Reflection
#1
Chapter 1
Janice
Alff
1.
There are a few things you should keep in mind
as you start your journey through Project-Based Learning. You should be ready to rethink your
expectations of the students and their work.
You should be ready to interact more with your students. You should help your students get better at
managing their own progress. You should
be ready to reorganize your room to help with teamwork and collaboration. The biggest thing, I believe, is to be ready
to explain your reasoning for taking the 21st-century project
approach.
2.
Some
of the benefits of the PBL approach are projects allow for student choice which
sets the stage for active learning and teamwork. Some tools open new windows onto student
thinking which can help with more productive conversation. PBL can have instant global connections if
using the internet. The students get
real world activities and practice the strategies of authentic disciplines.
3.
The
benefits to students are: they use hands on projects instead of just sitting
and listening to lecture. They use
teamwork to do much of the assigned projects.
It enhances their communication skills as well as their inquiry skills. They learn to be flexible with their working
hours like they will in the real world.
They also get a fuller understanding of how the world works, and realize
that individuals can do something about changing the world.
4.
The
issues that need to be considered are: teachers need to be comfortable in the
learner role as we start own journey. We
must be able to adapt to change as the projects and information is always
changing. We need to be able to meet the
complex needs of the digital-age learner.
5.
We
all need models to help us along. In my
English class we talk about modeling our writing for our students. If we show them how we do it and how we can
make mistakes, they are more apt to understand better and enjoy it more knowing
they are not alone in the process. The
same goes for the New Technology High; it was modeled, found to work effectively,
and endorsed by the community. Because
of these things, other schools and communities want to implement it as well.
I agree with the idea of a team teaching. Working with more than one classroom together or even spanning across a few grades. Wouldn't it be great to see a project where a whole school participate? I also liked that you pointed out that it should involve lots of teacher one-on-one time.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you said project based learning is more hands on rather than sitting in on a lecture. I could just relate to that because no one likes long lectures and listening to teachers talk all the time so its nice for change and something different. And not only does this effect college students but more likely elementary students so their attention span is shorter and doing hands on is more effective.
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the nail on the head with your reflection. Our students are building communication skills, independence, and hands-on learning experiences. Team teaching is something I see in my practicum placement on a daily basis, the school actually participates in school-wide project based learning! The magnet program focuses on math and biotechnology. It's pretty cool to see what we are reading about in action.
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