Reading Reflection #7

1. Description of the levels of classroom discussions.

• Teacher to teacher: - discussing ideas with co-workers helps to shape the project. Conversation with other teachers will give you the chance to review each concept of the project prior to implementing it in the classroom. This will give you the opportunity to fix anything or add more details to the project if needed. 
• Student to student: - the students should constantly be communicating within their groups and also discussing with the rest of their classmates. The reflecting and discussing with one another allows students to learn from, question and challenge each other in a productive manner. Maintaining open communication within groups is the key to the success and organization of the project. In order for students to provide one another with effective feedback you, as the teacher, need to model this skill and allow the students to practice giving positive and constructive feedback. 
• Teacher to student: - during this level of classroom discussion the teacher often observes the students' discussing and working together. It is important to remember when to step into a student facilitated conversation and when to step back and listen. When jumping into a discussion the teacher needs to probe student thought and discussion with higher order thinking questions. 

These different levels of classroom discussion are important to implement in a Project-Based Learning classroom because it helps students engage in skillful questioning. Students will gain skills such as: analyzing, comparing, evaluating and elaborating through participating in higher order thinking discussions. It is also important to allow students to share their higher order thinking questions with the class and not to rely on the teacher to spark discussions.

2. Discussion on the questions for "checking in" on students during a project. 
 There are several different types of questions that can be asked to check the progress of a group and their project. These question types are: procedural, teamwork, understandings and self-assessment.
Procedural  questions should be asked when checking in on how the group is staying on task, if they have everything that they need, etc. Teamwork questions are geared towards how the members are working together, if everyone is getting along and to make sure that each student is doing equal work amounts. When asking understanding questions it's a good idea to use higher order thinking questions that probe student thinking and create great discussion. When asking these questions it's also important to observe group conversations. Self-assessment questions are important to see how much your students are also important to see what students may be struggling with. Assessments whether they are formative or summative, help guide teaching in the classroom.

3. Discussion on the benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology. 
When using technology in the classroom it is important that these tools are aiding the students in reaching their learning goals and aren't a distraction. On page 120 of our text it talks about allowing students to follow their interests to keep them engaged. Letting students choose gives them a chance to work on the types of skills that are required for each aspect of the project such as: working collaboratively, organization, making real world connections and meeting goals. Students will also gain several other skills that I have mentioned above and in previous blog posts. Some of these skills include: diverse thinking, organization, communication skills, teamwork and collaboration.

4. Discussion on the 21st century skills that can make or break a project. 
Not all projects are perfect and more times than not working with others can cause problems. Making sure to troubleshoot all problems is the distinguishing factor of a successful project. It is the teacher's job to ensure that students are staying on task and to let each group know that real world projects come with real world challenges. Letting students know that they can learn from their mistakes is crucial to any type of learning. Overcoming challenges, according to McDowell, is a necessary learning component of PBL. I really like what he says on page 122 of the book, "Project-Based Learning is more like real life. You can mess up, but then you have the opportunity to learn from that and make adjustments. There's huge value in that experience." Students are gaining so much knowledge from Project-Based Learning that will be useful to them in the future.
Another learned skill that can make or break a project is teamwork. Like I mentioned earlier, working together can be challenging. Mastering this skill can be time consuming and takes a lot of effort and good modeling from a teacher. If a group of students cannot work together to achieve the goal of learning from this project than the project won't be successful. When students learn to effectively communicate with each other it helps them to gain a mutual respect amongst each other which then makes collaborating on a project much easier. I really like that in the book they mention having students sign a teamwork contract so that students understand their responsibilities and the consequences that will come if they don't follow the contract. Another thing that I liked was how you can use teamwork as an assessment. Reflecting on teamwork in our blogs is something that we do weekly in our reading reflections; our last question always has to do with how the material relates to our group project. I also really like how the author mentions evaluating our group members, this helps to emphasize the importance of team collaboration.

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project. 
Chapter seven's concepts heavily relate to our project and how our group works with one another. The different levels of classroom discussions have been present during the semester thus far. The student to student level happens whenever our group communicates with each other and the other groups. Our blogs are a great example of this level of discussion. Whenever we have lab or lecture we are participating in teacher to student discussion. Our weekly reading reflections are also an example of this level because we are asked to reflect on what we've learned and how we have experienced these concepts personally. The reflections are also an example of self-assessment and peer evaluation.
This entire course uses technology as the tool to aid in our learning. We were able to choose our groups and the topic that we wanted to cover for the semester. Being able to make our own decisions from the start has made this "our" project and more interesting to work on. I have definitely gained skills from this course that I didn't have before. Learning how to create a blog, a podcast and using the technology that has been available to us this semester are skills that I will take with me when I start teaching.
Another concept that relates to our project is the skills that could make or break our semester project. Our group has always been really good at troubleshooting possible problems that could arise. I'm thankful that I am able to communicate with each of the other members effectively, it has made working in a group fun and easy.