Reading Reflection 7

1.       It is extremely important for a teacher to evaluate the discussions in their classroom.  They should ask themselves what the depth is to the questions that are asked and also who is asking them.  If the questions are regurgitated answers that students can answer using only half their brain you might want to come up with more thought provoking answers when planning the lesson.  Also if you`re asking most of the questions you`re working too hard!  If the students aren`t asking questions, they are most likely not interested in the subject and need some spark of interest.  To avoid some confusion and possibly get tips on issues we should talk with our co-workers, especially if we are collaborating with them on a project.  Pay attention to what the students are discussing: Are they explaining their knowledge on the subject so the other students can comprehend as well or are they just giving out answers.  If you choose to join the conversation don`t take over; the students can lead themselves they may just need to be pushed in the right direction conversation wise.  As for student to teacher, I think students should have a large role in discussions since they will learn more being active in the conversation than just listening.

2.       A teacher should check in on projects to make sure students don`t run into unexpected problems and to make sure everything is going as planned.  If the students feel stressed like they don`t have enough a teacher may reconsider their deadline and they should supervise to make sure no one person is doing the majority of the work.  The teacher should ask some probing questions that get deep into the meaning of the objective of the assignment.  Ask yourself, are they really understanding the point you`re trying to get across?  It may be a good idea to use journals or a blog so students can express their thoughts on the project and so you can evaluate how they feel about any aspect of it.

3.       To really maximize what technology can do for a project the teacher shouldn`t think as much about the students learning the technology, but the technology more as an added bonus to your objective.  I think it`s a great idea to consider if the technology is a tool the students can use or a side trip away from the project.  Also, teachers should consider if the students are using the technological resources not just google but also blogs, organizational tools, and contact with real experts and people in the field.  However, the teacher should make sure that those who do not always have access to technology will not be worse for it and should allow for more time on the computers if that is the case.

4.       Some of the most important 21^st century skills are the abilities to look back and fix mistakes, be flexible with the project, and teamwork.  If a student can recognize and fix their mistakes they can improve their work rapidly because they can target their mistakes and devise a plan to make better work.  If the student can be flexible they can mentally be prepared for most loopholes in a plan or project; if their plan of doing things on a computer program can`t happen they will find another way and still be efficient.  Teamwork is extremely important as well because employers will usually want co-workers to work together on some level and building teamwork will only help with that.

5.       This chapter can be really helpful to our project but escpecially in the classroom because it helps define what teachers do in a project based learning environment like what kind of questions to ask and discussions teachers and students should be having.  Also, I really find it useful to consider the use of technology and its purposes towards the project since teachers need to remember that a side lesson on technology that has nothing to do with a project will do students little good.  This is because if the technology lesson isn`t related to a real world situation where students can use it they probably won`t use it in the future.