RR#9

1.     Description of a method of understanding prior-knowledge of students.

Teachers should understand the prior-knowledge of their students. They can do so by using a broad variety of assessments to better understand their students. The assessments do not have to be formal. Teachers can use activities as a way to assess. This makes it fun and easy for both the teacher and students.

2.     Discussion on the importance of establishing anchors for a project.

Establishing anchors for a project is important to do. You gain a sense of where students are starting. You can also determine how far they are going as they work to meet their learning goals.

3.     Description of several ways to assess what students learned during the project.

There are several ways to assess what students learned during a project. One way that helps students and teachers are the use of rubrics. These are a great way to help students stay focused and for the teacher to grade from. Online grade books are another way. Online grade books are a great way for parents to stay connected to the student and teacher because all have access to the students’ grades.

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

This chapter for the most part relates to my topic/project. Students will be assessed on smaller projects that build onto a greater assessment, the family dinner. 

Reading Reflection 9

1. Description of a method of understanding prior-knowledge of students.

Teachers need to use a variety of assessments instead of just a generic short answer or multiple-choice test. Some of these can include criterion-referenced assessments, alternative assessments and performance assessments, which produces comprehensive, credible, and dependable information. “Your choice of which tool is most appropriate will require you to think about your purpose for assessment. Consider not only what you want to measure, but how will you use assessment to improve student learning.”

2. Discussion on the importance of establishing anchors for a project.

When a teacher establishes “anchors” they get a sense of where students are starting from on a certain subject and how far are they going as they work to meet learning goals. This is important because you need to know if there is facts that certain students need to know before they start their project, or they will be completely lost.

3. Description of several ways to assess what students learned during the project.

There is always the standard assessments like multiple choices tests, short answer, and essays, but you could also have the students create something. For example, they could create a video explaining what happened, or they could make a puppet show, really if you give them free rain over the idea, students will come up with creative ways to demonstrate what they learned.

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

In our unit plans, the final project is taking an accumulation of everything the students have learned and presenting it to the public. Therefore, that would be our assessment.

Reading Reflection #9

1) Description of a method of understanding prior-knowledge of students.

At the beginning of the project teachers can use activities to find out more about their students' prior understanding. A K-W-L chart is a good example. Teachers can create this chart with students by asking them what they know and what they want to know at the beginning of the project. They can then ask students what they learned at the end of the project. Activities like this help teachers see where their students are before they begin the project because not all students will be starting at the same place.

2) Discussion on the importance of establishing anchors for a project.

Establishing anchors for a project allows teachers to gain a sense of where their students are starting and and how far they are going as they work to meet their learning goals. These anchors also help teachers expand the opportunities to differentiate instruction and help all learners be successful.

3) Description of several ways to assess what students learned during the project.

If teachers developed rubrics when they designed their project that can use them to assess progress toward learning goals. Rubrics are most meaningful to students when they help develop them and understand the criteria by which their work will be evaluated. If they do, rubrics can provide meaningful feedback for students. Teachers can also use online grade books to assess what their students learned during a project. Online grade books allow students to receive feedback across multiple categories for one class. Some examples for categories might be: how well a students knows the content, written communication, critical thinking, and work ethic. Online grade books allow students, parents, and teachers to have access to the same assessment data and that creates opportunities for conversations about student achievement. Finally, project tests allow teachers to see what students really learned over the course of a unit. These tests don't test facts, they test how well students have mastered key content by forcing them to look at things in a different way.

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

I think assessing students in different ways will be very important for our project. I also think having our students create their own rubric at the beginning would be very helpful. It would allow them to see not only where the project is going but also what they will be graded on once it's over. If students create their own rubrics, they don't question what is expected of them and they work hard to reach the learning goals they created for themselves. Using an online gradebook would also be helpful for a long project like ours because students would be able to see their individual grades as the project went on. Students would obviously be graded on different aspects of the project and seeing detailed descriptions of their individual grades would help them know what they need to improve before the end of the project. For example, our students would be  graded on their research, their written recipe, their cookbook, and their partcipation in the class dinner. They would also be graded on smaller assignments within these things so an online gradebook would really help the teachers, students, and parents see how each child is doing over the course of the entire project.

Reading Reflection #9

1. A method of understanding prior-knowledge of students:

Assessing students' knowledge on a particular subject will provide the teacher with information about what the students' already know, and what they might be struggling with, or not know at all. Not only does an assessment allow the teacher to see whether or not students are ready for a specific project, but depending on the assessment, it can also let the teacher know which areas need to be reviewed or taught with the students. Not all assessments need to be exams or quizzes. A teacher can gain prior-knowledge by holding a group discussion, doing a small activity with the students, or using a KWL chart. The type of upcoming project or topic that is being taught will determine what type of assessment would be the best fit.

2. The importance of establishing anchors for a project:

By establishing anchors for a project, we gain a sense of where students are starting and how far they are going as they work to meet learning goals. When we have a better sense of our students' prior-knowledge in a project-based classroom, we can expand the opportunities to differentiate instruction and help all learners be successful.

3. Several ways to assess what students learned during a project:

• Rubrics - if you developed a rubric when designing your project, this rubric can be used at the end of the project to assess students' progress toward key learning goals; in addition, you could always involve the students in the making of the rubric, helping them to understand how their work will be evaluated.
• Online Grade Books - an online grade book allows you to give students feedback across multiple categories for one class; this shows the students the specific areas where his strengths and weaknesses are, instead of just putting a letter grade on an assignment with no description.
• Project Tests - at the end of a unit, instead of having students take a traditional test, have them create a project to reflect what they've learned from the unit.

4. How concepts in this chapter relate to our topic/project:

As our students would be wrapping up their class project (the classroom dinner & cookbook), we need to consider how we would assess their learning progress. I think a rubric would be the most effective assessment in our case. I would like to design the rubric along with the students to see what they think are the most important elements of their project. I've found that when you give students the opportunity to grade themselves and their classmates, they'll often (not always) surprise you take the responsibility seriously.

RR#8

1. Description of some ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom.

A major way to branch out students beyond the classroom is to engage them in real-world tasks and situations. This is possible to by not limiting students to just the classroom. Subject topics can become more exciting for the students when an expert in the field is present. Another way is to integrate technology into the classroom.  This allows more doors to be open for students.

2. Description of the EAST Initiative Model.

Environmental and Spatial Technologies (EAST) is a model for schools that exhibit the benefits of using technology in real world situations and help improve the community.  Their four essential ideas are student-driven learning, project-based learning, technology as tools, and collaboration.

3. Discussion on some reasons to let students “lead” their projects.

When students lead their own projects they develop confidence in themselves.  They also become proud and passionate about what they have learned and developed.

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

This chapter had a lot to do with my topic/project. Once again project-based learning was talked about and is being used in mine.  Also students in the “real-world” will be cooking like in our project.

Reading Reflection #8

1. Ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom:

A goal of most classrooms in this century is to immerse students in real-world situations by taking the learning experience beyond the classroom. One way to do this would be to connect with experts in whichever field your lesson focuses on. Bringing an expert into the classroom gets students excited about the topic, when they can see someone who works with it everyday. The topic might become more interesting then, and your students may be more excited to learn about it.

2. The EAST Initiative Model:

The EAST Initiative Model works to show the benefits of working with geospatial technologies and multimedia tools as problem solvers in real world situations and help improve the community. By exploring these tools and technologies in this way, students are exposed to multiple different projects in their community and are given the opportunity to become engaged in these projects at an early age. The EAST Initiative has grown to include more than 260 in seven states, ranging from second grade to post-secondary, after its start in 1996. The EAST model is built on four essential ideas:

• Student-driven learning - students need to be responsible for their own learning.
• Authentic project-based learning - students should be engaged in solving real problems in their communities.
• Technology as tools - students need access to the relevant technologies that professionals use to solve real problems.
• Collaboration - when students collaborate in teams to pursue authentic projects, they accomplish more than any one person can do in isolation.

3. Reasons to let students "lead" their projects:

By letting students take a project or assignment in their own direction, we may surprised at what they come up with. When children are given the responsibility and trust of taking on their own project, we as teachers are showing them that we believe they are capable of handling responsibility and doing well with it. Once we allow our students the freedom to pursue something they are passionate about, they will often end up teaching us. They can tackle an issue that arrises in their own life and lead their group members better because the topic applies to them. When we let students lead, we as teachers become more of a support system rather than a facilitator.

4. How concepts in this chapter relate to our topic:

This chapter really seemed to tie back into project based learning, which we are implementing with our group project. Since we have each student choosing their own country and recipe to represent at their classroom dinner, they will be responsible for completing the research on that country and coming up with the ingredients needed for their recipe. It is our hope that the students will pick a country/recipe that is interesting to them.

Reflection #8

1. Description of some ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom.

Using technology integration your classroom can connect with people all around the world, including just around the neighborhood, and get feedback, ideas, and solutions to projects and problems. Talking with experts is another outlet to branch out. Experts can give you answers to questions that some books may not have and it also gives students an idea of “why do I need to know this?”

2. Description of the EAST Initiative Model.

EAST stands for Environmental and Spatial Technologies. These schools demonstrate the benefits of using technology in the real world problems. “EAST students master these sophisticated tools and applications in context while solving community problems that interest them.”

3. Discussion on some reasons to let students “lead” their projects.

When a student gets to lead their projects it turns into some exciting for them. They can, in their own way, explore the world around them and get to have free range over whatever they like. You never know what a student may come up with. One of my favorite parts of the chapter is when they talk about the students preserving a language. “Only a handful of Native speakers remain who are fluent in Lushtosheed. Students here have created talking books, interactive games, and other Web-based resources that preserve the language and celebrate the literature and culture of the Tulalip tribe.”

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

With our blogs, we are connecting with the outside world. They are getting information that they may not have known about and could help out other teachers in a classroom.

Chapter 8 Reflection

1. Description of some ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom.

Digital tools make it easy for students to share their work with diverse audiences. Knowing that others will be reading, watching, listening, or commenting on their work can be a powerful motivator for students. Digital tools also allow students to experience things that would not otherwise happen. For example, students can use blogs to connect with content experts, reflect on their own learning, and engage in global conversations. Therefore, digital projects allow students to connect to a real audience and branch out from the classroom. When projects are inquiry based, asking questions of experts becomes an important part of the learning experience. Teachers can make these connections ahead of time by recognizing a learning opportunity and making introductions between their students and the expert online. Teachers should begin this process by making a list of willing experts. They should consider current parents as well as people they may know. Using a class web site or blog is also a good way to get the word out about the areas where you are seeking expert help. Older students can even locate their own experts. Teachers can facilitate their students learning experience by helping them prepare to work with the experts. They need to be efficient at asking questions and getting the information they are looking for. Using experts can also have mutual benefits. For example, education students could comment on elementary students writing and they would both benefit from the process. Technology can also allow the learning community to expand to include participants from distant countries and continents. Students can use wikis, podcasts, and Skype for real time conversations. This forces responsibility on students as they experience a real-life workplace scenario. Finally, students can conduct research and raise awareness to real problems as they complete their project. They can share their findings with the community and truly make a difference.

2. Description of the EAST Initiative Model.

Students in the Environmental and Spatial Technologies (EAST) Initiative network of schools have been demonstrating the benefits of using technology for a real purpose, to solve problems and make improvements in their communities. They have been doing so for more than 12 years.  These students learn and use sophisticated tools that are commonly found in professional laboratories while solving community problems they are interested in. They use technology to get students interested in significant projects and to get communities to support these projects. The model now includes students from second grade to post-secondary levels. They have partners from industry and academia as well as state and federal government recognition. The EAST model is based on four essential ideas:
1. Student-driven learning: Students need to be responsible for their own learning
2. Authentic project-based learning: Students should be engaged in solving real problems in their communities
3. Technology as tools: Students need access to the relevant technologies that professionals use to solve real problems
4. Collaboration: When students collaborate in teams to pursue authentic projects, they accomplish more than any one person can do in isolation
The other critical components is training an support for teachers. Teachers becoming facilitators in this model and have to get used to the concepts of interdisciplinary learning, teaming, authentic projects, and student-driven learning. Professional development is ongoing for teachers delivered in phases in specific EAST training facilities. At the end of each school year, an annual conference is help and students showcase their projects to all their educators and partners.

3. Discussion on some reasons to let students “lead” their projects.

Students are more than capable of picking a project topic based on what they are passionate about. They can take on their own learning as long as they have teachers there to support them. When students are allowed to pick their own project topic, they get more involved and more interested in their work. Students may choose to research something they love or something they would like to learn more about. Either way, students are more likely to get more out of the experience because they have that personal connection. It also allows students to reach their maximum potential because they can chose to do a project that fits their specific learning style. Sometimes these student lead projects live on into the future to create extended benefits. They can then contribute to the culture of the school or community.

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

This chapter really helped me realize how important it is for students to build connections and branch outside the classroom. We plan on allowing our students to do just that. The first phase of our project involves students researching and choosing a specific country that they would like to cook a recipe from. Students could communicate with other students from some of these countries and discuss favorite and popular recipes. They could also brainstorm ideas about how to create their cookbook and plan their class dinner. Branching outside of the classroom and into other countries allow students to gain multiple perspectives and add elements of our cultures into their project. They will learn much more about food in other countries by talking with students who actually live there as opposed to just simply researching. This information will greatly help them as they plan their class dinner and will result in a more authentic experience.