Reflection 7

            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. 

Reading Reflection 7

1. Description of the levels of classroom discussions.

Good questions are an important ingredient in effective classroom discussions. Classroom discussions can take place on several levels during project implementation, these levels include:

·       Teacher to teacher- Teacher conversations will likely touch on ideas such as procedural and formative assessment. If you don’t have time for face to face collaboration you can still communicate through a project blog, or other collaborative tools to keep the conversations going.

·       Student to student- Students should be talking about their learning experiences as they unfold. Good communication skills are a part of effective teamwork and help to keep the students organized and on track. Explaining their thinking gives students an opportunity to learn from and change each other. Teachers are observers this discussion and can go around and listen in on conversations as long as they don’t take over the conversation.

·       Teacher to student- In this discussion you may talk to a whole group to check in on students understanding and to wrap up or begin a new lesson. Most often teachers will be circulation, observing, and talking with smaller groups of students. This is ideal for teachers to practice their listening skills and to ask questions that push students towards higher-order thinking.

2. Discussion on the questions for “checking in” on students during a project.

In the middle of the project students are likely to be going in many directions and working at different speeds. Because of this teachers need to pay attention to many activities at once and they need to ask certain questions to get the information from their students that is necessary to make adjustments in the project. Some questions include:

·       Procedural- Questions asked to track progress toward milestones and deadlines.

·       Teamwork- These questions are asked to determine the team dynamic.

·       Understandings- These questions guide further learning by giving suggestions and encouraging students to go beyond expectations.

·       Self-Assessment- To find out what the students are thinking about the project and to get them to reflect on their work thus far.

3. Discussion on the benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology.

During a project we should ask ourselves questions to help us maximize the potential of technology. Asking ourselves questions can help students reach their learning goals, focus on communicating key content, help the students use technology to stay organized, use technology to expand their horizons by connecting to outside experts or a broader community, and teachers are able to assess if the technology is equitable and accessible to all students. With optimum use of technology you may find students gaining benefits you did not envision at the beginning of the project.

4. Discussion on the 21st-century skills that can make or break a project.

Trouble shooting is a 21^st century skill that distinguishes effective project managers. This helps the students understand that real-world projects come with challenges and help them to learn from the setbacks and to get their project back on track. Another skill that can make or break a project is teamwork. Teachers need to pay close attention to the team dynamics and if conflicts arise help the student manage their own problems.

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

All of this information could be useful in our project-based learning assignment. During the project I will need to discuss with other teachers and see how each class is progressing, talk with my students about how they doing in the project and to walk around listen in to their conversations to see how the team is working together and what kind of information they are gaining. As well I now know what type of questions to ask the students to make sure they are headed in the right direction and so that I can ensure they are taking advantage of the technology available to them. Finally the text gave ideas about how to get the students to manage their troubleshooting and teamwork skills so that the project and the students can live up to their potential.

Lesson Plan 2

For my second lesson plan I am going to have the students find data about what region they believe had the most similar diet and food  choices to their own.They will take a poll of their class and two other fourth grade classrooms and compare the results.

Reading Reflection 6

1. Discuss how technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths.

During projects students will inquire, study, plan, evaluate, compare, collaborate, manage, create, and present. Technology tools encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their strengths in many ways. One tool that allows reflection are blogs that offer students space to reflect on their progress. ProfilerPRO is also available, it is an online survey to identify learning characteristics. ProfilerPRO allows you to identify interests, strengths, and weaknesses, and to guide your learning. Other online surveys are SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang which allows students to see their assessment in comparison to the whole class.

2. Describe several ways in which you can get students’ minds ready for a project.

Good project’s stat by tapping into student’s prior knowledge and a good way to do this is to do a KWL chart when introducing the project. Before beginning a project it’s all about the possibilities so you want to instill passion for the project into the children so they want to explore the topic further. To get the students minds ready for a project means getting them excited and interested in the topic so they will begin discussing it further with their friends, family and even their teacher. To do this teachers shouldn’t throw the project at the students all at once, they should begin talking about it for a few minutes every day and ease them into the project.

3. Discuss the elements of teaching fundamentals first.

Before launching a project teachers should think about teaching the prerequisite knowledge or skills students need to be independent and successful in their project. By teaching the fundamentals you ensure that your students will be pointed in the right direction when they start the project. It is easier to give the students the basics so they can branch out on their own and start the investigation and discovery into their project. As well teachers should give the students the assessment rubric for the project before they begin because it gives the students a road-map for achievement.

4. Describe the important steps in preparing students for using technology in project.

Technology is not the project, it is how the project gets done. The teacher needs to decide what tools are needed for the project, their availability, what the students know about the technology and what needs to be introduced and explained to the students about the technology. One of the beginning steps is to setup a technology playground where the students get introduced to the technology and get a chance to explore the technology. Here the students can try new things on their own, ask for assistance from the teacher or the media specialists and it allows the students to teach each other.

5. Discuss ways to promote inquiry and deep learning.

Teachers should guide students as they choose questions, plan investigations, and begin to put their plan into action. As well teachers should try to incorporate many subject areas into the project so it gives students the opportunity to build connections and to establish deeper learning.  When students ask questions about the project teachers should not only give them the answer but transform the question to promote deeper inquiry. When teachers ask questions they should also promote deeper learning, these types of questions are “which one”, “how”, “what if”, “should”, and “why”.

6. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

When planning our project based learning assignment we need to keep in mind many of the key ideas presented in this chapter. In the planning stages we need to decide what types of technology we need, where we can find them, and what experience our students have with the type of technology required. When starting the project I should introduce the topic of food and culture to my students slowly and build up their interests. As well before I start I could use a KWL chart to see what the children know and what they hope to learn as a result of this project.

Reflection 6

Brittney Cox

Reflection 6

            Laying the ground work for a project is a very important process.  Before the project begins, teachers and students need to self-evaluate what they know about what “dispositions you expect them to develop” (P 95).  This will help the students set the foundation for learning new information.  Krauss states “Throughout the project, as you ask students to think about their thinking and process, they will become more aware and articulate about their metacognitive strategies” (p 95).  Blogs, ProfilerPRO, SurveyMonkey, and Zoomerang can help students self-assess while they are working on their projects.

            To get students’ minds ready for a project teachers must start by assessing what the students already know and what they want to know.  Teachers want students to be personally invested in the project so they can be excited and take ownership of their learning.  A good amount of time should be spent forming questions and talking about different areas of a project the students would want to research.

            Setting the stage for independent inquiry is an important step in the project process.  First teachers need to share the assessment rubric so the students can have a guideline.  Next they need to set up a technology playground by letting students explore, ask questions, and teach each other about the technology they are going to use during the project.  This will leave more time for learning during the project.  This should be followed by introducing project-management tools that will help “a project log or journal offers another tool to help students track their progress toward goals” (P 103).  Demonstrations are the last step of setting the stage.  Some students may need to see the teacher, or technology specialist, demonstrate the technology so their questions can be answered. 

            Promoting inquiry and deep learning is the goal of all projects.  Teachers need to “guide students as they choose questions, plan investigations, and begin to put their plan into action” (p 107).  Students need time to think about their project and engage in activities collaboratively.  Students need to be guided “towards skilled questioning (and) inquiry using question starters” (p 108).

            Our project will incorporate all of these main points.  We would make sure the students know how to use the technology and give the students time to explore the culture they would want to study.  We want our students to be prepared technologically and excited about the culture they chose to research.