Chapter 6-Launching the Project

This week we read about preparing the actual project experience. Technology can be a great way for students to reflect on their learning and look at their own learning strengths and weaknesses. A good way for this to happen is by having students create their own online blog. A blog works well for reflective learning, because students can look back on how they entered into the project, and how they have changed over time. The essential step to getting students excited about a project, is to intentionally transfer your passion about the topic, over to your students. The best way is to activate their prior knowledge on the issue. One of the ways to do this is with a K-W-L chart, or a "Know, Wonder, Learn" chart. Other areas of education refer to it as "Know, Want to Know, and Learned" chart, but the idea is the same. Basically, students begin the chart by describing what they already know about the topic. They write this in the first column. In the second column, they write questions they have about the topic, or things that they wonder about it. In the last column, after the lesson, they write down what things they learned. Before beginning a project, it's important to teach students the prerequisite skills they need to actively participate. Students need to know where they are in terms of their knowledge of a subject, as well as where they are expected to go with their learning. Students also need to know how they will be evaluated on their performance. The best way to do this is by using rubrics that cover the different dimensions of their project. When it comes to technology, we should take advantage of our technologically literate students. Teachers of course can demonstrate technology if they feel comfortable enough using it. But in this day and age, we have to remember that our students' lives are saturated with technology. We can tap into their expertise, and let them explore the technology, and even help each-other navigate through it. A great way to get students interested in the project, is by building up to it. Get students excited about the project by asking them questions, and having them ask questions of their own. I really like the idea of students using a blog to track their learning. I would apply this in our project by having students use it like a journal about their project experience. In the blog, students would talk about what they were doing, how they liked it, what they were learning, and how they might change it. In their blog they would also appeal to our sister class in Great Britain to find out what they were doing and how it related to their project overseas.

Chapter 5: Getting Organized

Personal time management has never been a forte of mine. I function on procrastination, it seems. I think this has always been a tendency of mine, since the days of elementary, middle, and high school. Unfortunately, by bad management skills have caused more trouble than good in recent weeks and months, leaving me anxious and very stressed out. This is not a good example to students and is therefore an aspect of my life which I try very hard everyday to change, because one day I will have students who depend on me to teach them these skills. They are especially essential skills during project based learning experiences, as there is a lot of information to keep track of over a long period of time. Project management is also important during the beginning stages of the project, where things such as resources, deadlines, teams and plans for assessment have to be considered. Both the teacher and the student should be prepared to keep track of what is going on and when it is going on in order to keep everyone on the same page. There are a lot of ways to help everyone involved stay organized during the project, and one of the ways becoming more and more popular is using the internet and web-based organizational tools, and even creating a class wiki where everyone in the class is given project updates as they happen. This also allows for cross-cultural learning experiences where students can connect with other students across the globe and even do projects together over the internet.

Chapter 4: Discoveries

This week we read about facing the important task of choosing a topic for and designing a project. That word keeps coming up: "authenticity". There are pitfalls to avoid when planning a project-based-learning experience. Certain things need to be avoided, such as projects with too many steps, or activities whose learning outcomes are not worth the time it took to actually attain them. Instead, we need to choose projects that can be accomplished in a timely manner and which interest our students so that they want to continue with it. One thing I really liked, and something which has always made sense to me, is the idea of establishing an environment where the students want to ask questions. That is largely the idea behind project based learning, where students become so engrossed in the real-life work that they're doing, that they look forward to it every day. The topic is so important, in fact, that learner preference alone may be all it takes to change topics at the beginning of the project if it means that interests will be peaked. This all makes so much sense, especially when I consider some of the responses I've seen from students when faced with a new topic of study. Generally, it becomes apparent who is and is not going to be engaged for the remainder of the unit. This will come into play when we introduce our topic: putting on a musical. It will be very important to introduce the idea to the class in such a way as to instill excitement in everyone in the class. On top of that, is the need for everyday learning experiences to be authentically tied into what is being achieved in the project. This helps the students see the correlation between the knowledge attained at school, and the world where they get to apply it.

Map to London

View To London! in a larger map

Virtual PenPals!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YX5cuZ-QoKHVJIoChCRz1qJE8Cl7PBqap9CPgufWHgs/edit

21st Century Learners

As I read through chapter 3, one big idea kept leaping out at me: authenticity. Now that we've determined the over-arching theme of our project, the next step is to plan for the ways that students will reach the final goal, using authentic tasks to get them there. The other, and even more important aspect, is to ensure that students are still learning their material throughout the project experience. I really liked the quote regarding textbooks: the textbook should become "a reference book rich with illustrations and supplying information written at the reading and conceptual level of the student". This rings true with me, as a student who has always loved to look through textbooks. I love, love, love the idea of encouraging students to look to their textbooks for answers. Not just for mundane nightly readings, but for real, authentic understanding. Textbooks provide a plethora of information, and are oftentimes full of pictures and captions. What better place to go to find useful information, if, say, the internet is broken? Speaking of the internet... In this age we find ourselves in, there is an overwhelming demand on students to establish the skills they need to function in the future: a future no doubt dominated by technology. One of the goals of these such projects, is to use use them as means of establishing these 21st century skills. Projects can be used to teach students research strategies, collaboration strategies, and even teaching them to be highly productive. All of these skills are needed by students to help them function technologically...to know how to find information, and talk about it later, doing so as efficiently as possible. These types of activities are also great opportunities for students of all educational backgrounds to find a niche that pertains to their own learning styles. With the discussion of learning dispositions in the reading, I couldn't help but think about my own work in special education. Every student learns differently. They all have different learning dispositions. By knowing these dispositions, we, the teachers, can better individualize our instruction. These are practices which are constantly reinforced when learning to work with students who have special needs. Thinking through this grid, it's easy to carry this idea over. Even when working in a general education classroom, teachers must be aware of the different needs of students be they educational, physical, or emotional.

Reflection Ch. 3

"Good projects get to the heart of a discipline." 

I was so excited when I read this line under the first heading. This week in practicum my co-teacher and I gave the students an "All About Me" assessment. I asked the students how they learn best, and one of my students, a young lady in the 6th grade, wrote:

"I like doing hands-on projects because art comes from the heart."

Without knowing it, this young lady put her finger on the pulse of learning. She talked about how she likes to learn, yes, but she also discussed her passion for creating something. I think this is the essence of project based learning, and it's amazing to see it captured in the writing of a 6th grade student.

The concept of a "big idea" is something we address daily in the classroom I serve. Every time we read something, we ask the students to lift out the big idea, and expand on it with 20 words. As a teacher, finding the big idea when planning and aligning our lessons with standards and curriculum expectations, finding the big idea is of equal importance. A hands-on project with a focused, main idea can create an awesome learning experience for our students.

I love that this chapter touches on the Bloom's Taxonomy and higher order thinking. Addressing the higher ordering thinking actions is important in lesson planning and in teaching. Another way to approach learning is called Multiple Intelligence's, which teaches to the student's strengths. I think both methods have their merits.

My Websites

My Websites:


Musicals 101: How to Put on a Musical


Maverick Musicals and Plays: The Maverick Guides


Arts Alive: How to put on a Play

Our Pen Pals Across the Sea :)

Our Pen Pal Map!

Chapter 2: Creating a Professional Learning Community

The world is quickly changing, letting go of the old ways to make room for the new. No longer is school a place where students sit together in a class under the authority and supervision of one teacher for the entirety of the day. No longer are teachers working by themselves to prepare and present lessons. The new idea is collaboration, that is, working together with other teachers in the school to build off of one another, offer constructive criticism, and provide support both professionally, and inevitably, socially and emotionally. These types of environments are called "learning communities". Learning communities serve to keep teachers from becoming isolated in their profession. This idea of being isolated in the school building makes sense, especially when working in Special Education. In fact, it would seem that some Special Education teachers spend most of their careers in the classroom at the end of the hallway, or downstairs in the boiler room, away from the rest of the school. How much more beneficial could these students' learning experiences be if their teacher had the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers in the school? According to Jeff Whipple, the key necessity for collaboration is respect. As a teacher participating in a learning community, one must be able to give and receive both positive and critical feedback. Learning communities need not exist in the same school. Some teachers have found their collaborative projects by joining forces with teachers halfway around the globe. These types of experiences are beneficial to everyone, I think, as the teacher is able to connect with another teacher, and the students get the experienc of not only learning with another classroom, but another classroom on the other side of the world. So often, teachers only collaborate with one another in regards to schedules, individual students, and general nit-picky details. The idea is not to abandon those necessary interactions, but to expand them to include deep conversations about what is being taught each day, so other educators might be able to provide ideas and feedback. It seems a bit strange that the idea of a learning organization, where teachers "learn to learn" originated in the business world. Origins aside, it is a beneficial effort for everyone involved.