Chapter 3 Reflection

1.             Discussion on what should be considered in finding “the Big Idea” for a project.

Identifying “the Big Idea” is the first step in project planning. Teachers can first think about the big ideas within their curriculum. They can do this by scanning the tables of contents in their teaching guides, reviewing the curriculum standards for their subjects, and brainstorming with colleagues. Teachers need to identify the overarching concepts and processes they want their students to understand and reflect on why they are important. This helps you apply them to real life and imagine ways for students to explore them. It also reveals the interdisciplinary nature of the project.

2.             Discussion on the 2lst Century skills.

In order to consider 21^st century skills, teachers need to think beyond subject mastery to the important skills, attitudes, and habits of mind their project might involve. Well-designed projects will force students to think harder than they do when given traditional learning activities. Teachers can accomplish this by planning for learning actions associated with the higher-order categories of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. The last three categories are especially relevant to project-based learning. Students should be analyzing, evaluating, and creating while working on their projects.

3.             Discussion on the 21st Century literacies.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization has developed a definition for literacy that goes well beyond the ability to read and write. They explain that it is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using both printed and written materials that are associated with a variety of contexts. The ISTE NETS-S also addresses digital literacy. Specifically they discuss: creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, research and information fluency, digital citizenship, and technology operations and concepts. Literacy is all about learning to be independent, aware, and productive citizens. The projects we create as teachers should provide opportunities for our students to becoming literate in the 21^st century.

4.             Discussion on each of the essential learning functions.

The first essential learning function is ubiquity or learning inside and outside of the classroom all of the time. It is not necessarily a learning function but a desirable quality of tools that support project-based learning. Some examples are: mobile phone, MP3 players, and web-based applications. The second essential learning function is deep learning. This involves helping students find and make sense of raw information on the web. When students sort, analyze, organize information they find online, they are using higher order thinking skills. Some examples are real-time data sets, and primary source archives. The third essential learning function is making things visible and discussable. A picture is often the best way to get a conversation started and there are many ways to make things visible with digital tools. Some examples are Google Earth, and Flickr. The fourth essential learning function is expressing ourselves, sharing ideas, and building a community. Students can use the web to express their ideas and build communities around similar interests. Some examples are blogs and social software. The fifth essential learning function is collaboration or teaching and learning with others. Projects invite collaboration and students can use a variety of tools that will help them learn together. Some examples are wikis and survey tools. The sixth essential learning function is research. Projects involve research and internet research will test students 21^st century literacy skills. Some examples of research tools are ASK for Kids and Citation Machine. The seventh essential learning function is project management or planning and organization. Project management helps students learn to manage time, work, sources, drafts, and products. Some examples of learning management systems are Desire2Learn and Moodle. The eighth and final essential learning function is reflection and iteration. Students will encounter deep learning when they examine their ideas from all sides and other perspectives. Blogs are a good place for students to keep a journal while completing a project. Some examples of blog hosting sites are Edublogs and Blogger.

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

When creating our big project for this class, we need to take the time to consider including 21^st century skills, 21^st century literacy skills, and all eight of the essential learning functions. Our big project is creating a class cookbook and hosting a class dinner. Since there are two different aspects to our project I am confident that we could include all these things, especially all the essential learning functions. Students will be learning inside and outside of the classroom as they work on this project. They will be researching online and participating in deep learning. They will add visuals to their recipe and possibly share it online. They will express themselves through the recipe they choose and how they present it. Students will express their ideas with the rest of the class. They will research recipes and how to make them. They will have to use project management skills to make sure they complete everything before the due date. Finally, students will have to reflect on the project process and their final product.