Reading Reflection #11

  1.       With the project-based learning approach, several things occur. First, memories are created and will always be there for the students who created and had fun with the project. Timeless artifacts are made that the students can be proud of and that will stand as examples for years of students to come. Finally, reflection and new and better ideas can help shape the project for the future to be the best it can be.

  2.       There are several ways you can “bring your project home.” First, you can share your project idea with an existing network, where teachers from around the world can tune into your project. Or you could create a project library. Some teachers archive their work on the web. Others publish their work and reflection on what made the project so successful. Still others use their work for professional development opportunities with other educators.

  3.       There will be many results of our school brochure project. Students will have created memories about learning about their schools and how they can use technology to create a brochure. They will also have the brochure as an artifact to showcase their work and to help them be proud of it. One way we could share our project would be to place each groups’ brochure in a web archive so other teachers could look at the project idea and gain insight into how they might incorporate their own ideas into a similar project theme.

Reflection #10

  1.       Reflection is an important part of project based learning. Reflection time can be important because it helps students to feel good about the work that they put into their project and overall helps the learning to really stick. Reflection helps students reveal things that they might not otherwise think about, such as what they learned, what they enjoyed about learning, the growth they made throughout the project and what/how they want to learn in projects ahead.

  2.       Reflection is important because students can determine how the project was personally meaningful to them. They can also reflect on the skills they developed, collaboratively, through technology and in other disciplines, such as writing. They can also think back on the challenges, frustrations and joys that they experienced during the project, thinking about obstacles that they faced and how they overcame those obstacles. Also, always wrap up reflection thinking about the positives of the project and how it was a gratifying experience to be a part of.

  3.       Schools can build tradition and identity through the project based learning that is present. Many times, projects carry over through the years. Some things about the project might change year to year, but the overall concept might stay the same. Older children will talk to their siblings or younger grades and tell them how much fun the project was to do. This excitement will get future students excited to be in that class and doing the same sort of project. Once these future students reach the project ground, they will be excited to work on the project and will feel like it is a privilege to honor the tradition and work hard on the project at hand.

  4.       It is always important to celebrate a project so the students can take pride in their work. Teachers and students could plan an event, create a blog, or hold a party to display student work. At these celebrations there should always be a time to look back and reflect, an acknowledgement of how hard work paid off for the success of the project, thank yous to people who helped in the creation of the project, and a display of student work to show the learning that took place.

  5.       The concept of reflection is an important one to remember for our project. Our students can reflect over their hard work and think about the joys and frustrations of the project and how it helped them to become better learners and how they can take pride in their school. Celebrating our project will also be another important step to take. We could have a display of school brochures and members of the staff that helped to give information for the brochures can stop by and see how their input was incorporated into the project.

Reading Reflection #9

  1.       A suggested method of understanding prior knowledge is completing a KWL chart. This might be a good way to see where your students’ prior understanding lies, because not all students will be starting off at the same place.

  2.       The book describes that it is important to establish anchors for our students. When teachers establish anchors, they gain a sense of where students are starting and how far they can go when completing a project.

  3.       There are several ways to assess what students learn during a project. One way is to develop a rubric for the project. Rubrics can assess progress toward key learning goals. They can assess content, written communication, critical thinking, work ethic, and a variety of other categories deemed worthy of assessing. Online grade books can also be used to provide a look at milestone assignments. Students could also be interview at the end of the project, reflecting in an honest way what they thought about the project and how it helped them learn more about that subject. Students could also create something new that helps them summarize what they have learned. The type of assessment helps students take what they have learned during the project and apply it in a new context. Students could also be asked to apply the skills of professionals from a particular discipline, using the standards of the discipline. A final way that the book suggests to assess students is to have them submit their best work to a competition or publication. These types of opportunities help students have motivation for a real world challenge.

  4.       This chapter’s concepts relate to our project in that there will be some way we need to assess prior knowledge. One way we could do this would be to create a KWL chart about what areas they know our school has. There will also be ways in which we will need to assess our students for the project. We could create a detailed rubric, showing students the specific criteria that needs to be included into their school brochure. We could also have each group submit their final brochure into a contest or competition.

Reading reflection #8

   1.        One way to build connections is for students to share their work and exchange ideas with diverse audiences.  Teachers can develop a list of experts willing to help out for the project. They can use the class website or blog to put out the word to parents that you are looking for help.  

   2.       The EAST Initiative Model uses technology to solve real-world problems and make improvements in their communities. They use technology as a hook to get kids interested in significant projects and to get the community wanting to support these projects. The EAST model is built off of four essential ideas: student-driven learning, authentic project-based learning, technology as tools, and collaboration. This model feels like students need to be responsible for their own learning. It also believes that students should be engaged in solving real problems in their community. It also feels that students need access to the relevant technologies that professionals use to solve real world problems. Finally, the model also wants students to collaborate in teams to pursue these authentic projects.

   3.       There are many reasons why teachers should let the students “lead” their project. Students can start with generating a project idea that they care about and then potentially chart their own learning path.  As teachers, we do not have to be the ones designing one super project for everyone in the class. We can ask our students: What are you passionate about? We do not have to micromanage each project. Students can take on their own learning, and teachers can be there to support them.

   4.       The building connections part of this chapter will be integral in our school brochure project. The students will be interviewing many staff members of the school (“the experts”) to find out how that part of the school is managed. Our project will also be using the four essential ideas that the EAST Initiative Model is built off of. The learning for the project will be student-driven. The school brochure project is authentic project-based learning. We will be using technology as a tool to create a needed school brochure. The students will also be using a lot of collaboration in each of the 6 groups.