Brittney Cox
Reflection 7
There
are different levels of classroom discussions.
One level is teacher to teacher.
It is important for teachers to talk to each other about projects
because interaction can create new ideas.
They will talk about procedures, assessments, and other aspects of the
project. A second level is student to
student. Experiences are what give
students the needed prior knowledge to make connections in the future. When they talk, listen, and work together
they learn skills that will help them not only learn the material in the
project, it will teach them how to work as a team. A third level is teacher to student. There will be times when the teacher needs to
speak to the entire class, but most of the teacher to student interactions will
occur on a micro level. Teachers can ask
students questions to further the students’ thinking.
Teachers must check in on students when they are working
on a project to ensure the students are having the best experience possible, as
well as assess their thinking. There are
many questions the teacher can ask depending on what they want to know. Procedural questions are questions like “are
we staying on schedule? Do we have the
right materials available? When’s the
best time to schedule a field trip? (p 118).”
Teamwork questions are “How are team members getting along? Is one student carrying too much of the load
for the whole team? Are students able to
manage conflict themselves? (p 118).”
Understanding questions are “Have you thought about…? Have you
considered this research? (p 118).” Finally,
self-assessment questions are ones to “find out what students are thinking
about the project (p 118).”
There are many benefits for students when optimizing the
use of technology. Some of these benefits
are: helps students focus on the learning goal, matches their learning speed,
engages the student, they enjoy class, they learn how to work as a team, and it
prepares them for the future.
Troubleshooting is an important aspect of projects. There will be times when the technology needs
help, just like people. This happens
often in the work force. Teaching
students how to problem solve is as important as teaching them facts and
ideas. There needs to be open
communication and collaboration. The real
world encounters problems every day, so it is important to prepare students to
attack a problem rather than fear it.
Our kitchen and catering project has many new concepts
involved. With new ideas and material,
problems are bound to happen. These
problems can be turned into a positive experience if there is teacher to
teacher, teacher to student, and student to student communication. It is possible our students’ pen pals will
not respond the way they want them to; this is okay. Projects are not meant to be perfect, because
if they were, the students wouldn’t learn nearly enough.
Many aspects of project based learning can prepare students to be successful in real world situations. Things like collaboration and troubleshooting are important skills for students to learn in the classroom so that they can eventually implement them outside the classroom.
ReplyDeleteYou had some great points in your reflection! I like how you ended your reflection too, by saying that each project is not goin to be perfect. That is so true!
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