The teacher’s role in in keeping a project moving is talked about
in chapter 8 of Project Based Learning. The author contends that teachers need
to be able to think on their feet when students go off in different directions
that you did not anticipate, even though we are not prepared much do that in
college. Asking questions especially complex ones, adds to the discussion in
your classroom. By motivating students to think critically we are giving them
an essential ingredient in moving classroom discussion along. The types of
class room discussion are: Teacher to teacher, Student to student and student
to teacher.
Another section in chapter 8 talked about Expeditionary Learning
or (EL), in how it relates to project based learning. The author suggests that
EL helps instruction balance between high order thinking, academics and
citizenship which is important. EL and project based learning may merge when
developing the common core curriculum for different schools and planning
instruction. When students are using technology efficiently they can benefit by
matching their learning speeds by replaying the podcast or whatever you are
using, this also helped eliminated some questions for teacher by students being
able to correct their own mistakes. Something the author does think may be a
hindrance is student’s previous knowledge in the technology you plan to use. If
they all know how to use content students would be much more likely to be successful
because they are comprehending and not getting distracted. Again I think this
was a very helpful chapter to get us thinking about PBL and will try to
implement these technologies in my classroom.
Hi Lee! I liked what you had to say about Expeditionary Learning and how it relates to project-based learning. Using technology efficiently can make or break the project and help keep students interested and excited. I agree that if all of the students know how to use the technology confidently, they are much more likely to end up successful. I think that starting to think about implementing these technologies in our own classrooms is a great and helpful idea for the future.
ReplyDeleteI love that you talk about how students may go in a different direction than you anticipated. So many times we plan plan plan and then when it comes to implementing the lesson the class comes up with things or raises questions that were not planned. It's so important to be able to think on your feet and go with the flow as a teacher!
ReplyDeleteI really like this quote "by motivating students to think critically we are giving them an essential ingredient in moving classroom discussion along." I think this is true because when we ask questions that motivate students to think critically, many other questions arise and the discussion becomes more productive.
ReplyDeleteEverything that we teach and our curriculum standards involve technology and the need for technology growth will only continue. Project based learning relates to EL on so many levels. I liked how you used "matching their learning speeds" when discussing the technology and how much it will help kids keep on task.
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