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.