Reading Reflection #7

1. Levels of classroom discussion:

• Teacher to teacher - Teacher conversations often touch on everything from the procedural to formative assessment. Agenda items such as what the plan will be for the next day, or who is going to lead each activity are discussed between teachers. There are other ways, besides face to face discussions, that teachers can communicate. Consider starting a project blog or online document where you can communicate with teachers who may not be present.
• Student to student - Student conversations should be about their learning experiences as they work together on projects. Students can discuss with their own teammates, as well as the other teams throughout the classroom. Collaboratively sharing their findings and ideas can increase knowledge and understanding throughout the whole classroom, giving students the chance to learn from and challenge each other. Be sure to encourage them to discuss with each other and step in when necessary to model how to give effective feedback, however be sure to let students practice these skills with their peers.
• Teacher to student - In a project-based classroom, a lecture format is mostly avoided. There are still occasions to talk to the whole class at once, but when using project management tools, you may find you need to spend less time on housekeeping and more time facilitating conversation between students. Whole-class discussion can still be used to check in on student understanding or to wrap up a certain phase of the project with classroom reflection.

2. Questions for "checking in" on students during a project:

• Procedural - track progress toward deadlines, remind students of project calendar, and monitor student logs and checklists.
• Are we staying on schedule?
• Do we have the right materials available?
• When is the best time to schedule a field trip, expert visitor, or other activity?
• Teamwork - circulate the classroom and ask questions to assess team dynamics. Be sure to provide a safe environments where students feel comfortable to raise concerns or ask for help if they are experiencing team trouble.
• How are team members getting along?
• Is one student carrying too much of the load for the whole team?
• Are students able to manage conflict themselves, or do they need my help?
• Understanding - after spending time observing and listening to student conversations, ask probing questions to see if students are going off task or basing their decisions on faulty information. If students are having a difficult time staying on task, ask questions to get them redirected to their topic.
• Have you thought about...?
• Have you considered this research?
• Self-assessment - find out what students are thinking about the project by asking questions that encourage self-assessment and reflection. Perhaps allow students to write these reflections in a project journal or blog. Students may be more likely to open up and share honest frustrations and challenges if they can be posted instead of spoken.

3. Benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology:

4. 21st Century skills that could make or break a project:

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