Chapter 11

1. Description of what occurs as a result of using the Project-based learning approach.

In project based learning the class/ whole group have gone on a “journey” they have created ideas, researched topics, developed plans and presentations, fail, succeeded, gained knowledge, and valuable problem solving skills. The students have worked in groups and understand the importance of team work, the class has grown together in maturing skills for the 21^st century.

2. Discussion on ways to “bring your project home”.

When discussing how to bring a project home would be to capitalize on the investment made and the time spent preparing and executing the project. Think of the big picture, what did your student learn beyond the research and presentation element, how are they more prepared now than at the beginning, do your students see that learning doesn’t just take place in the classroom.? Take time to critique your work, what improvements could be made for the next time. Share your insights with other teachers from your school, district, community, state, region, or across the country, or on the other side of the world. Once you share the information help others with questions that arise, discuss and criticize ideas until perfection is reached. Show your students how hard they have worked and that more people than the teacher can see it, enter into a contest.

3. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

 

This relates to our project because we are nearing the end, we can see the light, we cannot enjoy it yet but we have begun to critique our methods and how we could/should have changed a few things. This has been a journey one that when it started seemed easy enough but as the ideas, preparation, and execution came around it was more difficult. I hope that when others see how hard and thoughtful we have worked we can help them out in a way.

`Throughout the semester, our concept map changed tremendously due to the fact that we started to understand where we wanted to exactly take this project.  We changed it so that students would be learning about healthy living through four different areas opposed to learning about healthy living through ages of life.  We changed it to focus on, diet, exercise, drugs and alcohol, and sleeping habits, to have the project be more relatable for students. This change will allow students to research and explore what makes a person healthy and why it is important.

Digital Story: Health and Wellness Fair

 

Health and Wellness Digital Story

1.

Reflection after completing a project is very important for students to do because it acts like glue and helps make the information stick.  Reflection helps students look back at the information and discover new information they have missed.  The book states that reflection is helpful for students because it allows them to, “ Think about what they learned, their growth as learners, and what they want to learn in projects ahead. 

2.

As a teacher, it is our job to encourage our students to elaborate their answers and reflections.  This allows students to think on a higher level and allows them to my connections to the world around them. You can encourage students to elaborate on reflections by asking Higher Order of Thinking Questions based off of Blooms Taxonomy.

3.

A good way to build tradition and identity is to share your students accomplishments.  When their accomplishments are shared with the community, they will give you support and want to be involved more in the school. Ask the community to be a part of learning celebrations,

4.

Having a celebration for learning is very meaningful for students.  It allows them to show off their hard work and feel proud of it.  It is always good to share work with the community.

5.

This topic relates to my projects because at the end of the project the students are going to hold a health and wellness fair.  Students will present their work to parents, peers, and the community.

Chapter 9 Reflection

1. Description of a method of understanding prior-knowledge of students.

A good way to understand students prior knowledge is through K-W-L Charts.  The charts informs you of what they already know about the subject you are working on, what they are wondering, and what they want to learn. As a teacher it is important to keep in mind that not all students are going to be on the same level, or have the same prior knowledge.

1. Discussion on the importance of establishing anchors for a project.

When a teacher establish anchors for a project, it allows teachers to understand where the student is starting and how they've progress throughout the project.  Also by establishing anchors, it allows teachers to differentiate instruction to meet all types of learners throughout the class.

1. Description of several ways to assess what students learned during the project.

There are several ways to assess students learning during the project. Some examples are:

• Making rubrics 
• Have students make something new of what they have learned.
• Ask students to reflect through oral communication or verbal on what they have learned.
• Give students basic tests.

1. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

I can use these concepts in my project by getting students prior knowledge.  We do this in one of our first lesson by asking them what they know about how to stay healthy.  Getting a feel on what the students know will help me set specific anchors and goals for students.

Chapter 8 reflection

1. Description of some ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom.

Today’s classrooms have the most available connections to the world beyond the classroom. Students are able to reach out not only to other classrooms in their school but to schools on the other side of the world through blogs, skype, and other types of interactive communication. Students are able to connect with experts in the field of their assigned project via email, and other social media networks. Designing projects that encourage outside of classroom communications and research will support students growth outside of the four walls of the school.

2. Description of the EAST Initiative Model.

Environmental and Spatial Technologies Initiative Model is an education based program that utilizes technology to solve problem and make improvement in communities. Started in 1996 there are now more than 260 schools in seven states. It began in Alabama and proved to be very successful it then was replicated to hundreds of other teachers who sill continue professional development on this model. Tim Stephenson is credited with this program he figured out that it was the technology and problem solving that was bringing students to class who where before considered at risk of failing. There are four essential ideas of EAST; student driven learning, authentic project based learning, technology as tools, and collaboration. At the end of each school year students are invited to a conference where they are able to show off their projects.

3. Discussion on some reasons to let students “lead” their projects.

When children are giving the opportunity to explore the world around them they will seek new information that an adult or teacher never would have expected. They see the world in a different light, when students are given the opportunity to be independent thinkers it helps develop responsibility.

4. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

We have to remember in this project that we might not always agree, and we have to allow for different ideas to flow. With our topic being about health and wellness we really need to incorporate technology, and persons from the field and from around the world to share their thoughts, opinions, and advice. We are working on a topic that could very well fit into an EAST class, with more research we could develop an amazing project for them.  

Reflection 8

1. Description of some ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom.

Some ways to build connections is with experts.  Teachers can make connections happen by recognizing a learning opportunity or make introductions online to connect curious students with willing experts.  Making connections with experts may require a bit of effort on the educators part.  It is also the teachers responsibility to prepare students on how to work and communicate with the experts.  Teachers use their knowledge to expand students circles by connecting them with community members in and out side of their own community.  This can be done through exchanging videos, blog entries, and other forms of online communication.

1. Description of the EAST Initiative Model.

EAST is the Environmental and Spatial Technologies Initiative network. The purpose of this school network is to benefit students' problem solving and communication skills. The model is made up of four ideas:

• Student-driven learning: Students need to be responsible for their own learning.
• Authentic project-based learning: Students should be engaged in solving real problems in their communities. 
• Technology as tools: Students need access to the relevant technologies that professionals use to solve problems.
• Collaboration:  When students collaborate in teams to pursue authentic projects, they accomplish more than any one person can do in isolation.

1. Discussion on some reasons to let students “lead” their projects.

I believe it is important for students to lead their projects because it then makes them responsible for their learning and not depend on other people.  Also, it teaches the student responsibility and organization.  In my opinion, the number one benefit for students leading their projects is because students are able to chart their own learning path.

1. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

These concepts relate to my project because it teaches up it is important for students to think outside their bubble.  For my project, I could connect students and set up interviews with dietitians or nutritionist to further their knowledge on healthy living.

Reading Reflection 9

1. Description of a method of understanding prior-knowledge of students
By finding out what students understand prior to the lesson, you as a teacher have a general idea of what objectives take the most importance over others. You know what areas of study will need to be addressed the most and what areas only need to be fine tuned.

2. Discussion on the importance of establishing anchors for a project
Students won’t all be in the same place learning wise at the end of the lesson. Just like they weren’t all in the same place at the beginning of the lesson. Anchors help you gain a sense of where students are starting and how far they are going as they work to meet learning goals. At the end of the lesson, you also have a better understanding of where every student is.

3. Description of several ways to assess what students learned during the project
Some ways to assess what students learned include tests, asking what they learned, creating something new, model real world assessments, and submitting work for publication or contests. A test is the most traditional way to assess students’ knowledge after a project. Asking students what they learned offers less pressure on the students and acts like a simple talk. But modeling real world assessments is the best way, I believe, because they are used in the real world. The more students get a better understanding of how they’ll be assessed in the real world, the more they’ll be prepared.

4. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project
We’ve looked at the different ways to assess what the students learned. This is difficult because each student learns at a different pace and probably learned something different than their partner. Finding the right assessment is key to growth for the next project.

Reading Reflection 8

1. Description of some ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom.
Technology is a great way to reach an authentic audience. Technology such as blogs help by connecting students and teachers and by giving students their own voice. It creates a communication medium. It also offers opportunities for students to branch out into the community or farther to research topics for their projects.

2. Description of the EAST Initiative Model.
The EAST Initiative model is the Environmental and Spacial Technologies. They work to make technology usable in the outside world. Students master these sophisticated tools and application in context while solving community problems that interest them. Technology is a hook that attracts children to contribute more into their communities.

3. Discussion on some reasons to let students “lead” their projects.
When students lead student projects, they develop an independence and leadership, learning how to interact with their peers and learning what they are most passionate about. Everyone has a part in a project and students can find their own place when they take the lead in a project they love.

4. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
Our project is very student led and it's given us more independence. I've also learned more about my community during this project.

Reflection 10

Description of the levels of classroom discussions.

1. Teacher to teacher- this is when teachers have one-on-one collaboration about and in class.  This usually is when they are touching points on the next day lessons, or when students are not understanding the concepts.  
2. Student to student- students need to be taught to collaborate with each other.  Collaborations among students are sought to be beneficial.  It is always  a good reminder that good communication is what makes the best teamwork. It is always good to model how to give effective feedback to one another.
3. Teacher to student- During project-based learning teachers are occasionally giving whole group instruction. Most instructions or learning of new materials happen to a low teacher to student ratio.  This type of method is ideal for practicing your own listening skills and asking probing questions that push students toward higher-order thinking.

Discussion on the questions for “checking in” on students during a project.
There are four questions should use with students' during the "checking in " process, they are:

• Procedural: Are we staying on schedule? 
• Teamwork: How are team members getting along?  If you see students are consistently contributing less than others, use this observation to open dialogue about teamwork.
• Understanding; spend time observing teams at work, listening to student conversations, and asking robing question is key.  Have you thought about....? Have you considered this research?
• Self-assessment: this is used to find out what students are thinking about the project, and ask questions that encourage self-assessments and reflection. 

Discussion on the benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology.

When students optimize the use of technology they gain new insights into how to communicate with a culturally diverse audience.  Also it allows studetn to critique peers in a constructive way.

Discussion on the 21st-century skills that can make or break a project.

One issue that is consider a 21st century skill is troubleshooting. This is an issue the effects project managers. Teachers need to teach students to understand htat real-world projects come  with real-world challenges. Another issue is teamwork. Group members  need to learn project implementation, and need to learn to pay close attention to team dynamics.  If students detect trouble, help them learn to manage their own team conflict. 

Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
Our whole project in this class deals with students working together and collaborating as a group.  This chapter has a lot of information for teachers and how to teach students collaboration.

Chapter 7 Reflection

1. Description of the levels of classroom discussions.

When implementing a project there are three main levels of discussions that take place; teacher to teacher, student to student, and teacher to student. Teacher to teacher discussions will take place before, during and after the unit. Teacher discussions allow for critical criticism, while working together to build a strong unit that the student will gain the needed knowledge and skills. Student to student discussions allow for the student to dive deeper into their experiences with the project. Usually done best in groups students are able to explain their thinking process and reasoning skills to one another which in turn helps students learn from one another. Teacher to student discussion is a traditional method that everyone is familiar with, but when working in project based learning this level of discussion should be different. This discussion is more about the teacher listening to the student’s responses to one another and in their groups. The teacher should only be having these discussions as whole group when introducing new topics.

2. Discussion on the questions for “checking in” on students during a project.

As we know every student is different and not everyone will learn at the same pace or even learn in the same manner, so when students are working in groups on projects it is necessary to check in on groups. The book states to check in about half way through the project but in my experiences checking in a few times (at least 3) is very beneficial to the teacher and the group. If a teacher doesn’t check in enough it is possible the group will be very of track or off topic and this makes it more difficult to help them reroute in a small amount of time. If a teacher checks in too often the project isn’t really the student’s project but the teachers with the help of the students.

            There are four main areas that a teacher wants to check in with when students are working as a group; procedural, teamwork, understanding, and self assessment. Procedural questions to ask could be is the group staying on schedule? Are there sources outside of the school that could better help them understand the topics? Teamwork questions could be how are they working together? Is there any conflict? Is everyone sharing the work load? Understanding questions might be higher order thinking questions, what does this information say to you? How could you use this information outside of school? And always check the self assessment of a student so that they know how they are feeling about their progress and their personal understanding of the project.

3. Discussion on the benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology.

When technology is implemented and used thoroughly in class projects the students have a different path of learning. They are able to gain new insights that might not have been possible through traditional teaching. Students are able to practice their 21^st century learning skills, while developing new skills that are involved when working with groups, technology, and presenting information.

4. Discussion on the 21st-century skills that can make or break a project.

There are many 21^st century learning skills that student will learn in project based learning communities, two that are always found when working with technology are trouble shooting and managing conflict. Trouble shooting skills are essential when working with technology, students must know that where lays technology lays the chance it will fail, and lose everything you have worked on. The project might not be worth pay like in a “real- world” job, but students need to understand the challenges of the real world. Working in groups will usually have some type of conflict, and student who will be successful in the working world will know how to manage conflict with in groups and the workplace.

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

This chapter relates to our topics and project very well, managing conflicts be it with time, schedules, classmates, etc helps us to develop our 21^st century learning skills as well. When it comes to questioning and monitoring students we are at an age that we should be self monitoring a lot more with all they levels of communication and they types of questions that were discussed in number 2.

For Lesson 2 I will be collecting a data sample of the children in our school on what their favorite activity is. This will be used to evaluate the types of exercise and how long the students in our school exercise compared to our pen pals

Reading Reflection 7

Chapter 7: A Guiding Hand--Keeping a Project Moving

1. Description of the levels of classroom discussions.

• Teacher to Teacher: These conversations will likely touch on everything from the procedural to a formative assessment. If teachers do not have time for face-to-face collaboration, be sure you are using a blog, wiki, or any other collaborative tool to keep the conversation going.
• Student to Student: They should be talking about their learning experiences as they unfold within their teams as well across teams. remind them that good communication skills are part of effective teamwork and will help keep them organized and on track. 
• Teacher to Student: The teacher is apt to be circulating, observing, and talking with smaller groups of students. This method is ideal for practicing your own listening skills and asking probing questions that push students toward high-order thinking.

2. Discussion on the questions for “checking in” on students during a project.

• Procedural: Are we staying on schedule? To track progress toward milestones and deadlines, remind students of the project calendar and monitor students' project logs and checklists.
• Teamwork: How are team members getting along? Circulate and ask questions to help assess team dynamics. If you have students using a project blog or journal, ask them to write an entry specifically about their team's progress. Give them a safe place to raise concerns or to ask for help if they are experiencing team trouble. 
• Understanding: Have you thought about...? Spend time observing teams at work, listening to student conversations, and asking questions. Review online work spaces where you can see student work in progress. if you see students going way off task or basing their decisions on faulty information, ask questions or suggest resources to redirect them. 
• Self-assessment: To find out what students are thinking about the project, ask questions that encourage self-assessment and reflection. Project journals or blogs offer space for students to describe challenges or frustrations =, to ask questions that they may not feel comfortable asking in class, or to share their excitement about the project. 

3. Discussion on the benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology.

• Students will gain new insights into how to communicate with a culturally diverse audience. Students may also gain benefits in the outset of a project or by taking in constructive criticism. 

4. Discussion on the 21st-century skills that can make or break a project.

• During a project, pay close attention to team dynamics and if you detect trouble, help students learn to manage their own team conflicts.It is a real-life skill that will serve them well for years to come. Encourage self-assessment by asking the students to describe the skills they have to offer a team. 

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

• The concepts of this chapter relate to my project tremendously due to the "checking in" system on a student in a project. These procedures are extremely important and effective in regards to make sure the students are accurately engulfing themselves in project-based learning and collaboration of both teachers and students. 

Reading Reflection 6

1. Discuss how technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths.
Technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths. It can also offer a captivating introduction to a project.

2. Describe several ways in which you can get students’ minds ready for a project.
To get students ready, you'll need to get an idea of what they know about the project and find a way to excite their curiosity about the project. Invite them to open their eyes to the different possibilities the project can have and encourage them to think about the topic. Have them discus the idea with their friends and family. AS you slowly introduce the project in bits and pieces, their curiosity makes them more willing to participate in the project.

3. Discuss the elements of teaching fundamentals first.
To make sure the basics are covered for your project, it is best to teach prerequisite knowledge that the students will need. Many times big projects contain many fundamentals that need to be covered and without proper knowledge of these fundamentals, students will have lacking projects from lacking information. Fundamentals also set a starting point for indepentent inquiry where students put their prior knowledge with their new questions.

4. Describe the important steps in preparing students for using technology in project.
The important steps to preparing students for technology are:

• Set up a technology background- consider how you could teach them to teach themselves using opportunities
• Tap student expertise- let the more technologically ableled students teach the less able
• Introduce Project Management Tools- Use logs or journals to help them track their progress
• Demonstrate- show them how it's done

5. Discuss ways to promote inquiry and deep learning.
Guide students as they choose questions, plan investigations, ad begin to put their plan into action. Have them further explore their thinking and ideas. They explore the ways to combine social studies with academics in the learning ahead.

6. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
We've been using a lot of new and interesting types of technology for the different parts of our project.

Concept Map 2

As we began this project in knew that we wanted to cover the spectrum of health and wellness. We wanted the students to gain knowledge in the areas of diet exercise, sleeping habits, and drug and alcohol use. Our first map focused on ages of people and from there the appropriate diet and exercise, looking further into our project we decided the goal of the lesson it to promote healthy diet and exercise. We refocused our project so that the forefront include, diet, exercise, drug and alcohol abuse, sleeping habits and the Obesity Epidemic. From the core five topics we are able to sub-categorize the three age groups, children, teen, and adult.

1. Staring an assignment with your students you need to consider having and taking a look at your inventory and see what supplies, tools, or other materials are available at school or offered by your parent community and other supporters.  It is always try to use resources already available to you instead of dipping into your own funds. You could get help from parents by sending out a email newsletter wishlist.  Parents are always eager to help! You also have to think about technology you may need to teach or remind students of and plan out extra instruction time for teaching it, One last example is to think about virtual field trips or be sure to set up videoconferencing before and test it out before your students do.

2. I like the idea of always teaching students to become effective managers of their own time.  Time-management has, in my opinion, has become a serious issue our society and youth lacks.  Students don't know how to manage their time correctly because social media takes over their life.  To teach time management to students, plan calendar projects with milestones, along the way.  Share the calendar frequently and make deadlines visual to students. You can also chunk big tasks into smaller more manageable pieces. It is also a good idea to share your planning with parents. Ultimately this process benefits teachers as well as students, because all the components to a a project is well organized in an online environment.

3. Some web-based applications that could be used in projects are:

• Wiki- easily edited web page; works well with collaborations
• Blogging- viewers can comment on postings; great tool for communication about progress or milestone.
• Drupal & Textpattern- web spaces combined with content management frame work and blogging engine
• Personal Web Pages- easy way for student to build their own virtual offices on the Web; this can include Yahoo, Google, Netvibes, and payflakes. 

4. I like the idea of teacher students time-management with large technology  projects.  I really like the idea of breaking big projects into littler chunks and giving them deadlines.

Reading Reflection 5

1. Discussion on the items that should be considered before starting a project with students
Before starting a project with students you need to consider the following:

• What and Who You Will Need- What materials you'll need, you can also put out word about the upcoming project. If your project uses new technologies then think about the essential learning functions you need technology to deliver and select the appropriate tools. Having an expert come and talk to the students also helps and now videoconferencing and virtual field trips can help with this.
• Milestones and Deadlines- Time management is a skill that will support students throughout their education and beyond. A project calendar is helpful because it breaks up big tasks into smaller ones and it's a helpful tool to have in the future.
• Team Planning- How will student teams be organized? Remember students will be doing different things at different times so how will you ensure that all students are challenged? Team approaches require you to reset your expectations and experiment with different combinations.
• Plan for Assessment- With planning and practice, you can take advantage of assessment opportunities throughout the project. How will you know that it has been a successful learning journey? A complex project requires multiple assessment methods.

2. Discussion on teachers’ and students’ management needs.
Teachers need to include:

• Tools for communicating with students and others about the project
• Tools for making milestones and events visible and for notifying students when changes occur
• Methods for getting resources to students
• Systems for managing work products
• Structures that support a productive learning enviornment in which teams and individuals are engaged in a variety of learning tasks at the same time
• Assessment tools and strategies

Students need to include:

• Systems and tools that help them manage their time and flow of work
• Systems that help students manage materials and control work drafts
• Collaboration tools
• Methods for seeking assistance
• Ways to get and use feedback on their work, through self-reflection, team input, and teacher advice
• Ways to work interatively and to see how parts add up to the whole

3. Discuss some of the technology applications that should be considered for use in a project.
Two web-based applications are wikis and blogs. A wiki is collaborative and anyone can edit and read from anywhere. It can be syndicated so readers can learn about new content as it changes. It also maintains a version history so if something goes wrong, users can revert to an earlier version. A blog is a one-to-many delivery system with one author. The simplest way to begin using the Web to support projects may be to build a project wiki. Students can communicate with teachers and build more pages on their own as the project progresses.

4. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
Our project is focused on using a blog as the center of our topic. This also focuses on our learning of project-based learning.

Chapter 5 Reflection

1. Discussion on the items that should be considered before starting a project with students.

Be sure to include your physical inventory needs into the project that you have determined while brainstorming the project as well as items that you need everyday; computers, books, communications boards, microphones, etc. Other items to think about is not only how but who are the students going to contact during the project, other students, other schools, businesses, professionals, etc. Are there other types of technology that will be used in class, Skype, facetime, virtual tours, blog space, video conferencing. These are just other physical items but what about management items. Write any and all ideas down, nothing is a bad idea when first starting, then talk with your media specialist, co-teachers, or community of teachers for feedback.
     2. Discussion on teachers’ and students’ management needs.
Teacher's managements needs are discussed on page 84 involving, communication, setting milestones and deadlines, managing products, structures and framework for the project, assessments, tools, and strategies to help students reach their goal. Students' management needs are discussed on page 85 involving, tools to hel[ them manage their time, tools to help them stay organized, (folders, e-mails, graphic organizers), how to compiling feedback from teachers and other peers to increase the value of the project.
       3.Discuss some of the technology applications that should be considered for use in a project.
There are thousands of web based applications available, so do the research, find appropriate sites where your students can build their knowledge, use it again for another project, easy access. General types of web applications include but are not limited to, personal web pages or blogs, videos, live feed websites, etc.

1. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

I think that the key part of this chapter is management. We can think about different technology applications but we won't be able to use them if we haven't taken the correct steps and managed our resources, time, and availability to the students and the project.

Reflection 4

1. Discuss the potential pitfalls in project design.

When designing or finding a project there are many things to take into consideration. Remember what your goals and objective are for the unit, be on the lookout for long activities with little to know outcomes, dressed up versions of research, trivial thematic units, and long multiple step projects that produce little to no outcomes and do not meet the set goals and objectives. Also remember the students in your classroom, their strengths, weaknesses, thinking and learning styles, and we as differentiated learning instructions.

2. Discuss the features of a good project.

Projects that are good whether developed or found should have student interactions, flexibility, problem solving, real world connections, language skills, and be able to produce outcomes that are measureable.

3. Discuss where project ideas come from.

Project ideas come from collaboration with teachers, students, individuals outside of school, really they come from anywhere. Project ideas are not hard to find, but constructing a lesson plan that will be successful in all parts is.

4. Discuss the steps to design a project.

Review the framework that you have set up for the project; learning objectives, standards, 21^st century skills, and purpose. Then figure out what you want your students to walk away with knowing after this project, will this impact or affect their lives today, tomorrow or further down the road? Discover the project theme or biggest challenge. Finally, how will you get your students excited about this project.

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

This chapter helped me to take a step back from the huge project we have to start to divide it up into smaller pieces. I know what I want the outcome to be but I also need to know how I will be taking the first steps towards success.

Reading Reflection 4

1. Discuss the potential pitfalls in project design.

• Long on activity, short on learning outcomes: If the project's outcome is solely information that they could read or find in a book then the activity was a waste of time because of how long it takes.
• Technology layered over traditional practice: Good projects focus on reaching real life learning strategies, not just using electronics to show what you learned using electronics.
• Trivial thematic units: Thematic teaching is not necessarily project based learning but have the potential to to be trivial if the theme can unify a year's worth of projects and teach the real life learning strategies.
• Overly scripted with many, many steps: If the instructions are overly scripted then they leave no room for real learning to take place, they are simply following step by step instructions.

2. Discuss the features of a good project.
The best projects:

• are loosely designed with the possibility of different learning paths
• are generative, causing students to construct meaning
• center on a driving question or are otherwise structured for inquiry
• capture student interest through complex and compelling real-life or simulated experiences
• are realistic, and therefore cross multiple disciplines
• reach beyond school to involve others
• tap rich data to primary sources
• are structured so students learn with and from each other
• have students working as inquiring experts might
• get at 21st-century skills and literacies, including communication, project management, and technology use
• get at important learning dispositions, including persistence, risk-taking, confidence, resilience, self-reflection, and cooperation
• have students learn by doing

3. Discuss where project ideas come from.
Good projects can come from anyone and a successful project can be the beginning of a new project. Ideas can come from project plans developed by and for other teachers, news stories, contemporary issues, student questions or interests, a classroom irritant put to educational use, or a "mashup" of a great idea and a new tool. Technology helps by connecting us to view and explore other projects to improve our own.

4. Discuss the steps to design a project
First you'll want to revisit the framework. Make a list of learning objectives and dispositions you want to foster and accomplish. You also will want to decide on the 21st century skills you'll want to address. Next you'll want to establish what you you believe the students will know and what different things they will be able to do once they have learned. Then you'll want to plan the theme or challenge. Imagine what life connections students will get out of the project and how real life people would address the topic you've chosen. Finally you'll plan on how to get the students interested in the project you have. You'll want to edit and revise the material a few times before you create a sketch to get an idea of what your project will look like.

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
With a theme like healthy living, there is a wide range of project ideas that teachers can use. The concept map we made is proof of that. Making a good project will help students get more out of the lesson.

Chapter 3 reflection

1. Discussion on what should be considered in finding “the Big Idea” for a project.

The project first needs to be effective and purposeful for the classroom, after that begin to consider the relevance to the students lives, and the world that surrounds them. The “Big Idea” should be realistic, engaging, and produce a higher order of thinking. The students should come to see how this project could change their outlook on the world or at least their community. Think of who can be involved, who can benefit from this knowledge, and how will this impact the student and future students in the community.

2. Discussion on the 2lst Century skills.

Focusing the Bloom’s Taxonomy helps for lessons and projects to produce high order thinking skills, and engage students into new realms of thinking that will help them to succeed in the 21^st century. Using the higher order thinking verbs in Bloom’s Taxonomy will develop 21^st century thinking skills because they are not asked just to explain but to justify, characterize, invent, design, differentiate, and examine all parts of the topic. The students will know the depth of a topic not just the breadth.  

3. Discussion on the 21st Century literacies.

Literacy skills are a different topic then they were 10 years ago, it isn’t about the ability of reading written word, now it is about inventive thinking, digital age literacy and studies, as well as high productivity. Not only must student have the skills to read and write in their native language, but in that of the digital world, possess  the ability to collaborate, communicate, understand personal, civic, and social responsibilities. Our community isn’t limited to the location where we live, we literally have the entire world at our finger tips.

4. Discussion on each of the essential learning functions.

I find that the learning functions are essential to any and all successful learning communities. For some students “school” is hell, they hate it and are only there for food, shelter or social interaction; it doesn’t have to be that way. Learning can be fun, not a punishment, but encouraging and promoting these learning functions students will be excited to come into your classroom because learning will not strenuous, it will feel like daily living.

Ubiquity: Students should know that they are always learning, and their mind never stops working, processing, ordering events and that is awesome. Learning shouldn’t be about what only happens in the classroom, it should be about what happens outside of the classroom and how we can apply it to our daily living and learning.

Deep learning: Allow students to find the depth of a topic that interests them, and apply that to the lesson. Never make the student fit into the lesson, make the lesson fit the student.

Making things visible and discussible: Many of our students are hand on kinesthetic learners, they need to see, feel, and touch what they are learning to understand it. According to the cone of learning people remember 20% of what we hear, 50% of what we see, but we remember 90% of what we are able to see and do. Allowing for open discussion will let the teacher see what interests the students, and what they want to learn, not what the textbook says they should.

Collaboration: In today’s world the most successful people are not only people but groups of people working together in collaboration.

Research: Students research everything, it might not be education related but they are constantly finding new information on music, people, games, etc. Let them use those tools to find what interests them and have them produce a product they are proud of.

Project management: Someday students will grow up to be adults, they will have appointments, deadlines, and tiny time frames to work in, and they won’t have anyone managing their time for them, teach them this early. Help them to plan and organize, and then teach them to plan and organize.

Reflection and Iteration: Life gives you the test first and the lesson after. Reflecting on what you have learned, how you have felt,  will deepen the learning experience, what was good about the project, what could have been modified or eliminated to make it better. Showing students how to reflect and examine their learning and thinking process will produce more developed, thought out, and engaging projects.  

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

In using the above listed idea into our project we will be able to produce a project that will reach to our community, develop our higher order thinking, engage us in more than just our classroom, and help produce 21^st ready students and citizens.

 

Reading Reflection #3

1. Discussion on what should be considered in finding “the Big Idea” for a project.
We learn that the more complex an idea is, the better suited it is for the 21st century project treatment. You can find the big ideas in the table of contents, curriculum standards, or even by asking colleges. Once you identify these big concepts you want the students to understand, figure out why these concepts are important.  What is their application or relevance in real life? Who outside of school pays attention to this fundamental idea? When students think about what affect their project has on their community, they become more involved and interested.

2. Discussion on the 2lst Century skills.
The book describes 21st century skills as thinking beyond subject mastery. It says a well designed project causes students to stretch their intellectual muscles in ways traditional learning activities may not. Bloom asks how your project can evolves using the following skills: analyze, evaluate, and create.

3. Discussion on the 21st Century literacies.
A well done project can prepare students for activities in the real world using the tools they have learned to better their community. 21st century literacies come down to students learning to be independent, aware, and productive citizens. 21st century literacies are based off of visual and technological literacies.

4. Discussion on each of the essential learning functions.
-Ubiquity: giving students the opportunity to learn inside and outside the classroom
-Deep Learning: Using higher order thinking to go beyond "filtered" information to come up with your own answers
-Making Things Visible and Discussable: Tools like google earth, flickr, and other digital tools to show more than tell
-Expressing Ourselves: Using the social media to find ways to expand your thinking and analize other's work
-Collaboration: Working with others
-Research: Learning to filter through an abundence of information given to us through search engines
-Project Management: Teaching students to manage time, work, give feedback, make drafts, and manage products
-Reflection: How will this project help in the real world

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
This relates to our topic because staying healthy is much older than a 21st century concept. But it has evolved through people coming up with projects and considering how it will benefit the real world.  Each of the learning functions is essential for any project because they teach us how to think beyond a normal graded project.

Reflection 3

1. There are multiple things that should be considered to finding the "Big Idea" of a project.  Whenever you start thinking about a project you need to figure out what exactly you want students to learn.  This involves outlining concepts and aligning standards to your "Idea".  Another important aspect that is involved in the "Big Idea" is how go you get your students engaged? This can be done by incorporating real-world contexts and different ways that they can offer value to their community.  Students learn more if they have a purpose for learning.

2.  21st century skills consist of a higher order of thinking strategy called Blooms Taxonomy.  Blooms Taxonomy consist of six levels, moving from lower orders of thinking to higher.  The levels are:

1. Knowledge
2. Understand
3. Apply
4. Analyze
5. Evaluate
6. Create

Ultimately you want your projects to evolve so that students are using more thinking skills such as, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. 

3. Literacy in the 21st century has moved towards a digital-age.  This concept is very understandable since most of our lives consist of technology nowadays. Whenever you use or teach new technology it is important to state the purpose for it.  Communicate to students and parents how this tool will help meet the students educational goal.

4. Essential Learning Functions

1. Ubiquity: Learning Inside and Outside the Classroom, and All the Time

• Give students opportunities to learn in and out of class through technology. For example, Blogs, Google docs,etc.

      2. Deep Learning

• Help engage higher order of thinking on websites that gives main details of information, encourage students to think and go beyond information. 

      3. Making Things Visible and Discussable

• With technology today it is easy to make things more visible to students.  This is very important because as you make things more visible rather than verbal you are tapping into different intelligences, meaning you are reaching different types of learners.

       4. Expressing Ourselves, Sharing Ideas, Building Community

• Use social aspects of the internet to find ways students can express their ideas to others and build around shared interest.

       5. Collaboration-- Teaching and Learning with Others

• Make collaboration happen with projects.  Have students share ideas and build on one another. 

       6. Research

• Incorporate research methods into lessons.  This will allow you to give students reliable websites and teach them how to cite work.

       7. Project Management: Planning and Organization

• This helps students manage time, work, sources, feedback from others, drafts, and products during projects.  

       8. Reflection and Iteration

• To activate higher order of thinking, have students reflect on what they've learned and how they learned it (meta-cognition). This can be done through blogs.

5. Learning about health and wellness is a good way to tap into the strategy of higher order of thinking.  Ultimately, students will end up evaluating their lives and apply their knowledge to their own life.

    

PenPal

Virtual Penpals

To demonstrate cultural understanding and global awareness we will be having our students do research and communication projects with 5th grade students from the Valparaiso, Chili area.  We chose this area because it has similar water features just like Michigan, but different living styles that affect their health and wellness.  The goal for this project is for each student to understand and inform others of what a healthy lifestyle consist of.


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pu8rpvqqudqZYyoH8KGPFKRYJoLW8-pCn-CyO8NP_iY/edit?usp=sharing

Penpal Map

Concept Map 1 (2/3/14)

1. Discussion on the focus of Learning Communities.

Learning Communities are made up of a collaborative problem solving team to better results.  Members of the team are forced to open their minds capacity to create  the results they desire.  Team members most likely learn new patterns of thinking, they learn how to capitalize on the way the group, and they continually learn how to learn together.

• Discussion on the benefits of Learning Communities.

Some benefits of Learning Communities include: decreased teacher isolation, increased commitment to the mission, shared responsibility, more powerful learning, and higher likelihood of fundamental, systemic change.

1. Discussion on how Learning Communities affect teachers.

In Learning Communities teachers are forced to always be life-long learners. That means that teachers will be forces to collaborate with others to determine the best practice to achieve the mission of the student. It is also very important for teachers to stay true to their shared values and beliefs.  Being apart of a Learning Community is a tough balancing act for teachers.

1. Discussion on how Learning Communities affect students.

I feel like Learning Communities affect students in many ways that could be beneficial. For instance the student will have many more resources available to them with more collaborators on the team.  There is a chance that Learning Communities could affect students very badly by having bad collaborations within the Community.

1. Discussion on the components for shared vision in Learning Communities.

In Learning Communities teachers share a vision of the conditions they must create to achieve the mission.  A shared vision includes all of the collaborators thoughts and opinions to create beneficial outcomes.

1. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

I feel like the concept of Learning Communities can relate to every topic.  Every group is working and practicing the concept of a Learning Community by every individual working as a collaborative team.  Each individual is bringing their idea and beliefs to create beneficial results.

Chapter 2 reflection

1.      When it comes to learning communities there are three main focus points; that the students are learning, fostering a classroom community and teamwork, and focus and produce results.

2. The benefits of a learning community are many, the main focus is on higher ordered thinking and a more powerful learning, creating a community among students and teacher to reduce isolation in the classroom. Also that the teachers share responsibility among themselves, and in working together as a community a change will occur in the learning centers.
3.  Learning Communities empower teachers, to work together and build an environment that challenges students to be their best. Learning community allow for teachers to be sound boards for one another, create new and innovated lesson plans, and strategies to learn.
4. Learning Communities directly affect students, they are able to reap the benefits of what their teachers have been working for. As the teachers display efforts of teamwork, higher ordered thinking, the students will begin to do the same. Allowing for students to have more real world experience.
5. The shared vision in Learning Communities is how to learn together, and learning to learn together. When learning communities focus on these two ideas students will always succeed.
6. The concepts in this chapter relate to creating our health and wellness project by reminding us to work together, question each of the ideas that we have so that together we can create the most well informed, user and learner friendly blog.

Reading Reflection 2

1. Discussion on the focus of Learning Communities
I believe the focus of learning communities is to create a setting when students and teachers alike can asses each other's work for the purpose of improving it. There are many forms ranging from formal to informal and digital to personal. They focus on ensuring students learn, creating collaboration for school improvement, and focusing on results.

2. Discussion on the benefits of Learning Communities
Learning communities bring students and teachers together. Before, teachers worked alone and rarely worked with other teachers. Learning communities not only help teachers improve their curriculum but it also helps teachers learn to asses each others work without being critical. With teachers working together, the school is filled with a curriculum that can't fail.

3. Discussion on how Learning Communities affect teachers.
Learning Communities affect teachers mostly because they are new. They produce a decrease in teacher isolation, increased commitment, shared responsibility, more powerful learning, and a higher likelihood of fundamental, systematic change. They have a wider range of help available to them on the internet where all over the world teachers are committed to helping each other.

4. Discussion on how Learning Communities affect students
Learning Communities affect students by providing them with a richer environment for learning and they learn new patterns for thinking.

5. Discussion on the components for shared vision in Learning Communities
The components for shared vision in Learning Communities are decreased teacher isolation, increased commitment, shared responsibility, more powerful learning, and a high likelihood of fundamental systematic change

6. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project
This chapter relates to our project because we are both assessing each other and looking at previous work to influence how we proceed with our project. We will look into our own learning communities to help us develop a great project.

Reading Reflection 1

When starting Project-Based Learning (PBL) any teacher needs to know that there are going to challenges, and some uphill battles; especially if they are the only one or of few in the school using PBL.  Teachers also need to remember that students love and learn in the real world; literally most children have the world at their fingertips and don’t even know it. Students are up for the challenge; they are raised in and thrive in the technology world. Using PBL the student and teacher gain more knowledge on any given topic because the project takes them where they want to learn, not only what is needed to learn. After all of the self doubts, trials and discouraging moments, the project will be worth it, they will change a student’s thinking and thought process, and it may even change them. Students will learn new tools to expand their knowledge, allow for global connections, open more doors for active communication, better prepare teamwork skills and strategies, think critically, and use technology as a tool for problem solving.

When implementing a PBL there are cautions that need to be thought about and addressed. Students must learn to find out what is real information and what is someone’s thought. Modification of the goals and objective of a project may need multiple times depending on the course of the project. The classroom roles may change, the traditional idea that the teacher stands in front of the rooms and speaks might evolve into the students teaching each other while the teacher provides the framework. Communication skills will change, be ready to change with it; emails, blogs, online questionnaires, etc.

The New Technology Model used at New Technology High is an amazing and innovative approach to non-traditional learning. As stated before almost every student in the United States has access to the outside world via technology. Instead of fighting it off or just adding it to the curriculum this school has embraced it, and made it relatable, accountable, and a lifelong learning tool for their students. I whole heartedly agree on the grading scale that feedback is presented on multiple aspects of a project, because there are certain areas of a project that will be better than others, and students need to know where to focus their attention to strengthen their weaknesses. Teacher collaboration, shared planning hours, and staff meeting that focus on the students is something that I feel other public and private schools are missing. As a whole every teacher in every school, district, county, state and nation are working at the same goal; providing our students with the best education we possibly can to turn out people who continue to seek knowledge with the given tools to make successful decisions for themselves, their families, and the world that they live in. By creating and fostering an environment that promotes teamwork the students see that and begin to replicate it.  It will only be a few years from now the ideas from New Technology High will be integrated into every school nationwide.

***Response to questions 1-3 are included in the first paragraph

Reading Reflection #1

1. Discussion on what you need to keep in mind as you start the journey through Project-Based Learning (PBL) 
Technology is providing opportunities for projects to be more connected to student's lives. The results are worth it when students find themselves connecting with the material and then using it in the real world. Most importantly, teachers will be learning with the students since this is a new way of learning.

 2. Discussion on the overall benefits of the PBL approach. 
By using the PBL approach, students are introduced to more real life experiences that they will use outside of the classroom. Students are more interested in this approach because it connects to the real world and it uses topics they're more interested in which in turn encourages them to participate more. I also believe that with the teachers learning alongside the students, the students will be more eager to learn when they can discover things with the teacher rather than always from the teacher.

 3. Discussion on the benefits to students who participate in PBL.
Students learn to work and communicate their ideas collaborativley with other students which is an essential tool to use both outside the classroom and in the work force. They learn to meet deadlines better when they know others depend on them. They develop a key set of inquiry skills that lead them to explore ideas with their teammates. And most importantly, they develop a set of communication skills to break through cultural misunderstandings.

 4. Discussion on what issues need to be considered in PBL approach.
We need to consider that this is a new approach for teachers and students alike. It will be a learning process where we will need to work together. Teachers will also need to be more developed in the understanding of technology. Right now we live in an age where students know more about technology than teachers. As teachers we need to know as much as we can so that we can help students in their struggles

 5. Discussion on New Technology High as an example of New Technology Model.
I think it's important to have a smaller design that cater to each student's individual needs. It also has the teachers working together to perfect their lesson plans.