Chapter 3 Resonse

When deciding on the “Big Ideas” for a project, teachers should consider the core concepts and processes.  Identifying the big ideas at the heart of the subjects we teach is the first step of project planning.  To figure out the big ideas, the teacher should read the table of contents for the teaching guide and review curriculum standards for his or her subject.  The teacher also needs to think about how a hands-on project might evolve to take diverse interests into account.  The teacher should also consider real-world contexts and interdisciplinary natures of the project they are planning.  All of these things will help the teacher decide on the big ideas for the projects that he or she is planning.

Well-designed projects will push students to think deeper intellectually that traditional assignments did not do.  It is best for students to use Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives when project planning.  This includes remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.  When planning, you should try to evolve the higher-order thinking skills analyzing, evaluating, and creating.  When analyzing, the students will examine, explain, investigate, characterize, classify, compare, contrast, illustrate, or prioritize.  Using the evaluation skill, students will judge, select, decide, justify, improve, defend, debate, recommend, and assess.  When creating, students will adapt, anticipate, combine, compose, design, imagine, theorize, and/or formulate.

                Many instructional standards of the 21^st century focus more on the behaviors required of accomplished people of the 21^st century.  A model done has shown the highlights of Digital-Age Literacy like scientific, economic, and technological literacies; visual and information literacies,; and Inventive thinking; effective communication; and high productivity.  Students also must be taught how to effectively use real-world tools and how to produce relevant, high-quality products.  By multiple definitions, literacy now boils down to learning to be independent, aware, and productive citizens.  

                There are eight essential learning functions that teachers must keep in mind when they are designing a project.  First, learning inside and outside the classroom, stresses that teachers give students the ability to learn anytime and anyplace.  Tools the teacher could use include MP3 players, mobile phones, and Google Docs.  Second, deep learning, stresses that students go beyond the “filtered” information and help students make sense of information found on the web.  Students could use educational video-on-demand or real-time data sets.  Third, making things visible and discussable, teaches students how to use resources to gain a better understand of something.  Students could use “mind maps”, Visual Thesauruses, or Google Earth to make things more visible for discussion.  Fourth, expressing ourselves and sharing ideas and building communities, will provide students with a connection to the social world.  Students could use Flicker or Facebook to share ideas.  Fifth, Collaboration, allows students to use tools to help learn together.  Students should share, write, and survey together.  Students could use tools such as wiki or Web-based “Office” applications.  Sixth, research, is essential for students to learn.  The 21^st century has demanded students to use research and the web.  Students could use Google Search for questions or the Citation Machine for citing information.  Seventh, Project management, stresses the importance of students managing time, work, sources, feedback, drafts, and products during projects.  Students could use Desire2Learn or simply make a folder of their own.  Eighth, reflection and interaction, allows students to think deeper when reviewing and viewing ideas from different points of view.  Students could use Blogger or Wikispaces for this essential learning function. 

                The points discussed in this chapter of the book are very useful in reference to our project and topic.  Students have a much different demand for learning thanks to the turn of the 21^st century.  Less focus is put on the “busy” work, and students are being asked to think deeper, relate information to real-life situations, and collaborate with classmates and the community.  By knowing the eight essential learning functions, teachers will be able to implement all the important aspects of learning and help students find new references for the future.