Logan-Chapter 9 RR

A method to use in the classroom to determine a student’s prior knowledge would be to form a KWL chart either as whole group or individually so you can really asses each student differently because they will all have different starting points. A KWL chart is what I Know, what I Want to know, and what have I learned. The KWL chart is not only good for measuring prior knowledge but it’s also a good way to see what your students learned in the end.

The importance of establishing anchors coincides with the importance of knowing the prior knowledge of your students, the distance traveled during a project will not be the same for each learner. Having anchors you gain a sense of where the students are starting and how far they are going as they work to meet learning goals.

The idea of establishing anchors and knowing that each student is not on the same page it makes it extra difficult to assess the students. Some ways to assess your students during a project would be to interview your students at the end of the project. Seeing how they started off, individually, can help the teacher to see the progress and be able to measure how much they really learned. Having students create something new or a summative project can also help the teacher measure his/her students. The old fashion pen and paper test would not be adequate for a PBL environment.

Spangler: Chapter 9 RR

A method of understanding prior-knowledge of students that could be used is a KWL chart where students fill in what they already know about the topic. This is a good way of understanding the prior knowledge of the whole class because if you were to just ask as them as a big group and one or two students answered, how do you know what every other student knows? Using a KWL graphic organizer is a good way to get feedback from each student.

Establishing anchors is an extremely important part of assessing student progress in a project. From the prior-knowledge activation activity, you will see that all students are starting from different levels of familiarity of the subject. Therefore, it is important to establish these anchors so you can assess how far the student has progressed to their own personal learning goals.

There are many different ways to assess the learning of students during a particular project. Online grade books that have many different categories of assessment like work ethic and critical thinking are much more beneficial than giving a student one grade with no explanation. Another way is to ask students what they learned in an interview after the project. Asking the students to create something knew to summarize what they have learned, apply to professionals, and submitting their work in contest are also ways to assess what students have learned.

Assessment is a huge part of any project, and this chapter discusses different ways to monitor student learning. How much have they really learned? This relates to our project because we are going to need to assess the students on the activities we have come up with.

Grady: Ch 9 RR

By establishing "anchors," you gain a sense of where students are starting and how far they are going as they work to meet learning goals. An activity would be using a K-W-L chart to find out about your students' prior knowledge. To assess what students learned during the project, test them throughout. Give them rubrics so they know exactly what they will be graded on and what you expect of them. This chapter related to our topic because throughout the project, it will be important to make sure our students are doing what we expect of them. Making sure what they know will help us as teachers make the project more meaningful for our students.

Concept Map 2

Logan: Chapter 8 RR

Some ways to ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom an be the use of digital tools. This makes it easier for students to share their work and exchange questions and ideas with a diverse audience, including family members and peers, local community members, and even across state lines. Knowing that others will be reading, watching, listening, and commenting can be a powerful motivator.
The EAST Initiative network of schools has been demonstrating the benefits of technology for a real purpose. The EAST model is built on four essential ideas, student driven learning, authentic project-based learning, technology as a tool, and collaboration. Another critical component is training and support for the teachers, as they take on the role as facilitator.
Having students lead their project is a crucial aspect in PBL learning. Students have the comfort level of being the lead because they generated a project idea they care about. As the teacher we don’t have to micromanage each group or our class. They can start their own learning path and goals and the teacher should be there for support.
This chapter relates to my PBL project because it gives me more understanding and clarification as my role as a teacher and effective ways we can incorporate the community using technology.

Spangler: Chapter 8 RR

With the use of technology, the opportunity for building connections is endless. Students have the opportunity to branch out to experts in the field of their study, as well as other students who are learning about the same things. They can use technology to communicate with other classes or experts by blogging, skype, and creating digital movies. Another way to branch out and build connections is to get involved with a real problem in the real world. Students can use technology to research and create arguments and fight for what they believe in.

The EAST Initiative Model is a perfect example of using technology to solve real world problems. The Environmental and Spatial Technology Initiative Network of schools shows how to use technology to make a difference in the real world. The director Matt Dozier explains, “Technology is the hook we use to get kids into significant projects, and to get communities to significantly wanting to support those projects.” It is made up of 260 schools from 2nd grade to post-secondary levels, and it focuses on four main ideas. These ideas include student driven learning, authentic project-based learning, technology as tools, and collaboration. Each school year students can showcase their projects.

It is important to know that the teacher doesn’t have to control and cause all of the student’s learning throughout the project. It is the teacher’s job to help the student find something that interests them. As soon as students are interested in a topic, they create their own learning and lead their own project.

This chapter relates to our project because it provides ideas about expanding projects to the community and other classrooms, which is a key idea of project-based learning. For our topic, we could present the information we have learned about health and teach the community about important nutrition, exercise, and hydration.

Grady: Ch 8 RR

To build connections and branch out side of the classroom connecting with experts is important. Teachers who make this a regular part of the learning experience often start by developing a list of willing experts. Knowing the skills and areas of expertise of your students' parents is a good place to begin. Also, expanding the learning circle is a good way to branch out side of the class room. The EAST model stands for Environmental and Spatial Technologies Initiative. Students in the EAST network of schools have been demonstrating the benefits of using technology for a real purpose- to solve problems and make improvements in their communities. Projects make use of geospatial technologies and multimedia tools that are more commonly found in professional laboratories or design studios. EAST students master these sophisticated tools and applications in context while solving community projects that interest them. As teachers become more comfortable with the project approach, they sometimes find that students are quite capable of leading their own projects--starting with generating a project idea they care about. The concepts talked about in this chapter relate to my project because it is important to form relationships and connections outside of the classroom to help the students succeed.

Logan-Chapter 7 RR

Classroom discussions can be the prime time of when information is being learned by your students, whether is a discussion before or after your lesson to discuss a topic allows the students more opportunities to know the material. My favorite level of classroom discussion is student to student. I find when students are able to conduct their own information they retain the information better. To discuss a topic you really have to know the topic. Checking in on students gives the students a since of responsibility, not having their teacher constantly lecturing to them will make them feel more at ease. With PBL students will be moving freely around the class and possibly school. It’s important that the teacher still holds the authoritative stands to help students fall back into track. Using technology in the classroom can benefit those students who have a more creative mind; technology gives teachers a tool to tap into some of their students brains that can be hard otherwise.  Changing up the way you teach to capture blooms taxonomy is a great way to optimize the use of technology. One way to manage conflict during PBL is to pay close attention to the dynamics of the teams I your class. Team conflict will make the project not so fun, and cause chaos where the focus is no longer on the project. Encourage self-reflection and group reflections so that everyone will remain on the same page.

Hey guys we need to update our concept map by Friday!!

Spangler: Chapter 7 RR

The levels of classroom discussion include teacher to teacher, student to student, and teacher to student. Teacher to teacher communication is very important throughout the implementation of the project. Whether your colleagues are close by or from far away, it is important to keep in contact with them throughout the project to help. Teacher to teacher communication about procedural and formative assessment needs to take place. For example deciding who is going to lead what lesson and suggesting a mini-lesson on a topic students’ may be struggling with.

In a project, different groups will work at different paces. For this reason, it is important for you as the teacher to be able to “check in” and monitor each individual group’s progress throughout the project. Some assessment questions you might ask are procedural (how is the scheduling going?) , teamwork (how is our group working together?), understanding (observing teams working and making sure that they are finding relevant information and are on the right path for the project), and self-assessment (project journals or blogs where students can reflect on their personal experiences.

It is extremely important the technology used for the project is helping students reach learning goals. Some questions to think about when determining if the technology is being used to its full potential are if it is helping students reach learning goals and not becoming a distraction for them, and making sure that the students are using all the available technological tools to keep their project organized.

Troubleshooting and teamwork are two 21st-century skills that can make or break a project. With troubleshooting, it is important for the students to know that this project is just like real life, and in life we make mistakes. With troubleshooting in the project, there are always methods to fix and fine tune problems that occur. Teamwork is another important 21st-century skill to recognize because if students don’t realize the importance of working as a team now, they won’t understand it in the future. It is an important component of project-based learning to emphasize and can be assessed by peer evaluations, or even just journal entries on how the students felt they worked as a team.

Chapter 7 relates to our project because it is very important to know what questions to ask and how to assess student progress throughout the project. Also with our project being about healthy living, obviously we want the skills they learn to translate to the real world. Finally, it is very important that we work as a team throughout our project and have teacher to teacher discussions on a regular basis.

Grady: Ch 7 RR

There are three types of classroom level discussion. The first type is teacher to teacher. Project planning and working together is important and teacher conversations will touch on everything from the procedural to formative assessment. If you are not able to communicate face to face or are at different locations, start a blog, a wiki or other collaborative tools to keep your conversations going. The second type of classroom discussion is student to student. Students should be talking about their learning experiences as they unfold. Remind them that good communication skills are part of effective teamwork and will help keep their team organized and on track. The last type of classroom discussion is teacher to student. As a teacher, you can either work with students individually, in groups, or as a whole group; depending on what you are trying to teach and how you want to teach. During a project, a teacher should ask questions. Procedural: Are we staying on schedule? Do we have the right materials available? When's the best time to schedule a field trip, expert visitor, or other activity? Teamwork:How are team members getting along? Is one student carrying too much of the load for the whole team? Are students able to manage conflict themselves, or do they need my help? Understanding: Have you thought about...? Have you considered this research? Self-assessment: Ask questions that encourage self-assessment and reflection. Project journals or blogs offer space for students to describe the challenges or frustrations. It is important to make sure the technology you chose for your students to work with is helping benefit their project. Ask questions such as: Is technology helping students reach learning goals, or is it leading them on side trips? Is technology helping students stay organized? Etc. Troubleshooting is a 21st-century skill that distinguishes effective project managers. Help students understand that real world projects come with real-world challenges. Help them learn from set-backs and fine-tune their strategies for getting a project back on track. These concepts relate to our project because it is important as a teacher to keep the project moving and to make sure your students are staying on track and doing their work. It is important to know how to keep the project moving while keeping the students interested.

Grady: Chapter 6 RR

Technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths. For example: Blogs offer students space where they can reflect over time about what they are learning. ProfilerPRO os an online survey tool that allows you to identify the learning characteristics of an individual and also among members of a group. TOols such as SurveyMOnkey and Zoomerang allow you to set up online surveys. You can use the results to track trends and help students see how their self-assessment compares to the larger group. To get students minds ready for a project, activating students prior knowledge is a good way to start. Many teachers do this by using KWL charts. Shake up students' ideas of what they know. Discrepant events and role-playing predictions are two ways to arouse curiosity and start students thinking about the learning ahead. Technology can offer a captivating introduction to a project, as well. Before launching a project, think about teaching prerequisite knowledge or skills students need in order to work with a degree of independence in their investigations. When students are aware of what they know and don't know they can establish a point of departure and a sense of purpose. Give students the assessment rubric you created for this project. It is their roadmap toward great achievement. To prepare students to use technology you should set up a technology playground, tap student expertise, introduce project-management skills, and then demonstrate. To promote inquiry and deep learning all students should understand the following: There is a relationship between need and opportunity, and between scarcity and abundance. Money, bartering, and other means of exchange have existed throughout history and across civilizations, and they continue to change. Modern money has symbolic worth as an exchange mechanism. Economics, health, and well-being are related. Money means different things to different people. Humans are interdependent. This relates to our project because we have to plan before we jump right into what it is we are trying to accomplish. It is important that we make sure we activate students prior knowledge and get them excited and optimistic about the project.

Spangler: Chapter 6 RR

It is important for students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses. Technology can make this even easier to incorporate into a project using online resources like blogs, ProfilerPRO, and SurveyMonkey. Blogs can be used to give students a chance to reflect on their learning, while ProfilerPRO and SurveyMonkey provide ways for students to assess their learning and compare it to the whole class.

When getting students minds ready for a project, there are many different things you can do as a teacher. This chapter suggests the graphic organizer K-W-L to have the students reflect on their prior knowledge, what they want to know, and after the project, what they have learned, but since this is a traditional thing to use there are other ways to get your students imaginations flowing. Present the topic of your project a week early, to give them time to talk about it at dinner, and with their friends. Also, introducing a guest to talk about their profession, for example bringing in a professional astronaut for a project about space.

It is very important to teach what the students the basic skills and knowledge they need to complete the project. It is necessary to provide this prerequisite knowledge so the students have enough familiarity with the topic to be able to have independence throughout the project. In other words, teaching the basics so the students can jump right into the fun stuff! It isn’t necessary to have the students start researching the boring basic knowledge when they can learn it in a few lessons prior to research.

When preparing students for technology use in a project first let them explore how to use the program. Then once some students who are more technology advanced can help teach other students how to use the program. Also introducing journals or different types of logs that students can track their progress can help students stay on track for the goals they set for the project. Lastly, if you are familiar with the technology the students will be using, show them yourself. If not there is always a technology specialist who can demonstrate for the students.

Promoting inquiry and deep learning is important for all students before starting a project. Making sure all students are aware of the primary learning outcome of the project. Have students develop their own questions to further their thinking with your guidance. Then they can use search engines to help answer these questions.

This chapter relates to our project because it discusses the importance of knowledge that we should provide our students before starting the project, and with how to introduce the technology they will be using.