Final Concept map

Reading reflection #11

1. As a result of using the project-based learning approach students are able to learn, research and explore in more areas than just the classroom during school hours. Project-based learning allows students to learn anytime and anywhere with the use to handheld technology. Deeper learning is also an outcome of project-based learning. Students are exploring raw information that they are encouraged to make sense of by themselves and with other classmates. The more information the students gather, the more tools they use to help sort the information, such as using a spreadsheet to collect and organize data. Most importantly, using the project-based learning approach allows collaboration. Tools such as Google Docs, podcasts and survey tools help students collaborate and learn together.

2. Its important to bring your project home and not have it lead to a dead end. Good projects should open new doors and create connections that can be turned into future project ideas. Student reflection is one of the best ways to bring the project home. This gives you an insight into how the students learned and what worked best during the project. You can even ask your students what could be done to make the project even better, you'll be surprised with all the great input you get. 

3. In a way we are working on bringing our project home by putting together a collaborative concept map and a project website. Also, we have used a lot of the tools mentioned in the appendix and it was great to learn how that really helps the students come together and learn as one. I love how this chapter makes you realize how important it is to bring the project home and reflect on what you and the students have learned from the project as a whole. 

Reading response 11

Some things that can happen at the end of a project that went well in a classroom is that students may be more professionally aware.  They may have a better understanding of what certain jobs do and now will  have more experience with 21^st century skills like team work, deadlines, and self-reflection.  The parent- teacher relationships may be closer from the involvement the parents had in the project.  Hopefully, the students have a new-found respect for learning due to all of the hard work they did and the results that project may have had on the community. 

One of the best ways to bring home a project is to do a reflection that includes what students could have done better/ changed about the project and what direction would they take to move the project forward.  It is also important to have a common theme and or link the previous project with the next one because students can see how important this big idea is and also will start to make connections between the different topics.

This project is important because it talks about after the project and how to properly wrap up the project so students can get the full effects of their accomplishments.  Also, I this it is very important that a teacher considers the next project and how to relate the previous one so students can further their interest in the subject.  

Reading Reflection #11

    Using a Project-based learning approach is a completely different way of teaching and learning. It is a way for students to learn things they never learn from just being lectured at and doing homework assignments. PBL is a way for students to learn in a fun way. As teachers, you kind of trick your students by making them do activities where they are actually learning but they think they are just having fun. Another benefit to PBL is there is an end goal. Something the students can look forward to during the whole project.

    There are many ways to bring your project home. Capitalize on your investment-think about the concrete planning that helped to make the project successful. Critique your work-the project debrief is an excellent time for colleagues to review students work products together. Share you insights-Find ways to share your project with other teachers, they will learn from you, just as you learned from other projects developers when you began your journey. Create a website, project library, or publish your project. You can also become a resource for your colleagues- consider turning your experience into a professional development opportunities. Last, enter your project into a contest-by entering a contest, it give you and your students a chance to put the best work forward. This could help you get feedback form other colleagues.

    This chapter helps our think about what we can do after the project is over. Yes we have plans on how to celebrate our project but we don’t have a time for the staff to give feedback and think of ways to make it better. We want out project to continue after this year so keeping up the classroom website will be important.

Reading Reflection #10

    Setting aside time for conscious reflection helps students reveal things they might not otherwise think about; what they learned and what they enjoyed about learning, their growth as learners, and how and what they want to learn in projects ahead.

    Reflecting is a very important part of the project. It’s a time for the students to look back and see how much they learned. You could bring back the pre project assessment and show them what they thought before the project so they can compare what they know now. This is also a time for you as a teacher can get input. The students could give you suggestions on what they liked, what they didn’t, and what you could do to make the project better next time.

    When a school does something that will be remembered for generations this is when a tradition is created. Students who do the project will tell their younger siblings about it then they will look forward to doing it. I remember in my school, we had many traditions. In fifth grade, there was the Lego project. In eight grade, there was the egg drop. Senior year, we had Gatsby Days. These kinds of traditions will always be remembered.

    Once the project is done, celebrate! Show students work, put on an event, create a blog, or a hold party. Any way you do it, celebrate learning, and build your schools identity as a place where kids get to learn through projects.

  Once our project is done, we are going to do a questionnaire. This is the time for the students to look back on the project and give us their input. We are also going to have a school wide assembly, where the students can show off what they learned. If we were really doing this project, I hope it would be something that would continue for years to come. It would be a project that students would look forward to doing.

Reading response #10

1/2. It is important to set time apart for students to reflect on their work and other classmates work. This is because reflection is an essential element in learning. When time is set aside for reflection, students are able to reveal things they might not of thought about before. Students should take time to reflect on what they learned, what they enjoyed learning about, their growth as a learner and what and how they want to learn projects in the future. It's also important to get an idea for how the project was meaningful and purposeful for each student. Reflection offers students a chance to reflect on ways to overcome obstacles and challenges when times get tough in the project. It's your job as the teacher to help them reflect. Remind them of the joyous discoveries they made along the way to make all those challenges worth the struggle and to be proud of all their hard work!

3. Schools can build tradition and identity by finding something they are good at or maybe even something to community is good at or embraces. Tradition is a great way to keep students and members of the community interested in the project and it can even make the project easier on you. Families and students will be willing to go above and beyond to keep the project running smoothly. The excitement builds from lower grades and by the time they get to your class they will be ready to learn! 

4. Having a celebration to honor all the hard work of the class on the project is super important. Celebrating build student confidence and starts building your school tradition right then and there. Your new school identity can be the school that learns through projects. How exciting! Celebrate your students work by displaying work in areas of the school for everyone to see, like the hallway or the cafeteria. The students will beam with pride and feel accomplished. 

5. We can take all these ideas into consideration when finishing up our project. We will be sure to celebrate the project with our students and put their handwork and great accomplishments on display for the entire school to see. It will be great to see them take pride in their work. 

Reading Response 10

1.      1. Students need to be able to reflect on a project because it can help them make connections to what they learned and the work force, helps them realize what they accomplished through the project and feel good about it, lets the students consider what they want to do better, and also helps the students create their own meaning from skills and lessons they learned.

2.     2.  It is important that students reflect and elaborate so they can evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses for the project.  Also, as they elaborate, the students can figure out what direction they would like to go for the next project and what kind of an impact they would like to have on the community with it. 

3.      3. Many schools build their traditions on the identity they create for themselves whether it have to do with academics, sports, or music.  Some classrooms have an identity in project based learning environment where the younger generations are excited to learn and work at the projects.  This is very exciting to me because with this reputation, my students would already be excited to learn and have plans for their projects to make a difference in the community.

4.   4.    Celebrating a project is important because it shows the parents and other community members the amazing work the students have accomplished.  Also, if it is a party or event, the students can teach the community about their project while showing off their work.  The classroom is about the students and their learning: why not show off their hard work?

5.      5. This chapter is helpful to our project because students can get a chance to show the community their work and get the community members excited about their projects.  I like how it mentioned the things that students remember about school and value above all else.  When they have the ability to make an impact on their community and showcase their work in proud moments they may make many good memories in just one year.  

Reading Reflection #9

1. One method of getting to know prior knowledge of students is KWL. K stands for what the student already knows, W stands for what the students want to know and L stands for what the student has learned. This is a common way to see what prior knowledge your students have on the subject you are learning.

2. It is important to establish anchors for a project because anchors allow you to gain a sense of where your students are starting and how far they are going as they work to meet new learning goals. This will help you measure how far your students travel as learners. Very important! 

3. There are several ways to assess what your students have learned during a project. One way is to create video podcasts of your students telling you what they learned while working on the project. Another way to assess students learning is have them create something new, if they can take what they learned from the project and apply it to something similar successfully, then you know that they grasped the important concepts of the project. One more way to assess students is have a professional or expert linked to your project come in and assess the students work. It will make them feel important and maybe even inspire them to put more effort into the project. 

4. This chapter gives great ideas on how to start a project successfully and also how to close the lesson with appropriate assessments. This is important to know when creating our projects. I didn't know how important it was to get prior knowledge to measure how far a student travels as a learner. Now that I have that knowledge, I can apply it to my project and other classes here at WMU. 

Chapter 9 Reading Response

To find out what students already know about a subject it`s a good idea to take a small poll among the students to see how many of them are familiar with the project.  Next I might do some kind of an activity about the subject that has a little bit of basic information to interest the students but also play on what many of them already know.  I`d like to have them in small groups so they can also use each other as a reference. 

Establishing anchor gives a teacher an idea of where a student started in their knowledge.  They are important because the teacher can monitor how much each student has learned throughout the project and can see if the project has been effective in helping the student gain 21^st century skills.

One way of assessment is to use rubrics to assess the skills students should have used during the project.  I like the idea the English teacher, Mr. Burg, in the book had an assignment to assess how well the students could interpret the literary elements and the significance behind every event in the book Of Mice and Men.  This was helpful to the students because when designing their comic book, the students would have to analyze not just the plot but also all of the symbols and depth to the story and be able to put their view of it as a comic.  I also like the idea to interview students on what they learned throughout the project because it lets the teacher and students talk one on one about what went well for the project, what they learned, and what didn`t work for each student.

I found this chapter to be one of the most influential to our project because assessment is so important in determining not just how much the students have learned but also what the teacher and students can do to have an even more successful outcome for the next project.  

Reading Reflection #9

    To see what your students already know before you do a project, do a small activity that have some information within it to see if they understand it or not. Some of your students may not know anything where other may know bits and parts. By establishing anchors, you gain a sense of where the students are starting and how far they are going as they work to meet the project goals. 

    By establishing anchors, you gain a sense of where the students are starting and how far they are going as they work to meet the project goals. 

    To assess what your students are learning and they are gaining the information there are many things you can do. You can create rubrics, which lie out and give specific guidelines for the students to complete. You could have an online grade book so students can track their progress as they go. There is also just the traditional end of a unit exam. You can also simply have a conversation with your students and they can tell you important concepts they learned. You may have the students create something new that asks them to summarize or synthesize what they have learned. Ask your students to apply what they have learned to a real-world example. Last, you could have your students submit their best work to a competition or enter it for publication.

    Once our students have completely the project they will be having a school wide meeting with students and parents to discuss what has been going on and that the future plans are. Also, throughout the project, students will be making posters and will be given little quizzes over different concepts of the project just to make sure they understand the main points. 

Basic Storyboard for Website

Recycling
Home- Podcast, Concept Map, blog

        explanation of the project describing the goal of it.

What Is Recycling?- reduce, reuse, recycle, 

        clothes/ different items and ways you can reuse things

What Can Be Recycled- Digital Story Chelsea, Jamie Lesson Plan 1,

        list of everyday materials that are recyclable

Benefits of Recycling- saves money

       keeps environment healthy and safe 

      smaller landfills 

      saves resources

Negative- Chelsea lesson plan 1, Sarah digital story

                   how humans are affected by pollution

Details Of The Project- Jamie Digital Story

                   sister city description in project

                Sarah lesson plans 1 and 2

                Jamie lesson plan 2

                 

Taking The Project Home- Chelsea Lesson plan 2

            importance of everyone pitching in

          educating families on recycling

           Community involvement

Reading reflections #8

1. This day and age, branching out and making connections outside the classroom is easy to come by due to the technology available to us. Technology makes it easy for students to share their work and exchange ideas with all types of audiences, family members, peers, classmates, and even local community members! Your students may even find it motivating that others will be reviewing and even replying to their work. It puts a sense of ownership in the students learning. A  really good way to have students share their work is having them create podcasts to share inside and outside the classroom. 

2. The EAST inactive model focuses on students using technology for a real  purpose, to solve problems and make improvements in their communities. The projects students take part in make use of geospacial technologies and multimedia tools that are more commonly found in professional laboratories or design studios. The put these tools to work n community issues that interests them. Tim stephenson was the first person to developed the EAST model at green bier High School. He found that technology really interested the students and it had a big change in their attitudes toward school. 

3. Some reasons to let students "lead" their projects because it shows that the possibilities are endless. If one idea or assignment leads to another idea, then why shouldn't the student be able to take the lead and explore it? There shouldn't be a cap on learning. I do agree that before you are completely comfortable with project based learning, you should stick with having the entire class do a project (that they agree is interesting enough) and when you feel like you've mastered that, slowly begin to allow your students to lead their own projects. You will be amazed!

4. The concepts in this chapter can relate to our projects because we took the lead in our project by choosing something we were interested in. We all had the opportunity to decide what project would be interesting and beneficial to us. We have also had the opportunity to incorporate branching out and making connections outside the classroom when we create the e-pals assignment. I believe that this chapter has explained why some of the assignments we have done within our project are beneficial to ourselves and our future students. 

Reading Reflection #8

    As teachers, we can bring in professionals to talk with our students. The student will gain more by listening and asking an expert questions related to our topics. A good way to branch out beyond the classroom is creating a class blog or website. It is a way for other people across the country and even around the world to look and relate to the project your class is doing.

    The Environmental and Spatial Technologies (EAST) Initiative Model networks of schools have been demonstrating the benefits of using technology to solve problems and make improvements to their communities. The EAST model is built on 4 essential ideas.

1.     Student-driven learning: students need to be responsible for their own learning

2.     Authentic project-based learning: Students should be engaged in solving real problems in their communities.

3.     Technology as a tool: Students need access to the relevant technologies that professionals use to solve real problems.

4.     Collaboration: When students collaborate in teams to pursue authentic projects, they accomplish more than any one person can do in isolation.

  Once you are comfortable with the idea of a project, let the students start taking over. If your project is something they are interested in, they will get their work done. This is a way for you as a teacher to make sure that students really understand that project; if they are able to teach it someone else then they understand. All you have to do is start them off and then let them go, they will take over.

      This chapter can relate to our project. We are going to have a class blog where we can show people what we are going. We are also going to have experts come in a talk to our students. Last, we can let our student’s lead different parts of the project. If they are split into groups, have a group leader, tell them the basic idea of what they have to do then let them figure it out together.