Reflection #7

Reflection #7
There are different levels of discussion that should take place in the classroom. There should be teacher to teacher, student to student and teacher to student. All of these types of discussion will be important for a successful project. Collaborating with other teachers will help better the projects procedures or assessments. Two or more heads are always better than one. Students should be interacting with each other as well. They will be able to form questions that other students may be able to help them with. It is important for them to give them the opportunity to challenge themselves and each other. Students and teachers should also be interacting. There could be times where it is a whole group discussion but teachers should also not be afraid to work with small groups or even individually. It is a great time to assess students for understanding.
When the students are divided into teams they most likely will be at different points so the teacher should be checking on student process. Types of questions to ask are divided into 4 categories. Procedural, teamwork, understanding, and self-assessment. Procedural questions are questions that will remind students of project deadlines or milestones and the teacher will know where the students are at. Teamwork questions are questions to ask about the group dynamic. Teachers can have the students blog or journal on their teams progress or raise any concerns they have about their team. Understanding questions can direct students to other resources if their project is off task. These questions can also push the students to thinking outside the box and going beyond the expectations. Self-assessment questions can find out what the students are learning or thinking about the project. You can ask the students to journal or blog about what they are finding frustrating or interesting.
There are benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology. When integrating technology into the project make sure that the technology is ultimately helping the students reach a learning goal. The students should also stay organized. The students should take advantage of all the tools. The students should also use the technology to expand their horizons. Students may really benefit and learn something they didn't know or intend on learning.
There are some 21st-century skills that can make or break a project. Teamwork is a very important aspect and 21st century skill. Teachers should pay attention to problems within groups and help them learn to manage their own problems. Having students reflect on how their team worked together at the end of a project and if there was anything they would do differently is a great for students. The students will be able to recognize what they learned as a team and individually and recognize and interpret their mistakes.
I really like the teamwork aspect of this chapter and how it emphasized how important it was. In our project there can be many opportunities for students to work as a small team. Also with the virtual pen pals the students would be optimizing the use of technology. Maybe they could do some sort of blog about their virtual pen pals which would work on their organizational skills another 21st century skill that will benefit them greatly.