Reading Reflection 11

One thing that occurs as a result of project based learning is that the classroom changes as a whole. Teachers begin to look at what is actually happening inside the classroom among the students instead of just feeding the curriculum to the students. Students also begin to grow up a little more by understanding project management, big picture thinking, meeting deadlines and the importance of being professional. 

Some ways to “bring your project home” is create a project library where you can access other projects, turn your projects into online archives where other teachers can see what kinds of projects you did within your classroom, enter a contest to get exposure for your project as well as constructive criticism from outside colleagues.

I am going to use these concepts in my project by making sure the students actually receive from benefits of it. I am going to make sure the students have a good results coming out of it. I also will allow other colleagues to look at my project and receive criticism and allow them to use it as well. 

Shelly Henderson - EDT 3470 - Reading Reflection #11

     Many great things occur as a result of using the PBL approach.  A project doesn’t just simply come to an end.  It opens doors and creates connections for future projects.  Teachers and students both have something to celebrate and many memories to look back on.  They may also have “souvenirs and artifacts” that they have collected along the way that will serve as reminders of where they have been.   As we learned in the previous chapter, reflecting back on the project not only helps the students, but it also helps the teacher learn what worked, what can be improved, and what can be implemented the next time around.  Students are filled with ideas and thoughts, and have new skills that will prepare them for the future in the real-world.

     Teachers can (and should!) “bring it home” in regards to their projects.  They can look back on their journeys and look for activities where the students were thoroughly engaged, then use these activities on a future project with different learning goals.  They can look for a theme that emerged from the projects and maybe use it on another project to connect the learning.  Teachers should talk with their colleagues and do a “project debrief” where they can work together to see where improvements need to be made.  Talking with colleagues could also include reviewing students’ products to see what the level of student understanding was.  Teachers could also “bring it home” by sharing with other teachers.  Sharing projects will help someone else learn, just like you did when you began.  A great way to do this is through an online database or by starting a project library for your school or district.  Teachers should and can be a resource for each other. 

     This chapter relates to our project because we are wrapping things up and “bringing it home.”  I think we are doing that through the creation of our website.  Through this website we are showcasing all of our project ideas and reflecting in the process.  We are seeing what has worked, what needs some tweaking and what we would do differently in the future.  We are taking all the new skills we have acquired and are putting them to work on something that we can share with other teachers, and even add to our own project library.  We are coming away with new 21^st-century skills and a sense of what it means to collaborate.  We have a good idea of what a PBL project is like and can share that knowledge with our future students.  

Final Concept Map

Shelly Henderson - EDT 3470 - Reading Reflection #10

     Setting time aside for reflection is a very important piece of a PBL project.  Students need to be given time to reflect back on where they were at the beginning of the project and where they ended up.  They need the chance to look at themselves as learners and think about what they learned, their growth, and even what they want to learn in future projects.  With good questions, you can have meaningful conversations with your students and help them gain some deeper insight into themselves as learners.  You can help them see how they improve in specific skills and also in specific content areas.  I think that reflecting on your learning journey should also include celebrating.  It is important for them to look at their positive experiences, see how they have gained confidence, look at the moments that surprised them, and even better see what their strengths are.  

     Students should also be encouraged to elaborate with their reflecting and look to the future.  They should think about what they want to learn, where they want to head next, and how they want to get there.  Helping them elaborate will help them think big and they may even come up with a project that is greater than one you could come up with. Reflection is good for anyone, and is an especially important part of a 21^st Century project. 

     Schools where students work on PBL projects have a chance to share something great with their school and their community.  They become a part of a tradition of excellence that can be passed down.  The community around them offers support and becomes genuinely interested in what they are doing.  As the students become more aware of this, they are encouraged to work even harder to serve that community and being role models for younger students.  When a class becomes project-oriented and shares their work, everyone is inspired and wants to keep the tradition going. 

     I believe whole-heartedly in celebrating my students and their work!  I think it is really important for them to “show-off” what they have accomplished.  I think it is a great idea to hold a student expo where students not only display their project, but also talk about it.  Students deserve the opportunity to feel pride in their work and the chance to share it.  Celebrating with them is a wonderful way for you to learn what your students remember and what they value. 

     When reading this chapter, I was reminded that it is important to have a strong beginning and a strong end to my project.  I need to think more thoroughly about how to wrap things up at the end and have an appropriate celebration of sorts.  

Reading Reflection 10

Setting aside time for reflection because students need time to see all the accomplishments and skills they have gained through their journey of the projects. Students get to actually create their own meaning of the project and not just the idea that you as their teacher may have had in mind.  

Students need time to reflect and elaborate because students need the opportunity to see how their project skills have grown throughout the entire project. Students also will see how well they can give and receive critical feedback, and how they hold themselves to standards that are set by themselves and others. Students also need the opportunity to see what challenges they have overcome and realize that they worked hard and accomplished things that they believed were impossible. This will help show students what they did to actually make the project move forward. Lastly students need time to reflect on positive experiences that make them more confident and cause them to look for more. 

Schools build tradition and identity through being proud of something that their school is good at. Some schools are really good at sports and the community rallies around the team, other schools are great at school symphonies and have concerts held year round and other schools are good really proud of science competitions and have medals displayed from years of winnings. Within your classroom set a tradition so students will be excited to come into your classroom and want to participate in the tradition. 

Celebrating students work is awesome to allow your students to actually care about the amount of effort they put into the project. Put on an event, create a blog, hang up the art work through displays or cabinets where your school’s identity will be built up as place of learning through projects. 

I will use these concepts in my project because I will try to show the entire school or at least our pen pals in showing our weather reports. I will also have the students reflect on the type of work that they did and how much they have learned and accomplished throughout the project. 

Shelly Henderson - EDT 3470 - Reading Reflection #9

Understanding your students’ prior knowledge is important when beginning a PBL project.  You need to know where they are each starting in terms of what they bring to the class.  Everyone will likely come with a different set of skills and have varying ideas about the subject.  A great way to find out about your students’ prior knowledge is to do an activity like a K-W-L chart, a small group or whole class brainstorming, or some sort of pre-assessment.  Completing an “anchor” activity like these will help you see where your students are starting and how far they will need to go to meet the learning goals you have set for them.  I think it is good for students to see where they began as they finish their projects.  It can be rewarding to see your own personal growth along the way.  Also, establishing anchors will help you, the teacher, provide learning opportunities for all your students and will help you help all learners to be successful.  We have learned how important it is to have milestones set up along the way in a PBL project to help with assessment, and I think an anchor activity would provide a solid beginning for each student. 

In your classroom, it is important to pick your assessments carefully.  You want to be sure you are successfully assessing the learning and looking at whether the learning goals you established for your students were met.  Using rubrics that you develop according to the goals is a great idea.  This way, students can see so much more than just a letter grade.  When creating a rubric, collaborating with your students is even better.  They get much more meaningful feedback this way.  Online grade books also are a great tool for assessing.  These help teachers communicate with students and parents so everyone can see what is going on all along the way.  Good conversations can happen when the data is readily available.  Being able to measure student understanding goes beyond the traditional tests that we have all suffered through.  As a teacher, it is important that you set up assessments that truly reflect what learning happens, what learning goals were met, and what the student’s level of understanding is.  Your assessments should be meaningful!

This chapter encouraged me to think about my project and look at where I would assess along the way.  I thought about what I would do at the end for assessment so that I can get a good idea of what the level of understanding was compared to what it was at the beginning.  Also, I thought about what I could do at the beginning to gauge where my students are in terms of prior knowledge.  I think I have more work to do in the overall outline of my project and need to look more closely at how and when I assess.

Reading Reflection 9

One method of understanding students’ prior knowledge is to do some type of activity that you can use to determine how much a students has learned either inside another classroom or out in the world. One activity that you can do with your students to get their prior knowledge is K-W-L which stands for know, want to know and what you learned. This will show you not only how much they already but what they have some ideas about and what they do not. 

The importance of establishing anchors for a project is to have a sense of a starting point for students and how far that they have to work in order to meet their learning goal. It is important to realize that each student will have different anchors, for example one student who may be dyslexic needs to have an anchor of taking maybe 2 hours to type a paper where as a general ed student may take thirty minutes to type the paper. 

One way to asses your students on what they learned during projects is to have the students create a comic book where they use specific quotes and descriptions from a specific book they are reading. Another is having your students create their own book using specific idioms that they had been blogging about, then have the students share these books with one another. One other way to asses your students is have them put together a portfolio about what they are learning and explain to them that experts in these fields will be looking over their portfolios. Then have the experts help you grade them and give the students feedback on how they could improve. The last example in this book is to enter the students work for publication. This will encourage the students to do a better job, therefore making their stories reflect more of what they learned. 

One way that I am going to use these concepts in my project is to have the students fill out a K-W-L explaining what they already know about weather, some different things that they want to know and when finished have the students share what they actually learned from the project. Another concept I am going to use is the different ways to asses students on what they learned. I am going to asses the students based on their weather channel, which will include things that they learned like how to tell temperature/predict the temperature, how to give the report itself and how to read a weather map. 

Reading Reflection 8

There are many ways that teachers can build connections with others outside of their own classroom or school. One way is to make a video blog for students to connect with outside writers, artists, and lots of other jobs that people have. You can also use wikis, podcasts, and Skype for real life conversations. 

The EAST Initiative Model is Environmental and Spatial Technologies. Schools have been demonstrating EAST to show the benefits of using technology for real like purposes, like solving problems and make improvements in our communities. EAST students use commonly found technologies in professional laboratories and design studios and master how to use these tools and use them to solve common problems. The EAST model is built on four ideas, students are responsible for their own learning, students are to be engaged in solving real problems, students need access to the relevant technologies that professionals use to solve real problems, and students will collaborate in teams to pursue authentic project. 

As teachers we should allow students to lead because students will actually take an interest in their projects and want to be involved with what is happening. Students will want to change their communities with their projects especially if students think that their ideas will affect something important.

I am going to use this within my project because I am going to allow the students to lead their own groups. I am also going to have the students connect with other students across the world which will the students branch out outside of the classroom. 

Shelly Henderson - EDT 3470 - Reading Reflection #8

PBL activities are a great motivation for students to reach beyond their classroom, even their school.  Students are able to use digital tools to connect both to an authentic audience and with experts out in the field.  When students engage in real-world projects that connect them with others, they approach their work differently than they would just doing a report for their teacher.  They are more apt to take their audience into consideration, knowing that their work will be read, watched, listened to, and commented on.  Beyond connecting with an audience, students are able to connect with an expert.  They can take their questions to the source and benefit greatly from another’s experience.  The connection benefits the expert too, which is great!  Also, students can connect with other learners.  They can work on global projects, projects with other classes in their school, or even with an older student that can take on the role of mentor.  It is our job as teachers to keep a list of experts and foster such relationships.  Teachers can tap into their students’ parents, prior classes, and even members of their school community.  We should not be afraid to ask for help!

The EAST Initiative Model is a wonderful example of students putting technology to work for them as they solve problems and make improvements to their communities.  They use “sophisticated” tools to solve community problems that are of interest to them.  Over two hundred students are involved in the Initiative and come from several states, ranging in age from second grade to post-secondary.  The initiative started with a teacher who wanted to engage students who were not typically successful in a traditional school setting.  It was realized that what he had in place could be replicated and implemented in other schools too.  The model was formalized and remains built on four essential ideas:  students need to be responsible for their own learning, students should be engaged in solving real community issues, students must have access to relevant technologies that mirror what professionals use, and students will work collaboratively to accomplish more than what they could do individually.  In order for the Initiative to broaden its scope, training is critical.  When teachers join, they become facilitators and must learn to let their students take the lead.  On-going professional development is offered at training facilities and is given by experienced educators.  Teachers are given the opportunity to bring their questions, discuss what is going on in their classrooms, be supported and interact with peers.  EAST Initiative Model participants are able to share their projects at an annual conference.  Teachers and partners of the Initiative can see firsthand what the students accomplish.

Letting students take the lead on their projects can be a scary thing.  I think teachers worry about what direction their students might head, how to maintain classroom management, and how to assess along the way.  Though letting them lead might be scary, I can’t think of a better way to get students engaged.  If they want to follow an idea that reflects something they are passionate about, the advantages are great!  When students take the lead they are taking ownership of their learning, they are more likely to push themselves, and are likely to get more involved.  They experience learning in a more real-world way that will encourage them to be life-long learners.   When a teacher has a classroom of engaged learners, behavioral issues are fewer, discussions are stronger, collaboration is more automatic, and students are simply happier to be there.  I think it is a win-win!

In this chapter, I was reminded about the importance of having a list of resources to tap in to.  Being able to readily connect my students with experts will benefit them greatly.  I think parents are willing to help and would welcome a request from a teacher.  I was also reminded that it is okay to let my students take the lead.  That is scary at times, but I see more clearly how beneficial that would be.  We need to trust our students and believe that they are capable of great things.  We can provide the framework and offer the support, they can take the lead.  I would have loved to have had more opportunities for that when I was in school!

digital story

Hi Stephanie!  Hope you're having a good week!  I wanted to let you know that I am going to do my digital story on tornado safety.  See you Wednesday!  :O) Shelly

Shelly Henderson - EDT 3470 - Reading Reflection #7

   Throughout your PBL projects, classroom discussions should take place on different levels.  First, there should definitely be “teacher to teacher” discussions.  These conversations are very important to the success of your students’ projects, especially if you are team-teaching.  If you can’t have face-to-face conversations, try using a blog, wiki, Google docs, or something else that you have set up.  It is important for teachers to support each other as well as their students.  Second, “student to student” conversations will also take place.  They should be talking to their team members as well as to other students in their class. These conversations will allow them to help each other, learn from each other and support each other.  Thirdly, “teacher to student” conversations should be happening as well.  These conversations are not simply done in lecture format; they are also done with each team and individual student.  Like teacher to teacher talks, conversing teacher to student can and should be done along the way and can be held through the use of technology.  It is ok to use the lecture format under certain circumstances, especially if you need to teach a new skill to the whole group.  Regardless of the type of conversation, it is important to be a good listener and to ask questions that keep your students moving along with their projects and pushes them to higher-level thinking.  It is important to ask such questions with regularity.  This should happen at all times, be it when you are conversing with one student, a small group, or the whole class.  Your questions should encourage them to take on the role of the expert. 

   During the course of your students’ PBL projects, you will need to check in with them and see where they are and learn where you might need to make some adjustments to your overall plan.  You will need to ask procedural questions that will tell you how they are progressing towards milestones, how their progress compares to the project calendar, and help you monitor their journals and lists.  You will also need to ask questions about their team and its dynamics.  You will need to assess how everyone is getting along, if one person is carrying the load for everyone else, if there has been conflict that needs to be resolved, etc.  A good way to do this is through the use of a journal, blog, personal surveys, etc.  It is important to provide them a safe place to reflect on their team and share with you.  Also, you will need to observe your teams at work, ask probing questions, and be prepared to possibly redirect them and move them along.  Good questioning will also help you discover what they are thinking about the project, what they are discovering along the way, and help them with some self-assessment.  Again, doing this through the use of a journal or blog will encourage them to discuss things they might not be comfortable sharing with the whole class.  Be open.
   In order to move your students along with their PBL projects, it is crucial that you have chosen technology that is helping them not hindering them.  Think about whether or not the technology is helping them reach their learning goals.  Is it leading them astray or keeping them focused?   Are they caught up in the meat of their ending presentation or in only making it look good?  Look at whether or not the technology is helping them stay organized and on top of things.  Are they able to communicate regularly with each other?  Are they tracking their progress and milestones?  Also, look at the technology and whether or not it is helping them connect to a larger community.  Are they able to extend their research?  Are you able to keep their parents informed and in touch with what their students are doing?  In addition, you need to make sure your students all have access to the technology you have chosen.  Ask yourself if they have ready access to what they need.  Do they need more time in the computer lab at school?  Everyone involved will benefit from optimum use of technology; there may even be benefits that surprise you.
   PBL projects provide numerous opportunities for students to learn and use 21^st-century skills.  These skills introduce students to real-world situations and all the challenges that come with them.  Being able to troubleshoot (or not being able to) can make or break a project.  Students must learn that it is okay to go through a challenge and figure out how to get back on track.  Students must also learn how to work as a team. Teamwork is another skill that is crucial to the success of a project.  Students need to learn how to manage their own team conflicts and work for the greater good.  You can incorporate things like a team contract, peer evaluation, etc. that will help students look at each other objectively and look at themselves and what they have to offer.  Learning these skills will only help them as they continue on with their education and enter the real-world.
  I think this chapter is full of good tips to help teachers keep their students moving.  It reminds us that the focus should be on the students and their learning.   It is important to ask probing questions, have good conversations where we are listening as much if not more than talking, and have things in place to help us be available for them individually and collectively.  The thing that stuck out to me the most from this chapter was the reminder that using the appropriate technology is so important.  I think it would be easy to get wrapped up in all the bells and whistles that technology offers and forget to look at what it can bring to the project in terms of learning.  

Reading Reflection 7

The first classroom level discussion is teacher to teacher. This is when teachers converse with each other on how the students are doing with main points of the projects, where each classroom is in within the project, and how you think there is some improvements can be made within the project. The second is student to student conferences. This is when the students will converse with each on how they are coming along with the project and where they were supposed to be at. As a teacher you should be looking over the conversations to make sure that they are all on the correct track and having good conversations. The last conversation is between teacher and students. This should be circulating, observing and talking with smaller groups of students and having them discuss their projects with you and how you can improve. 

Procedural is the first questions of how are we staying on schedule, do we have the right materials, and when is the best time to have a field trip or visitor? It is good to have these questions figured out and make sure the students have a project calendar before beginning the project. Teamwork has questions like how are the teams getting along, is one student carrying a lot of the work, are the students able to manage the work between themselves? Some ways to get the answers to these questions is to have  give them a journal where students are able to safely give their opinions on their group mates and their progress. Understanding is asking questions like how you thought about or have you considered this research. These questions are for students who seem to be getting off track or are stuck on ideas within their project. Self-assessment is for students to be able to express their feelings for the project and how they think the project is going. 

Students gain insight into how to communicate with a culturally diverse audience from having exchange podcasts and other forms of communication with other foreign countries. 

The 21st century skills that can make or break a project is teamwork. By making teamwork a formal assessment, you emphasize the importance of the 21st century skill. We need to encourage self-assessment and peer-assessment so students learn how to be part of team, 

I am going to these skills in my assignment by having the students work in groups for their weather broadcast and how they work within a group. I also am going to have teacher to teacher conferences, student to teacher conference and student to student conference. 

Reading Reflection 5

Technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths because blogs offer students space where they can reflect over time about what they are learning. ProfilerPRO can help identify interests, strengths, and weaknesses and use this as a guide for learning. You can see how much the students improve and see their new skills and understandings. Other tools such as SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang will allow you to set up surveys and see students self-assessments compared to the larger group. 

Some ways to get students’ minds ready for a project is to encourage students to explore and think about the topic and discuss their ideas with their peers or family. Get the students really excited for the project. Find different ways to get them excited throughout the week by giving them little hints but not telling them exactly what is going on. This will get the students imagination going as to what the surprise will be. By having a good kickoff the students will be more excited and eager to learn. 

Teaching fundamentals first helps make sure students are on the right path as soon as they start their project. This also allows students to realize everything that they know about the topic and everything that they want to know about the topic. Sharing the rubric is also a very important part so the students know what to expect throughout their project. 

The first step that you have to do is figure out exactly what type of technology and tools that you are going to need for the project. Teachers then should set up a “technology playground”. This allows students to figure out how to actually use the technology before it is important for their project, it allows gives students a chance to help each other learn new things about the tools. Another way to prepare children with technology is to have a check list that checks off that they are on task with the tools that they are using. Lastly have yourself or a media specialist demonstrate how to use the tools. 

Ways to promote deep learning within students projects is to know there is a relationship between need and opportunity, and between scarcity and abundance. Ask students “which one” questions and “how questions”. Students need to be asked “what if” questions and “why” questions to help understand the effect that we have on people. 

I will use this in my project because I will ask students why they think the weather will be what they predicted. I will have the children help each other with the use of thermometers and rain gauge and have demonstrate how to use it before they begin the project. 

Shelly Henderson - EDT 3470 - Reading Reflection #6

Technology tools can help and encourage students to assess themselves, their strengths and their progress.  They can keep a journal of sorts through the use of a blog or some sort of document where they can record their thinking and their learning processes as they go along.  You, the teacher, can set up surveys that they can take at points during the project that will not only help them but also give you some insight into what is going on.  It is important for students to see where they came from, where they ended up and how they got there.

I think getting students’ minds ready for a project could be really fun!  I love the ideas in the textbook where the teachers created a mystery of sorts by presenting artifacts or asked thought-provoking questions without giving much information.  You could also use stories or articles to get students thinking about a topic.  You can even tap into some technology resources to help introduce your topic.  I think giving them just a taste every day and building up their curiosity is a great way to go.  You might even be surprised by what they think or even by what they discover along the way.  It might bring a new perspective to what you were thinking about the project.  Go with their enthusiasm!

Teaching fundamentals first is very important.  When planning a project you don’t want to simply throw the instructions to the students and let them go.  If you teach the fundamentals first, they will head in the right direction with confidence and then be better able to work independent of you along the way.  You don’t want them getting bogged down figuring something out that you could teach them.  Also, it is very helpful to give students an assessment rubric so they know what good performance looks like and what you value.  Give them what they need to move along smoothly and continue with the big picture of your project and they will be more successful.

Preparing students to use technology in a project requires some attention.  As we learned earlier in the book and were reminded of here, technology should not be the project itself, but rather the means by which the project gets done.  Look over your asset map that you created early in your planning process and line those resources up next to what you feel the most important learning functions are.  Then, figure out what the best tools for the job are and think about your students using them.  Think about how they can learn new technology by themselves or by helping each other.  Use technology-advanced students to teach other students. Setting up computer stations and moving students through them in pairs or small groups is a great way to do this.  Be sure to help your students track their progress by showing them some project-management tools where they can journal and keep on top of what they have accomplished.  Also, demonstrate technology to your students if you are able and comfortable.  If you’re not, ask for help from another teacher, a tech-smart student, or your technology specialist.   Think about what technology will really be beneficial for your students to know in the long run and what technology will be useful for the project and teach that. 

Promoting inquiry and deep learning can be done by guiding your students toward skilled questioning.  Help them imagine what the experts would ask or what they would do.  Use question starters like “which one”, “how”, “what if”, “should”, and “why”.  These will help your students to think on a deeper level and look at things differently.  There is so much information out there for students to look at and sift through.  It can be pretty overwhelming.  They need to learn how to assess information with a critical eye and then how to evaluate how much it is worth.  You can help younger students with this process by giving them fewer sources to look at.  You can then give older students richer sites and databases to explore.  After that, students can tap into search engines from which they can get good results.  Beyond that, students could be introduced to the “Big6” which is “an entire information literacy problem-solving approach.” 

The information in this chapter is good to have for planning a PBL project.  It is important to consider how you introduce the project to your students, how you plan for the use of technology, and work towards deeper learning.  I liked reading about different ways of getting students interested and to “buy in” to a project.  I learned more about using technology and that it is necessary to make decisions about what and how much students need to learn.  After reading this chapter, I would like to figure out a way to incorporate more reflection and self-assessment in my project.  I think my students and I would both benefit.

Concept Map 2

Concept Map

Hi Stephanie!  I sent you an email to your gmail account about our concept map.  See you soon!  :O) Shelly

Reading Reflection 5

Before you start project with your students teachers need to consider is what type of materials are you going to need. You should make sure you have all the materials before starting a project so you don’t run into any problems. You also need to consider if there is any technology that you or students have never used before. You should always plan for an introduction for the technology. Will you actually need to expand the access of technology that your students use or will it all right be in the school is something that should be considered. When having a public speaker are you going to have them come in physically or are you going to have them give the presentation virtually. Lastly you should consider who can help you with your project. You could ask other faculty members or even parents to help with the project. 

To help students’ with their time management skills, you should share your project calendar with them so they will be able to see deadlines. Seeing deadlines will help your students be able to plan ahead, track their own progress, and see trouble ahead (hopefully there is none). Teachers should also share the planning calendar with the parents as well so they can help with deadlines and milestones throughout the project. Teachers will also benefit form the schedule of the project to help students break down big concepts of the project and be able to keep the classroom on the right time track. 

The first technology application that was discussed in the book was using a wiki. A wiki is just a Wikipedia page that can be changed by the students and is something that can be changed by multiple students, this is something that would be neat for a group project. The next technology application discussed was a blog. You can create your own blogs, students can have group blogs or you can link all the blogs together. Blogs are great for commenting on each others work, as well as posting work that the whole group needs to see. Drupal and Textpattern are nicer blogs basically. 

I would use these concepts in my project because if I was going to actually preform this lesson I would make sure that I had all the materials for the weather report as well as the journals. I also would make sure to have a schedule where the students, parents and I will be able to follow and make sure we are all on the right track. 

Shelly Henderson - EDT 3470 - Reading Reflection #5

There are important things to consider before starting a project.  First, you need to consider the resources you will need.  Do your students have easy and consistent access to technology?  How available is your school’s computer lab?  Think about whether or not your students will need access to “experts” to answer questions throughout their project.  If so, how can you foster a connection between your students and the experts?  Will it take place face-to-face or will you have to get creative and help them make a virtual connection?  Look at your school staff and get to know others that can help you.  Media specialists, computer lab aides, etc. may prove to be very beneficial sources as you work to put your project together.  Don’t hesitate to ask for help!  In addition to lining up your resources, you will need strategies to support time management, teaming and assessment.  These are 21^st century skills that your students will benefit from, not only in your classroom, but in their other classes and real-world.  Think about scheduling deadlines along the way, break larger tasks into smaller ones, and tap into some learning management systems.  As you plan, keep in mind that the times your students are working with you may look different from one day to the next.  Don’t make a plan for teaming your students up that you can’t adjust or shift around.  Also, you need to plan for assessment during the projects.  You have the freedom to design tools to help you assess their progress and performance as you go along.  Look to formative assessment, as that will allow you to check in on them along the way. 

Keeping track of and managing in-depth projects is a pretty tall order for both teachers and students. Teachers need tools to help them communicate about the project, tools for keeping a calendar/schedule for themselves and students, ways for making resources available and managing work products, structures that support a positive and productive learning environment, and tools and strategies that support assessment.  Students also need systems in place that will help them manage their time, work flow, resources, work products, etc.  They need help managing their tools for collaborating, the methods available for getting help, and the overall flow of their project.  Students should be shown tools that will help them get and use feedback from their teachers, allow for self-reflection, and team input.  I think the most important management need for teachers is some tools for effective communication.  Teachers need to be able to communicate with students, parents, other teachers, supporting adults, etc.  Being able to effectively communicate will make the job more manageable for all involved.  For students, I think it is important that students are given and shown some management options.  Each student is different and one that fits for one may not fit for another.  There are a lot of management tools available, it is important to explore the options and know them ourselves.

The number of technology applications for use on a project is generous!  Web pages such as wikispaces and blogs are great places to start.  With pages like these, teams can write and edit together or one person can have control over the content.  Either way, content can be viewed and commented on.  You can start with a project wiki that gives students a way to communicate with you and a place from which they can create pages of their own.  They can also link podcasts, blogs, other wikis, photos, etc.  Students can also create their own virtual offices on the Web.  There are a lot of valuable tools available through a personalized web page, and students can tweak and make them truly their own.  You should know enough to lay the foundation for them, but they should be given the challenging 21st century  task of creating their own pages that will work the best for them. 

From this chapter I learned that there a lot of valuable tools available for teachers and students when working on a PBL project.  I learned that organization and communication are two important elements.  I learned that I need to pay closer attention to how things are facilitated and managed.  I think that it would be easy to think that projects could just be managed along the way, but now better understand that management strategies need to be in place when starting out.  I need to step back and look at my project with these things in mind.  Being prepared at the beginning will help everyone’s projects go more smoothly and be more successful.  Also, it would keep things much more manageable for me.  

Reading Reflection 4

RSome potential pitfalls in project design are that the project could be a long activity, but the students are not getting a big learning benefiting out of the project. If this is to happen, this isn’t worth your time or the students time. Another is technology is just layering over traditional practice, students should not just be researching online and then presenting online. This is just a research project which is not a quality project. Thirdly trivial thematic units are not always the best because students may not be getting disciplined, or being collaborative with one another. Lastly the project may be too complicated and have way to many steps. 

A good project won’t use any of the above pitfalls and will be very flexible. Flexibility allows things to change within the project in case things come up that will make the project too hard or too easy. The students need to want to be involved in the project is very essential because it will make the projects better and give the students something to be proud of in the end. Students are structured to learn from themselves and one another and are realistic with goals that they set for their projects. 

Project ideas come from many different places.  Some come from books, where students can show each other what they have learned, projects that are developed from other teachers, new stories or contemporary issues. Project ideas can also come from students interest or questions, or just a “mash-up” of good ideas. 

The first step when designing is to make a final list of learning objectives for core subjects and allied disciplines. You then decide on the specific 21st-century skills you want address. Then identify learning dispositions you want to foster. The secondly establish evidence of understanding. You must imagine how the students will be different as learners and people. Then you must plan the project or theme of the entire project. Lastly you must start to plan what you are going to say and do to get the students excitement and attention in the project. 

I am going to use this concept in my project because I am going to make a good project for my students. I am going to make sure none of pitfalls are in my project and that I follow this list of steps in designing my project. 

Reading Reflection 3

When finding the “Big Idea” for a project things that need to be considered are the real world concepts and how this will help students in the community. 

The 21st century skills are analyze, evaluate, and create. Analyze is examining, explaining, investigate, characterize, classify, compare, deduce, differentiate, discriminate, illustrate and prioritize. Evaluate refers to judging, selection, justifying, verifying, improving, defending, debating, convincing, recommending, and assessing. Create is referring to adaption, anticipation, combining, composing, inventing, designing, imagining, proposing, theorizing, and formulating. 21st century literacies the NETS S address, communication and collaboration, research and information fluency, digital citizenship and technology operations.

Essentials learning functions are very useful in learning inside and outside the classroom, and all the time, deep living, making things visible and discussable, expressing ourselves, sharing ideas, building community, collaboration-teaching and learning with others, research, project management-planning and organization, and reflection and iteration. 

The research would be very helpful within our project because the students will research the weather in certain areas using the web.

Shelly Henderson - EDT 3470 - Reading Reflection #4

Learning to look at your projects critically will make a huge difference in their success.  There are many potential pitfalls and if you don’t pay attention to them, you could have a project that lacks in many areas.  Keeping your students and the quality of their experience at the forefront of your decision-making will help you design a project that avoids them.  Possible pitfalls include a project that is lengthy and full of busy work.  It may lack in depth and cause students to create products that are very similar from group to group.  The thinking involved here is lower-level, not higher-level.  Another pitfall is when technology is used simply as a means to an end, not as a tool that can help students reach high learning goals.  Often, teachers use themes to guide their lessons.  This can be dangerous in terms of project design because themes don’t automatically help students make connections and elevate their learning.  Themes do have the potential to provide the platform for interdisciplinary lessons, collaborative learning and higher-level thinking.  You just need to be careful when working with them.  Something else to look out for is whether or not the project is largely scripted, and not more open-ended.  You want to avoid a project that is predictable and where students create work that is similar to others.  This pitfall occurs when students aren’t making their own decisions about their learning and taking ownership. 

A good project is one that avoids the above pitfalls and that is driven by the students’ experiences.  Such a project is flexible, allowing for changes along the way where either the students or teachers deem necessary.  Students need to be engaged in the learning, asking their own questions that they want answered, and believing in what they are doing.  The very best projects include these features:  they are flexible and have room for diverse learning paths, they allow the students to construct meaning, they are inquiry based, they engage students because they include real-life experiences, they are interdisciplinary, they involve the greater school and/or community, they tap into primary sources through the use of technology, they give students the opportunity to learn and teach each other, they invite work on 21^st century skills and literacies, and the good projects allow students to take risks in safe environments and learn by doing.  The best projects are owned by the students and guided by the teacher. 

We are surrounded by project ideas!  Anyone willing to do a little looking, even in an area where it doesn’t seem like a project is possible, may be surprised.  I think the saying “don’t reinvent the wheel” is important to consider when designing a project, especially if you are on your own or doing it for the first time.  There are tons of resources out there that can offer ideas, support, guidance, and collaboration.  There are even project plans out there written by teachers for teachers.  Exploring other plans might guide you in creating your own and once you have a successful one, it most likely will lead to another.  Teachers need to be aware of what’s around them and be open to what they may discover. 

There are steps to take when designing your project.  Start by spending some time revisiting the framework you created when considering the “big ideas” and establishing the learning objectives.  Decide on the 21^st century skills you want to focus on, be specific.  Think about what learning skills you want your students to experience and “establish evidence of understanding.”  Start planning the theme or the challenge of your project.  Then examine how you are going to introduce them to the project, how you are going to get them excited and engaged.  Now you are ready to make your “project sketch.”  This is just a brief statement summing up your thoughts so far.  At this point, you should share your sketch with your colleagues and get some critical feedback.  Use them to help you look critically at your plans.  After, you then need to create an “asset map” to organize your resources, materials, etc.  This can even be done with some collaboration and managed with technology.

The ideas in this chapter will be very helpful in creating our project.  I appreciate the step-by-step guidance for creating a PBL project and the rich resources that are offered.  I like being given “permission” to look at other projects, to see how different educators have handled their projects, and to know that there are lots of resources out there so we don’t have to feel alone when working on ours.  I really liked the section on where projects ideas come from.  We are surrounded by possibilities and I feel like this chapter will help us tap into those while staying on track and organized. 

Weather Pals

Click here for a description of what's in store for our Weather Pals


Here again is a map showing how far away we are from our friends in Italy.  (original post 2-1)

Lesson Plans

Hi Stephanie! 
I thought about your idea for our lesson plans and I love it! I will do a plan on the weather journals.  (I originally wrote this as a comment on one of your posts but I wasn't sure you'd see it so I deleted it and posted it here)

Have a good weekend!

:O) Shelly

Shelly Henderson - EDT 3470 - Reading Reflection #3

When planning a project you should identify the “big ideas” first and foremost.  These big ideas are the “core concepts and processes” that you want your students to know at the conclusion.  Basically the core concept is the focus of the project, or the subject matter being examined.  The processes are the means of getting the information to the students or the means through which they make discoveries.  i.e.: What will they do?  How will they do it?  As part of your planning, you should think about the big ideas and ask why they are important.  Thinking about their real-life applications will guide you in creating a 21^st Century project.

Developing and honing in on 21^st Century skills should be part of a PBL project.  Students need to be stretched and challenged and we should be ready to learn alongside them.  Using higher order thinking skills will take a project to a whole new level and encourage real-world connections.  When students learn to analyze, evaluate, and create they will be more driven and motivated.  Their project will take on new life as they develop these skills and apply them. 

Learning and using 21^st Century skills broadens the horizons for students and teachers.  As students develop skills such as creative thinking, using digital media, applying technology to gather, use and evaluate information, etc. they become more “literate” in terms of today’s definition.  Nowadays literacy goes beyond being able to read and write.  It includes being able to navigate in today’s technology-filled world.  Students become “literate” by learning to be “independent, aware and productive” members of their community and world. 

We can help our students along the way by focusing on the “essential learning functions” that technology can teach and support and including them in our PBL projects.  We should focus on the function we need for our students to work on then choose the appropriate tools that support it.  

• ·         “Ubiquity” is giving our students the opportunity to learn anytime, anywhere and should be our number one goal with whatever project we create.  Using technologies like GPS systems, MP3 players and Google Docs support this, enabling students to learn wherever they are, whenever they want and with anyone. 
• ·         We need to push our students to go beyond learning from something where meaning is provided by others to a level where they are looking at more primary sources and “raw” information.  This push for “deep learning” involves higher-order thinking skills as students sort through the information and analyze it. 
• ·        By “making things visible and discussable” students get into the practice of showing rather than telling which gets a conversation going.  Tools such as Google Maps, Flickr, and FreeMind Mindmapper help students with this function. 
• ·         The function of “expressing ourselves, sharing ideas, building community” is supported all the time on the web these days.  We can use the same tools that students are accustomed to using socially to support their learning and share their ideas.
• ·         PBL projects invite learning and working together.  Using tools like wikis, webinars, survey tools, etc., let students meet other students and experts.  Teachers can use these tools as well to find experts and colleagues near and far.  The function of “collaboration” is crucial this day and age. 
• ·         Projects involve all sorts of “research.”  Nowadays, students quickly turn to the web for their information.  Students need tools to help them sift through the immense stacks of information, make some sense out of it, and organize what they need.  Research tools can help this process.
• ·         A significant “essential learning function” for students is the management of their time, work, sources, etc.  Students need to learn about “project management: planning and organization.”  The creation of their own home page will help them by giving them a space to work and access to a variety of tools to help them. 
• ·         “Reflection and iteration” is a function important to all learners.  Learning is extended when we look at our ideas from different points of view and also look back at our thinking along the way.  Students can see where they started and where they ended through the use of tools such as a blog or wiki.  I think it would be very rewarding to see the whole process from beginning to end.

This chapter is rich with concepts that are important to a PBL project.  As I work on my weather project, it will be important to start out with some thinking about the “big ideas” and understanding our goals for the project.  The “essential learning functions” must be considered and I like the way they are presented in the chapter with examples and ideas.  I would not have thought about many of them before this, and see where they are important to PBL.  I hope I can have a clear big idea, have good plans covering 21^st Century skills and literacies, and be able to strongly introduce and support the essential learning functions.  If these things are considered, I think you can have a strong, successful PBL project.  

Stephanie Joseph - 3 Websites

My 3 Websites to use! 

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/reachout/kidspage.shtml

http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/

http://www.weather.com/

Stephanie Joseph - Reading Reflection 2

The focus of Learning Communities is for educators to work together to overcome the the traditional isolation of the the profession. Teachers can use each other to get feedback about their programs and solve problems with the ideas of others. The benefits of Learning Communities is that educators have someone else to rely on for ideas to help improve their programs that they have created. Teachers are able to see what other educators are doing and see where they should be improving their lessons. Being part of a community helps bring your professional life to be more productive and satisfying. It helps ensure the students learn, create a culture of collaboration for school improvement, and focus on results of things going on. 

Learning Communities help students because it shows students that the teachers are willing to take a risk and try something new. By showing this to students, they are then encouraged to take their own risks and not be afraid to try something new. 

Shared vision is a huge contribution to the Learning Communities because it allows teachers to focus on students needs and collaborate with each other. By collaborating with each other it allows them to have the shared vision and help students. 

I think this chapter helps with my project because I want to have a shared vision with my teammate. I want to work together and have the students enjoy our activities that we have planned. I think having a Learning Community would be really helpful and sounds like something that would be very a good thing to do.