Concept Map #3

Reflection #11

There are many aspects that occur as a result of using project based learning. The student become more engaged in their learning. They get excited by the change of pace opposed to the boring monotonous schedule of lesson after lesson. Giving the students the option to bring up topics that they would enjoy learning about. Projects also can be looked back upon and changed for future use. Collaboration with other teachers will help gain new ideas that can make your project better. Also sharing your project, via a blog or website, is a great idea also. You can help other teachers better their units and make adjustments to your unit as well.
Once you develop a project, "entering your project in a contest gives you a chance to put your best work forward." It is also very important to take the time and think about how far you have come from day one. Project based learning has many aspects that allow you to reflect on how much your students have learned. It will also give you a chance to see where you will go next. Students will be excited to learn and can even give you ideas on what to teach next. It is important to keep that in mind as you wrap up a lesson.
In our project, wrapping up and reflecting on our project will be an important aspect. I think once we get reflections from all the students and how they felt about the project we will have a pretty good idea how the project flowed for the students. Like we are doing in class by making a website about our project for any other teachers. Other teachers can help us develop our project further or they can use it in their classroom.

Reading Reflection #11

Sarah Betzold

EDT 3470

Reading Reflection #11

            As a result of using the project-based learning approach, the teacher and the students should have many memories to look back on. There will be souvenirs, artifacts and possibly some new future project ideas. The results of project-based learning will allow the teacher to reflect on what worked and what did not. The teacher can look back at times where students were most engaged and try to recreate that in future projects. When teachers use the project-based learning approach, students learn new skills that will help prepare them for their future careers.

            Teachers can “bring their projects home” in many ways.  The teacher can share project ideas on iEARN or GlobalSchoolNet, create a project library, put the project on the Internet, or publish a project on teacher sites that share project ideas. The teacher may also want to help other teachers use the project-based learning approach and inform other teachers on what really seemed to work. The teacher can even enter the project in for a contest. This can help your school gain recognition for great project-based learning. Overall, it is important for teachers to enjoy the experience and think about how much has been accomplished.

            Our projects relate to these topics because we are ending our units and creating a website that displays all of our project ideas. It allows us to see how much we have accomplished and the types of artifacts that we would have if we were to actually do our project with a classroom. We have continuously been reflecting on our projects and are much more prepared for what project-based learning will look like in our own classrooms one day.  

Reflection #10

It is very important to set aside time for reflection either during or after your project. It is a good idea to give the students time to reflect on their accomplishments that they achieved during the project. School can be fast paced with all the objectives that need to be met within a short period of time. It will be good as teachers too to reflect on the outcome and process of the project for any future changes that may need to be made. I know as a college student in one of my classes our teachers asks us to write a letter reflecting on what we learned in the chapter. She asks us to reflect on how we have grown as writers and readers during the section. She asks us to think if there was an "a-ha" moment when something clicked. I love doing this type of reflection because I can see if I made any progress and I know that my feedback will be beneficial to the teacher.
Students need to reflect and elaborate. While they are being asked to reflect have students elaborate as to what they are wondering about next or what do they want to learn. Their responses will lead teachers to even better projects which can be developed by the students. This will guarantee that the students will be interested in the topic because they are the ones picking and developing the project.
Some schools have a specific reputation or traditions that create their identity. Project based learning is a great way for your classroom to build its reputation which can hopefully make its way into more classrooms. Younger students will be excited to be emerged into project based learning as they see the success in their peers. Community members will also notice the accomplishments of the students and may offer support which can better your project.
It is also very important to celebrate a project. Displaying student work is a great way to show among their peers and school. Holding a party or celebration where the parents and people in the community can come in and see what the students have done is a great idea. Having the students be able to show off their hard work to other people will be very rewarding to them. Another good way to show students work is to have a "Year in Review" event. Compiling all of the students work is a great way to show how much they have learned and accomplished as students. Pictures, blogs, sketches, drawings, are all great things to include to remind them what they did.
I really like the "Year in Review" event idea. With our project I think it would be a good idea to even do it at the end of the unit just because we have two major sub units, nutrition and physical activity. This can show where the students started and how much they have learned. Having the students reflect on what they learned will be a great way to understand what knowledge they gained from the unit as well.

Reading Reflection #10

Sarah Betzold

EDT 3470

Reading Reflection #10

            It is very important for teachers to set aside time for students to reflect. Students are learning everyday at a fast pace and should have time to think about what they have learned. When students reflect, what the students have learned is more likely to stick with them. From personal experience, when I have reflected on my work in classrooms, it has made me feel proud of myself to think about all that I have accomplished. It also allowed me to think about things that I normally would not have thought about. For instance, my strengths, weaknesses, what I enjoyed or did not enjoy, etc. Teachers should set aside time for students to reflect so that students can use their knowledge and experience to grow as a learners, researchers, speakers, writers, etc.

            Students need to reflect and elaborate because they may have ambitious goals that a teacher should to know about. Students may have a strong desire to do a more challenging project or may have other ideas that would be great for a teacher to incorporate in a classroom project. Teachers can help students accomplish whatever students set their minds to so it is important for students to reflect and elaborate.

            Schools build traditions and identity. My high school was known for our football team. Our team was always in the playoffs and won the state championship my senior year. All schools are usually known for something. I think it is important for teachers to want to build traditions and identity. Exceptional project work can be a tradition and identity that all teachers can work towards. Getting the community involved in projects as well as parents, experts, etc. will help build those traditions. Every teacher should want students to have a lasting experience that they take pride in. I know I will take the skills I have learned from this class and try to build traditions and identity in my future classroom.

            Celebrating projects is also very important. I have done this in a few of my classrooms and it made my classmates and I feel good about what we have done. Celebrating learning makes students like to learn. Students feel a sense of accomplishment and know that they have the ability to learn challenging concepts. Overall, celebrating projects is fun for everyone and displays all the hard work the students have been working on.

            The concepts in this chapter relate to our projects because we need to know how to effectively wrap up a project. Reflecting, building traditions and identity, and celebrating projects are all huge concepts that we will be doing in our future classrooms. All of these concepts are important for us to think about as we wrap up the projects we created. This chapter taught us how to effectively do that.

Reflection #9

Reflection #9
One method of understanding prior-knowledge of students is by using a KWL chart. This way teachers will know what each students knows in th K section of the chart before beginning the project or assignment. It is important for teachers to understand that not all students will be starting at the same place.
It is important to establish anchors for a project. Anchors will let the teacher know where students are starting and how far they are going as they work to meet learning goals. Using KWL charts is a great way to know where students are at. Also this will help the teacher know how to differentiate instruction to help all kinds of learners in the classroom.
There are several ways to assess what students learned during the project. When assessing students at the end of a project, letting the students being creative is a great way to see what they learned. One teacher from California had their students create a comic book of a book they read. They had to use quotes and symbols they read in the story.
Another way to assess what students learned during the project is to flat out ask the students what they learn. It is hard to give a student a multiple choice test and know exactly what the student knows. I learned in another class the best way to know what a child has comprehended is by verbally talking to the student or having the student write down what they know. The students can be in groups while the teacher is over-seeing the conversation and taking anecdotal notes on what the students know. The students can present in front of the class. Or if the student is not out-going having them write down what they know lets the teacher inside the brain of the student and what they learned.
Another way teachers can asses student learning is having the students create something new. At the end of a project having a student create an extension. This way the students have to take what they learned within the project to apply to something new. This gives them the chance to be creative as well as letting the teacher know what they have learned. Another great way of assessing it entering a contest or submit for publication. This gives the student something to work for that is not only school based.
Many of these topics can be used in our project. When assessing students during a project I think the best way to assess would be to have the students create extensions off the project. Staying healthy is a wide range topic which gives the students to be really creative with what they already know and what they may want to know.

Reading Reflection #9

Sarah Betzold

EDT 3470

Reading Reflection #9

                        A great method for understanding prior-knowledge of students is by doing a Know-Wonder-Learn (K-W-L) activity with students. This method allows the teacher to learn what the students already know and encourages students to ask questions about what they don’t know. It has students answering questions about what they know, wonder and want to learn about a particular topic. This is a great way for teachers to find out a lot of information about what students already know about something before beginning a project.

            It is important to establish anchors for a project because it will help you plan out where students will start with a project and end. It will help you plan out how students will reach their learning goals as well. Every student is not going to be on the same page when it comes to what they already know. For this reason, it is important for a teacher to establish anchors and differentiate instruction to make sure all students achieve.

            There are several ways to assess what students have learned during a project.  I really like the idea of simply asking students what they have learned. For instance, in our book, Reinventing Project-Based Learning by Suzie Boss and Jane Krauss, an Australian teacher videotaped his students as they told him what they learned and reflected on their experiences. I thought this was a creative and different way to assess students. Students can also be assessed through a presentation on what they have learned or create something new by applying what they learned to a new context. Teachers can also assess students by modeling real-world assessments such as having students create portfolios. The portfolios can then even be judged by a panel. This gives students an idea of how people are often assessed in the real world. Another good idea is having student submit their best work in a contest. This is a great motivator for students to work hard and allows students to present why their project is worth winning.

            These concepts relate to our projects because they are important for us to know as we start wrapping up our units in our class. It is important to know that assessments should not just be multiple-choice tests. There are many creative assessments teachers can do to see if students have met learning goals. It is also important for us to know the importance of establishing anchors so that we have a direction as to where our projects are going. All of these topics are especially useful for us to consider as we begin our teaching careers.