Final Concept Map

This is our final concept map!

Reading Reflection 11

      As a result of using project based learning, students will come away with memories that they will recall for years.  Students will take what they learned with them, instead of ending at a dead end.  Students will make connections that build into future projects.  

      There are several ways to "bring your project home".  It is important to share your project with other teachers, and not to keep all of your ideas to yourself.  Learn from one another.  It is also important to enjoy the journey.  Think about how far you have come, and the projects that you have completed.  Enjoy the projects that you have your students complete.  

      Students will come away from taking part in our project with lots of knowledge that they can build upon in the future, and new skills.  Students will learn the importance of being able to complete a recipe from start to finish.  Students will also have many memories of the event in the future.  What they learn will stick with them.  Also, I will have a webpage to take away from completing this project.  The web site is a good place to use for future reference.

Reading Reflection #10

      It is important for students to set aside time for reflection.  School is paced very fast moving quickly from one topic to another.  It is important for students to reflect on their learning experience.  By reflecting, students are given a chance to feel good and discuss with their peers their accomplishments. 

      Students need to reflect.  Students will have the opportunity to understand how gratifying their learning experience is.  Projects usually are a lot of work and students are faced with challenges as they complete them.  It is important for students to be given the chance to understand how much their hard work and effort paid off.  

      Like the book said, many schools' identities are tied to their traditions.  The major part of building a tradition is to spread awareness.  Start a project that you will have your students complete each year.  Students will become excited about their projects and will spread the word.  Another way to build tradition is to involve the community in some way.  

      It is very important to celebrate projects after you complete them.  Give your students an opportunity to share their work with others.  They also need a time to look at their work and to be able to appreciate their final product. 

      The idea of celebrating a project is directly connected with our project.  The students in our project will host a night for their community to celebrate the tastes of the world.  Students will have the opportunity to show off to their parents, family, and the community everything they have learned, and everything they completed for the project.  The community will have an opportunity to taste recipes cooked by the class, and to buy cook books created by the class.

Reading Reflection #11

     When you use project-based learning in your classroom it opens doors and creates connections between students, teachers, and community members. Students will learn to think beyond class time and interact with project members outside of the project they are working on. Also, students become more professional, grown up, and confident during the project. They learn to manage their time and meet deadlines.
     It's important to critique how you think the project went and student understanding to see what can be changed for next time. You should continue to collaborate with colleagues to discuss pros and cons of projects you do in your classroom.
     You should share your success about project-based learning with others. You could create a project library, turn your project into an archive on the Web, join an online database(iEARN or Global School Net), or enter a contest to show off your work. You can be a resource to other colleagues and teach about the technology that you used in project-based learning.
     It's also important for you to enjoy the journey you've made with project-based learning. Think about how you've grown professionally, how far you've come, and where you want to go next with project-based learning and your teaching.
     This relates to the topic of classroom kitchen and catering because our team has collaborated throughout the project and once it is complete we can discuss what worked and what didn't. We also our able to share our experience with project-based learning through the website we are creating which we can share with our parents or community members. Also, when we are finished we can think back on the project and talk about what we've learned and how we plan to use the information we've learned this semester in the future!

Bringing It Home Chapter 11

                Using the project-based learning approach should result in more questions arising. Good projects invite students to ask more questions and make new connections as well as open their minds to new things. Students, teachers, and people involved also begin to feel like they have been somewhere together. They have learned and grown so much, creating many vivid memories, souvenirs and artifacts along the way.

                There are several ways to really bring the project home. One of those ways is through critiquing your work. What could have gone smoother? What unexpected circumstances arose? What went well, how could you better extend the learning? You could do a project debrief with the team that planned the project. You can also share successful projects with other professionals by putting them online. Publishing your project on the web allows for you to provide helpful project ideas for others as well as gain feedback for improvement. Enter projects into a contest, putting your best project forward. You never know what might happen. Reflect on how enjoyable the project was and the fun journey you and your class has. If the experience wasn’t so fun, try to find ways to make it better.

                Our project relates to the concepts of this chapter because we need to try to develop a way of making our project end on a more question-filled note. We need to find a way to make it so the project doesn’t just end. Students should be left eager to do more learning and problem solving. The concepts from this chapter relate to this class because we get to look at other peoples websites and projects, and we can use some of the things we find to improve upon our project and make our project better and more meaningful. We also need to remember not to worry and learn to roll with the punches, sometimes the best learning occurs when the students are struggling, and this can be applied to our learning as teachers. We should enjoy the ride, hiccups and all. 

Reading Reflection #10

When working on projects with students it is always important to take time to reflect on the work you and the students have just done. Everything is going so fast when you finish a project then move onto the next project. This leaves no time for reflection and to feel a sense of accomplishment for what you've completed. It's important for students to reflect on what they learned, how they grew throughout the project, and what they want to learn next. Students learn lots of skills while working on projects, but also have challenges. It's important for students to have time to talk about these different parts of the project and also fun moments of the project.
When students reflect/elaborate about what they learned from a project you'll learn what they wonder about next, what they want to learn, and that will help you decide how to go about it. After awhile, you'll begin to put more and more decisions into their hand(example: grant proposal done by students). Student may have more ambitious project ideas than you have planned and that's great!
Building awareness about projects in your classroom will get people involved and upcoming students will be excited about the things they'll learn and get to do in your classroom. Invite the community, families, and students to a showcase to show different projects that students do in your classroom. You can get help from the community and your classroom will get the identity of a community of learners. I remember in elementary school the 5th grade teacher always had students create animal habitats and the 6th graders always created salt maps. I couldn't wait to get into those grades so that I could create those projects. At the end of the year, we showed them off to teachers, parents, and other classrooms!
Celebrate! You and your students have been working hard on these projects, its important to show them off! You could have an event, party, or put information/photos on a blog for family who is not able to come to the party. You also can ask students what they remember/value about the project they did this year. Their responses will help you plan for the next years to come.
This chapter relates to our topic of classroom kitchen and catering because at the end of our project we are having a "Taste the World" Night where students will be able to cook a recipe from a different country and bring it in, along with research on that country. All of the students parents, teachers, and family members will be invited. We want the students to have the opportunity to celebrate the hard work they've done and share this with many people!

Chapter 10 Celebrating and Reflecting

Throughout and after a project, it’s important to set aside time for both yourself and your students to reflect on their work, learning, and attitudes. Reflection allows the teacher to assess if their learning expectations matched the students’ learning outcomes. Reflection gives the students and teacher a chance to sum up what was learned and really stop and think about what they did. Teachers get a chance to see how the students felt about the project and if the project comes to an abrupt end or if it leads the students to question and wonder about more things in the world.
            There are several reasons that students need to reflect and elaborate on their projects. Reflections allow the students to look back and assess their strengths and weaknesses. It can also help them discover activities, concepts, and hobbies that they enjoy, or discover hidden talents. Reflection gets students to step back, remove themselves from the middle of the project and look at it from all angles. They can really summarize their learning and think about how much they accomplished. Good reflection questions can get students thinking about what they would like to learn next and what new questions they would like to explore.
            There are multiple ways that schools can build tradition and identity as a project based learning community. Students in younger grades can be invited to events held by project based learning classes, or be told about projects by their siblings, which stirs up excitement for when they get to do the same kinds of things. Family members and the community can also be invited to play a part in the project or come celebrate the success of a project. Schools/classrooms can also build tradition and identity by creating great projects that the students are excited to show off and share with the community. Creating artifacts for the community to enjoy is a powerful way to get students excited and encourage them to produce their best work.
            Showing off and celebrating the students work is very important. Celebrate the students’ ultimate success in spite of all the bumps and hiccups along the way. That’s definitely something to be proud of and gives the students a sense of pride and accomplishment. Students work can be celebrated in several ways. The teacher can display student work around the classroom, hold events to showcase their work to the community, or upload the projects to the web to show off to the world. When students know their hard work was worthwhile, important and meaningful, they will be more excited about future learning and future projects.
            The contents of this chapter relate to our project because the students will be putting on a special event for the community to come out and experience. Since they know that their work will be displayed for everyone to see, they will take more pride in their work and be excited about sharing their work with others. We also need to take the time both for teacher reflection and for the students to reflect on the learning and growing that took place. Our final project will be a celebration of their success.