Let's Keep this Project in Motion.

Let's Keep this Project in Motion!

The most frustrated I ever felt during my schooling years certainly had to be in eighth grade. I hated when Miss M got rolling with questions, because they were always pointless. Why do we do math? Why do we do English? I wanted to say "I don't know, you tell me!"

Asking the right questions, and more importantly, asking pertinent questions, can keep our students rolling when working on a project. To me, nothing was more frustrating then being half-way through our math lesson and Miss M starting in with the stupid questions. No, I don't care why I have to know how to find the mean of these numbers, let me stumble upon it when putting my mind to use in a project!

As teachers we are not the sage on the stage, and we need to hand those reigns over to our students. Why shouldn't our students be asking each other questions and opening up to each other during our projects? I want my students to communicate among themselves and know which resources can help them do this.

I have a fear of whole class conversation. In the classroom I currently serve, we have several students with receptive learning disabilities. This basically means that when I stand there saying something, the student hears what I am saying, but the process of understanding is not happening, and my words are not being stored in the child's long-term (or even working) memory. I don't want these students to be left out in the dark when it comes to group discussions. I like to use think-pair-shares. I tend to start these off with a question I pose to the class, and then have them think independently, share with a partner, and then share out. This gives all of my students a chance to process and think.

Allowing our students to be in their groups during instruction time (while working on a project based learning excursion) can be beneficial for all. Our students will be thinking and discussing among themselves and can apply what we talk about to each groups' topic.

As teachers how do we progress monitor without interfering? I like the idea of an exit slip. Ask the students if they feel their group is making progress, or if they need any help. Every student needs to hand in a response in order to leave class, and now the teacher has information without being invasive in the group process. Teachers can encourage student reflection without being invasive as well. A five sentence summary in an individual journal at the end of a week of work can be an excellent way to gain insight and make decisions regarding the groups.

Lastly, teachers have to expect those speed bumps.We don't want our students to feel frustrated or discourage during the project, and our discreet progress monitoring can help prevent these issues from emerging. But what if something slips under our radar? I see this everyday in practicum. My students get frustrated with the work and shut down. With our topic, musicals can provide many opportunities for set backs. Lines to memorize, music to learn, dance steps... it can be daunting! We need to be prepared to address these issues and keep our students positive.