Chapter 4 Reflection

Project design takes a lot of consideration and planning on behalf of the teacher; and sometimes the project design still does not turn out as planned.  It is important to think about the potential pitfalls you may face with project design, and know what makes a project design good.  First, if a project is busy and long, and only reaches small learning aims, it is best not to waste your time or your students time with the project.  Second, you do not want a project that has students researching and simply presenting information on a slide show.  A good project should focus on reaching significant learning outcomes with the aid of technology if it enhances the project.  Third, don’t just teach from a thematic unit plan since the work is not interdisciplinary or collaborative.  You want a project that is structured differently and combines elements of each subject.  Fourth, don’t make your project overly scripted with tons of steps.  You want steps that will lead to good outcomes and steps that lead to the objectives of the lesson.  Good projects should be loosely designed with multiple learning paths, aid students in constructing meaning, be centered on a driving question, be realistic and cross multiple disciplines, it should involve the community and people outside of schools, it show tap rich data, be structured for students to learn from each other through inquiry, involve 21^st century skills, and have students learn by doing.

                Project ideas may come from anywhere, especially from good books.   Some good places to look include educational books, project plans developed by and for other teachers, news stories, contemporary issues, student’s questions or interests, a classroom irritant put to educational use, or a mash of great ideas and new tools.  It is often found that good projects will lead you to a new project idea.

                The most difficult project you design may be your first project because it is new and you don’t know what to expect.  When designing a project, you should first consider the school calendar, curriculum sequence, student readiness, and student interests.  Then you may begin to make a framework.  Note all learning objectives for core subjects and disciplines.  Decide which 21^st century skills you want to address.  Start planning your project and all the things that must go into it.  At this time you can write a project sketch, which Is a brief account of your project.  Share these sketches with your colleagues to discuss hard questions and ways to make the project better. 

                This chapter helped with the project we are designing in Educational Technology because it made you think about different steps you should take.  It also told me what the pitfalls and aspects of a project design may be.  This made me realize that many of the ideas that I had for our project were not deep enough for students, and it would be “cookie cutter work”.