Chapter 11

With Project Based Learning the students learn through all sorts of learning functions. They get to work collaboratively and by themselves. They get to take ideas from the classroom and link them to ideas presented in the real world. project based Learning helps students develop a deeper understanding of concepts because it allows for students to take concepts learned in the project and relate them to real life. This helps the brain make connections and remember material. It is important that students make these connections because through them they develop much more understanding. Project Based Learning also develops life skills for the students. Instead of just sitting at a desk all day, they get to collaboratively work on a real life project. That in itself is something they will do in the workforce, also they learn to help each other, communicate effectively, and work as a team to get a job larger than just one person done.

In our project we used a lot of these skills to create the different things we created. We had to work together to get the job done

Chapter 11

There are a lot of learning functions that occurs as a result of using the project-based learning approach. The essential learning functions are:

·         Ubiquity

·         Deep learning

·         Making things visible and discussable

·         Expressing ourselves, sharing ideas, building community

·         Collaboration-teaching and learning with others

·         Research

·         Project Management

·         Reflection and iteration

There are several ways to “bring your project home:”

·         Capitalize on your investment:

·         Critique you work

·         Share your insights

·         Become a resource for your colleagues

·         Enter a contest

·         Enjoy the journey

Concepts in this chapter relate to my teams project because we have learned a lot while developing our project in this class. There are several leaning functions that I developed as I worked on this project with my team member. I was able to share ideas with my partner on how to create our project. We also were able to collaborate on what was best to do for our project. Lastly, we were able to research important information to include into our project. 

Ch 10

Not only in class, but also in life it is important to reflect. When a stage in life is accomplished, or a period of time, or an important or unimportant accomplishment occurs we need to take a step back and figure out what went right and what went wrong and how we can improve. It is also very important to intentionally reflect in class. In the classroom we as teachers not only teach students information, we also form them as human beings and teach them important skills that they will need in life. Reflection is a huge skill in the work world and in our personal lives. People that learn the most in life are the ones that learn and improve from their successes and mistakes. Project based learning does an excellent job of teaching these real world skills. In the classroom the students perform a real world task, and work on a real world problem. When the project is done it is crucial that students look back and see what went well in their project and what could be improved. Nothing ever goes perfect in life, and often times things don't go as planned. The student that can recognize what didn't work as planned and what they could have done instead, and what went wrong and why. This helps teach the students to think on their feet when things go wrong.

This is a skill that kayleigh and I have done a lot in our project. We always look back at past assignments and try to do things better. I think it helps us improve on future projects, and become better.

Final Collaborative Concept Map

https://bubbl.us/?h=26d088/52f918/25dq/VReWWsvY&r=287969594

Chapter 10

It is extremely important to set aside time for reflection. Reflection helps students feel good about what they have accomplished. Also, reflection can make what students have learned actually “stick.” Reflection helps students think about what they have learned, how they have grown as learners, and what they want to learn in the future.

Students need to reflect because it helps them think about growth in learning dispositions. Students may experience challenges, frustrations, and joy when doing a project. Reflecting on obstacles that they have overcome will help them realize what they were able to overcome and accomplish. As teachers you can ask students: what does this get you wondering about next? What do you want to learn now, and how do you want to go about it? Students need to elaborate because they might take what they have learned and develop a more ambitious project. For example, a team used a wiki to organize their grant proposal. They designed a proposal that explained how math and science videos would help students understand the material better. Therefore, students can take what they have learned and develop something even bigger.

Schools build tradition and identity by building awareness in others. Students that are coming p in the grades know what’s up. Therefore you have a foundation for tradition. The older siblings pass down to the younger siblings what they did in certain class with certain teachers.

It is important to celebrate a project that way you can build your schools identity as a place where kids get to learn through projects. You can show the student work, plan an event, create a blog, or even hold a party. You should have students take control of the celebration. You should include the following:

·         An opportunity to look back at the work

·         Acknowledge the hard work

·         Appreciation for all who helped

·         A display of learning

·         Process and growth

·         Showcase projects to colleagues, administrators, etc.

Concepts in this chapter relate to my teams project because we get feedback on our assignments which helps us reflect on what we have done well on and what we need to improve on. For example, our first lesson plan that we created using taskstream. We received feedback from our teacher and were able to reflect on what we accomplished, but also what we need to do better on for our next lesson plan that we create.

Ch 9

In chapter 9 we talk about how to make assessment meaningful for the students. I believe that this is one of the most important and the most controversial topics in education today. Traditionally testing has been that students complete a bunch of math problems, or write a huge paper, or do some monstrously large multiple choice test in a limited amount of time to show they understand something. While the benefits to this kind of testing is that it does give the teacher a clue to where the student is struggling, and it can also show where the student has some strengths. But it also has a large amount of failure. Testing only shows what a student understands during that particular moment in which the student is taking the test. It does not give a complete picture of what the student knows, and also it does not account for the full potential of what the student can do. Also there are many factors that can change how a student performs on a test, such as what the student ate for breakfast, how nervous is the student, how much sleep did the student get that night, and an infinite amount more factors.

This is where project based learning has an advantage over the traditional test. The students can show their knowledge in real world settings, through completing tasks that are comparable to the tasks that they will have to complete in the work world. Instead of assessing a single snapshot of what the student knows, you are watching a full length film in how the child grows and develops and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the child through that development. Also in project based learning the child learns how to work in a team, and learn from the strengths of others making the entire class stronger as a whole, and teaches the student an important skill that will be used for the rest of their lives.

In our ed-tech projects we are being assessed in a similar way. Our assessment is made through what we show we can do, and we have a wide variety of ways to prove our knowledge. This gives us the benefit of providing our best work, while it gives the teacher the benefit of seeing a bigger picture in our capabilities.

Storyboard for Website

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IaOfCnXRzRiSKFWhxI_5lOmfACghBOH_B4Od7VCakBA/edit