There are three levels of classroom discussion. Those levels
are teacher to teacher, student to student and teacher to student. In the level
of teacher to teacher, teachers compare ideas with regards to how to lead
activities in ways that best benefit the students. In student to student,
classmates discuss their learning experiences in class during activities. It is
during this time that students learn from each other while the teacher acts as
the facilitator, joining in when necessary and allowing students to control the
conversation. Teacher to student interaction is what one would call the
traditional classroom, where the teacher provides the information to students
in a more “I tell you, you write it down” function. However, in the project
based classroom, this format is only used as a check in for the whole group,
with student understanding being the primary focus.
When checking in on students, be mindful of the types of
questions you are using to drive student processing and understanding, progress
monitoring, track timing, and building teamwork and partner management skills. There
are four types of questions that teachers should use to foster student
learning, they are procedural, teamwork, understanding, and self-assessment.
There are many benefits to students when optimizing the use
of technology. Using technology allows the students to go beyond the walls of
their classroom when researching and finding answers. The student response to
learning with the use of technology is a positive one. Using technology in the
classroom helps students build a confidence prepares them for the workforce as
well as the technology they will use within their field.
Twenty-first century skills that can make or break a project
are finding and eliminating faults of the project and managing group dynamics.
Before engaging in a project with the students, the teacher
should think of any and everything that could come up that would prevent the
project from running properly, fixing anything that does come up. The teacher
should also take into account the characteristics of groups they have created. Rearranging
groups if necessary, or being prepared to act as a facilitator; guiding the
students when trying to correct this themselves.
I like how you said that it is during student to student discussions that students learn from each other, while the teacher facilitates. I believe that social interaction is very important for students to engage in as it allows meaningful learning to take place through the exchange of ideas.
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