Chapter 4 Reading Reflection

Chapter 4 discusses the idea of quality, worthwhile project in a problem based learned classroom compared to any other project you may want to do. Although projects are a great way to get many types of learners involved in developing life long skills, if they are not “meaningful and motivating to learning” there is no point in wasting the teachers time or the students time on them. There are many potential pitfalls of project design one including the actual length of the project. You can work on something for a day, a week, or a month, but if it is not “the right size” for that topic, it does not matter. When determining the length that the project should last, always take into consideration if the students could learn the same things in a lecture or by reading a part of a textbook. You also always need to keep in mind that although technology is a great tool, it can also be a distraction if not used efficiently. Although there are a few ways project design can be difficult, if you always keep learning objectives, flexibility, and productivity in mind the outcome should be a good, worthwhile project. Good projects are based on flexibility and being able to take it in any direction that the children take it. Projects should have a purpose and a starting point but should not be a step-by-step recipe because it does not allow the children to think outside of the box. Projects also need to hit as many learning standards that they possibly can and in as many different ways that they can. If your project can effectively cross curriculums and intertwine different subjects, the learning possibilities are endless. Good projects most importantly reach beyond school to involve others and other outside sources. Project based learning is about developing students inquiry, decision making, and team work skills while also teaching them to critically think in real life situations. When teachers effectively utilize the surrounding community and real world situations, they are getting their students to use their traditional educational ideas and apply them to everyday life. Good projects learn by doing and utilizing the teacher as a facilitator of learning rather than a lecturer. In order to effectively carry out a good project, it begins with good ideas hat have been weeded out from the bad ones. A great resource for quality project ideas is your fellow teachers who may or may not have taught something like you are trying to get across. Collaboration between coworkers allows for classes and subjects to work with each other and more effectively sink in with the students. Another resource for project ideas is online resources such as Global SchoolNet, iEarn, and iHistory. In summation, do develop a good, worthwhile project, it takes thinking about the big picture and the objectives you want to portray to your students. Projects are supposed to be a new, exciting way to teach the traditional material and in order to keep the educational value consistent between the two worlds, most importantly we need to determine our learning targets and overall the best way to achieve those. The concepts in this chapter relate to our project directly because health and wellness is something that needs to be incorporated into education in any way possible. Although basic health and wellness will not typically interest every single child, by organizing and running an event you are giving them a stake in their own learning while allowing them to interact in the real world. Something specific that I learned and can incorporate into our project from this chapter is the absolutely crucial idea that the students need to be the leaders of the project as much as they can. The more responsibility you give the students, the more accountable for their learning they become.