using technology such as skype or email can help students communicate with outside resources. Also, the teacher can make it so the projects use the same or similar people every year so compiling a database of professionals that the teacher knows and have agreed to help will come in handy for projects.




2.)Teachers and Students Management Needs:

Managing Time: Every person who is active in progressing their life ( especially college students) should be familiar with time management and the struggle to do it well. Managing time is a skill and can be taught. Teaching students at a young age how to manage time should be an overall goal of every project, especially since its a skill they will need their whole life. Time management is about discipline and with so many distractions (facebook, instragram, online shopping-you name it) its really hard to do.  One tool that should be incorporated is a project calendar. The calendar should be visible to the students with marked milestones along the way as well as deadlines so they can check their progress. Create a class website or blog to share the calendar so parents can see what their kids are up to and track their progress as well. With a blog, parents will be able to comment on the project and communicate about upcoming events.

Organizing Team Members: Students will automatically gravitate to people they like in the class, which is fine. However, the teacher is responsible for creating an inclusive and diverse environment in the classroom so it may be best that the teacher mixes groups based on their skills and what they can bring to a project. Therefore, a number one rule for teachers is to know their students and know their students' strengths, weaknesses, attributes and contributions.  Some group members may like working alone, while others may enjoy working with other people, so as a teacher or "project manager" its important to monitor all the students to make sure they are being included in the group activities and contributing substantially.

 Its important to remember that every project can be developed, is subjected to change and can grow, so don't be afraid to experiment with different approaches to the project  such as group projects vs. pairs and keep expectations flexible.  A useful tool is making a project contract that the teacher will go over  with students, where expectations be added or subtracted and have students sign the contract.

Assessments: Assessments can be taken throughout the project, it does not have to be an end result. There can be multiple assignments that are due throughout the project that can be assessed to make sure the team is on task. Assessing throughout the project will help students gauge where they are on the project, and help the teacher know if the students are on track as well as what is working well within the project and what is not. Assessments can range from written reflections to quizzess to open conversations, and they can be informal or formal assessments. They basically just help everyone recognize the progress and quality of the project. If the assesment is going to be formal, make sure the rubric is detailed and students are extremely clear on expectations.

3.) Technology Applications for use in project

Web Based Applications:

•  A wiki is a web based application that can be created for a project. A wiki  is a web page that can be edited and collaborated on by multiple people.  Students can share ideas and web links on a wiki and can be easily accessed from anywhere and can be continuously revised. Wikispaces and PBwiki are two popular wikis and are easy to set up. They are useful when multiple people are going to collaborate. More info: 
• http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/
• A blog is a web based application that can be easily edited but is typically controlled by one person while others can comment. It cannot be accessed by many people to be authors of unless they have a password. Blogs are great for communicating about milestones, or news about the project.
• Drupal and Textpattern are more sophisticated web pages that offer things like surveys and discussion forums.

Elaborate and Collaborate:

• THe flat Classroom Project is a high functioning wiki that serves as a meeting space and workplace for a project for a school in Bangledesh and Georgia. Anything that is created in the classroom that involves the project can be noted on the Wiki- it's like a high-functioning orginizational tool and record tracker of what is going on between the two classrooms. The functions of the Flat Classroom Project is as follows:
• Audio introductions
• Sharing of photographs
• links to resources
• clocks showing different time zones
• updates from both teachers
• links to student projects
• records of skype calls and reminders
• a clustermap to show who has viewed the website.

4.) Relevant Concepts to our project

One sub project in our overall project is to connect with a classroom in a different country. Using the wiki that supports the flat classroom project is a good way to do that. This application will help our students collaborate on a live theater performance in real time. Its a place for all students to store their insight on their project, share pictures and video, links that support their project. Also, we have had several assessments that chronicle this project such as the rubric in Lesson Plan 1, concept map and websites.

Reading Reflection 4

Chapter 4: Strategies for discovery

Reviewing Projects

·       Be careful of using projects that have been made by others.  Just because they have a great idea doesn't mean that the project itself is great.  It is important to evaluate the project to make sure it is sufficient. 

·       However, when you decide to create your own project it is helpful to review others so you can plan yours.  By looking at other plans you can evaluate what worked and what didn't.  Then, you can use what you learned from the other plans to help put yours together. 

Overcoming Pitfalls

·       Potential pitfall: Long on activity, short on learning outcomes.

   *Is the project long?

   * Is the project busy?

   *Is it worth your student’s time?

   * How much do the students learn?

·       Potential pitfall: Technology layered over traditional practice.

* “Good projects focus on reaching significant learning outcomes, not merely making use of technology applications.” (pg 61)

* Having students do research and then present it with some electronic slideshow isn’t always the best option. 

·       Potential pitfall: Trivial thematic units.

*”A thematic approach can be trivial, but it doesn't have to be.” (61)

*Think about a theme for the whole year that would help students make meaningful connections.

·       Potential pitfall: Overly scripted with many, many steps.

*Projects are the most effective when the students have to make the main decisions. 

* Sometimes the simpler the steps the more productive it is.

·       The best projects share important features

* “Are loosely designed with the possibility of different learning paths.” (65)

* “Have students learn by doing.” (65)

* “Are structured so students learn with and from each other.” (65)

* “Tap rich data or primary sources.” (65)

I think all of the qualities on page 65 are great features for projects, but the ones I listed above I think were the best. This chapter was full of great tips about how to start a project and what to include in it and leave out.  I really enjoyed learning that long projects aren’t always the most efficient.  Sometimes the similar the project is the better.  

Reading Reflection Number 4

This particular chapter had extremely valuable information on what it takes to create a Problem Based Learning atmosphere and agenda for students. In this reflection, I am going to focus on what I believe are the key points to understanding how a successful PBL is possible.


1.)  Potential Pitfalls

"Pay Attention to the quality of the student experience" (60) The pitfalls can hinder the  potential quality and relevance of a problem. The trick is to design a problem that accomplishes higher learning aims- that go beyond what you can lecture such as recall and understanding- while at the same time keeping the results of the project diverse and moving at a reasonable rate.

 "Good Projects focus on reaching significant learning outcomes" (61).  Since we live in the digital age. incorporating technology is not only a useful resource in the classroom but it is extremely relevant to a students daily experiences. They are familiar with a lot of technology because they are exposed to it.

"Think about how a theme would unify a year's worth of projects and help students make important connections"(61). Themes are helpful organizing tools to cover important sub genres of a topic. Picking one overall theme and developing a variety of projects based on subgenres of that topic. Broad themes about specific topics can be covered through a variety of projects that accentuate the main idea. Creating themes throughout the year is not project based learning, but it's a good outline.

"Look to the description of learning objectives and student outcomes as you evaluate a plan" (62).  A very important part of PBL is letting students make critical decisions about what they want to learn and how to go about getting information. The project needs to be flexible, the objectives need to have the ability to be manipulated and the products need to have more than one way of reaching a solution.

2.) Project Features
" Capture students interest through complex and compelling real-life or simulated experiences" (65). Most students don't want to be in school because what they learn may not be relevant to real life experiences- they want to go back to their world which often means being out of school. If a teacher can incorporate aspects of their real world experiences, and create new ones for them, then school may not be as much of a drag.

"Get at 21st century skills and literacies, including communication, project management and technology use (65). This is the age of communication and technology. STudents need to have a firm grasp on how to communicate with others properly as well as navigate through multiple uses of technology. Project management is vital to the students ability to stay organzied, focused and have a clear direction of where they want their project to go. This is a skill that if learned will help them immensely  in real life.

"Get at important learning dispositions, including persistence, risk-taking, confidence, resilience, self-reflection and cooperation" (65). People who are confident generally have an easier time accomplishing goals because negative emotions take away energy. These qualities are active in many decision making activities and by possessing these qualities, students will find it easier to flow through life.

"Have students learn by doing" (65).  Lectures are becoming outdated and hands-on activities not only activates the body but it brings the project to a physical, tangible experience. The allusive concepts that are thrown around during lectures are now at the fingertips and can be realistically processed.

3.) Project Ideas Originate

" New opportunities grow from previous successes" (66)Project ideas come from within or thousands of resources, be it other teachers, books, internet.  Taking something that may be disruptive- such as a students headphones and using them for a education project.  Most projects can be built upon one another and can create new opportunities for other projects to grow.


4.) Designing a project

"Let students interest and curiosity drive the learning experience" (63). The reason PBL is not as popular as it should be in the teaching curriculum  because adults typically like to take charge  and assume full responsibility for their students' learning. In past times, teachers were the center of the knowledge-sphere- all the information was relayed by them. Because of the vast amount of knowledge technology has to offer, we cannot limit the students to one source of information. PBL connects the students interest directly with the problem, and has a much higher chance of true learning. Teachers responsibility is to deliver the overal aim of project,  create expectations and  loose objectives for the project but students play a crucial role in developing the project and devising ways to accomplish goals. Whether the project is original pr replicated, leave room for flexibility and changes depending on students interest.

5.) Relating to our project
After reading this chapter I thought about different things we are doing for our film and video project and one thing I was prompted to do was to open up the possibilities for what students can choose to act out. Since students curiosity drives the learning, I want them to choose what historical topic they want to learn about. The lesson we have designed has lots of room for manipulation and changing, but I've also realized how much work goes into designing a relevant project that will stick with the students long term.