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.

  One way to determine what your students already know is to have them write a short summary of what they already know about a topic.  Another way to tell is to have your students fill out a KWL and have them share what they know aloud with the class or have the class turn them in and read them.

   It is important to establish anchors because you gain a sense of where students are starting, and how they are meeting their learning goals.  In a project based classroom you expand your opportunities to expand differentiated instruction.  It is important for students to be able to refer back to an anchor point. 

   One way to assess what students learned is to ask them what they learned.  Students will let you know what they actually did learn from the project and you will not have to guess.  Surprisingly, students will be honest with you.  

   It is important for us to determine what other foods students in our class have already eaten.  It is also important to determine what they already know about cooking and preparing food.  It is also important to see what students actually did learn from our project.  This will be useful in determining how to teach future lessons.

Reading Reflection #9

      It is important when starting any lesson or project to find out what prior knowledge your students have on the topic. You can find this information out by discussing with students and having them fill out a KWL chart.[K-what do you know? W-what do you want to learn? L-what have you learned?]
      All students are at different levels in learning and learn at different paces, so it is important to establish anchors. This will help you gain a sense of where each student is currently and what goals they should set for the year. When using project-based learning in your classroom, you are able to expand differentiated instruction with students and help them be successful.
     When assessing students you want to have a rubric that gives you feedback on your students and their learning. In the chapter, it discussed Paul Curtis and his classroom and how if you assign a project but the student turns it in late, they get a C. This system gives you no feedback on how they are doing and what they learned. Instead, you could try creating a rubric that grades content, written communication, work ethic, and critical thinking. These things help give you feedback on your students, their learning, and how you can make your teaching more effective. Other ways to assess students include, entering their projects in competition, publishing their work in the school paper or newspaper, have students create something new, create podcasts, or assess students work as it would be assessed in the real-world.
     This chapter relates to the topic of classroom kitchen/catering because we need to keep in mind our students' prior knowledge when creating lesson plans or projects. We also need to make sure our assessment is grading things like content,work ethic, and critical thinking, our students are learning, and that we are getting feedback from the work our students do.

Making Assessment Meaningful Chapter 9

   There are several methods that a teacher can use to understand students prior knowledge. Not all students are going to start at the same level, so naturally they will not all end at the same level at the end of their learning journey. Also, some students will get more out of projects than other students. For this reason, it’s important to know where your students are starting out in their skill sets and knowledge so that their individual progress and growth can be measured. One way to gauge where each student started is by having them fill out a KWL chart. The student writes down what they know, and what they want to know. A teacher can look back at the students’ answers and figure out how far the student has come in their learning journey. The students can also fill in what they have learned as they carry out the project.
    Teachers can keep track of student progress by establishing “anchors.” Anchors give teachers a picture of where the student started off at and how far they have come in meeting their learning objectives. Teachers can collect students samples as the project progresses as well as have students complete journal entries about what they are learning or struggling with.
    There are several ways that teachers can assess what students are learning. Teachers can collect student samples to use in determining how far along the student has come. Teachers can also give grades for projects based on different categories, such as one on content knowledge, one on communication, another on work ethic, and another on critical thinking. In this way teachers can see the overall effort based on the four separate grades, and focus on what the student needs to work on/improve, rather than looking at one grade and attempting to sort out what needs to be worked on. Even though the way project based learning is set up is untraditional, teachers can still use traditional methods for gauging the students understanding, such as through the use of tests/quizzes.
    Concepts in this chapter relate to our topic because we need to establish anchors in order to see how far our students have come in understanding the material. Assessment should not solely take into account where the students arrived when the project ended, but where the students began and the distance they traveled in their learning. We also need to make sure that we are sharing with our students what our expectations for their learning are. Learning goals should not be kept a secret, students need to know what is expected of them so that they can best meet those goals.

**Reading Reflection Chapter 8**

     A few ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom include having projects that include research that must be done by interviewing and adult outside of the classroom.  This will get students involved with the community.  Also, you can have students talk with experts about particular topics.  Having guest speakers in your classroom will help to get students excited about a topic because it will be someone new and different, and to get students engaged. Another fun thing to do is to connect with other classes in other districts and to send project results and messages to the other classes, and vice versa.  

     The EAST Initiative Model stands for Environmental and Spatial Technologies.  This deals with solving problems and improving their community.  The EAST model is built on four essential ideas which are student learning, authentic project based learning, technology as tools, and collaboration.  Student driven learning refers to students needing to be responsible for their own learning.  Authentic project based learning means that students should be engaged to solving real problems in their communities.  Using technology for tools means that students need access to the relevant technologies that professionals use to solve real problems.  Collaboration is when students collaborate in teams to pursue authentic projects, and they accomplish more than any one person can do in isolation.  Teachers must let their students lead their projects.

     Students need no be able to lead their own projects because they will gain more skills, knowledge, and confidence.  Teachers do not have to micromanage every project.  The teacher will be there to support students when they need it, but the students will have a lot more say in their project and will therefore be much more interested.  

     This topic related to our topic in several different ways.  One way is that our students will be communicating with another classroom and will be branching out beyond our classroom.  Another way is that our students will be hosting an event for the community to taste different foods and to sell cookbooks with international recipes inside.  Our students will be thinking outside of the box for our project.

Reading Reflection Chapter 8

    When doing projects in your classrooms you need to think about ways to build connections and branch out. You can do this by connecting with experts, expanding your learning circle, and communicating your findings. You can connect with experts, for example, by having a scientist come into your classroom during science lab. The scientist can explain his job and assist students during lab time. Expand your learning circle by including members of your community or expand even more by including people from different countries to assist in projects in the classroom. An example of this was explained in the chapter when they discussed the Flat Classroom Project. You can have students do research projects for a cause or to raise awareness of an issue. Students can do a service learning project by finding a way to raise money for the cause that they researched.
    The EAST Initiative Model stands for environmental and spatial technologies. The EAST Initiative Model uses geospatial technology and multimedia tools found in labs or design studios where students are able to master tools and applications while solving community problems that they have interest in. Examples include using GIS, GPS, and CAD to map trails in Hot Spring National Park, Arkansas, using digital media to make a documentary on Japanese American internment camps, and using design software to build a museum in their honor after hearing stories from World War II veterans
So far, there are 260 schools in seven states that use the EAST Initiative Model. The model was developed in 2001 by Tim Stephenson at Greenbrier High School and has now become a non-profit organization. There are four essential ideas to the EAST Initiative Model. The first is student-driven learning where students are responsible for their own learning. The second idea is authentic project-based learning that engages students in solving real problems in the community. Thirdly, use technology as tools and make sure that you have access to relevant technology that professionals use to solve real problems. The last idea is collaboration. Collaboration should be done in teams to pursue authentic problems and accomplish more thatn one can do in isolation. Teachers need training, support, and learn to become facilitators. There are different phases of training which include a weeklong collaborative training, followed by training 9 weeks later on questions about implementation, an additional training on effective teaming and project management development, and another 9 weeks later training on exploring real world issues. This training includes an annual conference to showcase projects and see results.
    Another important part of project-based learning is letting students lead their projects. Let students have a choice on choosing their project, they have issues they care about just as we do. Teachers don't have to choose projects for students all the time, find out what students are passionate about. Give students the chance to learn on their own, but be there to support them when needed.
    This chapter related to the topic of classroom kitchen/catering because we are responsible for our learning, we use technology throughout our project, and collaborate on different aspects of our project.

Building Connections and Branching Out Chapter 8

            Connecting students with experts and expanding their learning circles can be extremely beneficial to their learning. One way teachers can help students connect with experts is through recognizing learning opportunities or making introductions online. Introductions can be made through reading blogs. Teachers can start by making a list of willing experts. Teachers can generate of list of parents with skills and expertise helpful to the completion of the project. Parents may also have suggestions of people they know who can help. Teachers can use a database to organize this information. Teachers can also show the students how to locate experts online, which gives students independence and practice using 21^st century skills (effective communication, researching). Their learning circle can be expanded through the collaboration with students from other classrooms within their school and around the world. This can be done by exchanging videos, blogs and other forms of technology.
            The EAST Initiative Model stands for Environmental and Spatial Technology Initiative Model. EAST students use GIS, GPS, CAD and other technologies to create maps of their local area/community. There are four main ideas essential in the EAST model: student-driven learning, authentic project-based learning, technology as tools, and collaboration. Students are encouraged to take the lead of their own learning.
            There are several reasons why teachers should let students take the lead on their learning. When students are allowed to take the lead on their learning, they are able to pick topics that are interesting and relevant to their lives. They are still gaining the necessary 21^st century skills and knowledge, but they are learning with something that interests them, therefor deeper, more meaningful learning is taking place. The teacher is there to support and guide the students as they take charge. Students should be allowed to take charge because they are very capable of handling it. We need to give them the credit they deserve and support when needed.
            Concepts of this chapter relate to our project, because we need to be able to stand back and let the students take charge of “Taste the World” night. As teachers, we will need to be able to decide when it is appropriate to step in and support the students and when to let them struggle a little. Struggling with a concept is not always a bad thing, in those moments a lot of growth takes place. We also need to be providing our student with many professional contacts, which could include parents who are chefs, local bakery owners, etc.

Reading Reflection 7

Chapter 7, A Guiding Hand -- Keeping a Project Moving

      Classroom discussions take place on several levels during project implementation.  Teacher to teacher involves discussing projects and brainstorming with colleagues.  Student to student involves students talking about their learning experiences to each other.  Explaining their thinking gives students an opportunity to learn from each other and to challenge each other.  Teacher to student discussions are good to introduce new concepts and to demonstrate skills that will be needed to complete a project.      

      Higher order questions need to be used when teachers are discussing projects with their students.  It is also important to give students time to think about an answer before calling on a student to answer.  This allows all students to have time to answer regardless of how long their thinking process is.  It is also important to incorporate student questions during projects.  When checking in with your students you need to frame your questions to get at the information you want to discover.  Based on they type of information you want to find out questions can be procedural, teamwork, understanding, of self assessment questions.  Procedural questions deal with the process of actually doing the project such as asking students if they are staying on schedule.  Teamwork questions refer to the inner group workings of a project such as if the group is getting along with each other.  You also want to be sure of your students understanding to be sure that they are on track for completing a project.  Students also should learn how to self assess their projects.  

      In order to maximize the use of technology you must first ask yourself as the teacher if the technology will help your students meet learning goals.  It is also important to consider if the technology is helping your students to stay organized.  Also when deciding on a type of technology to use, it is important to think about the accessibility of the technology.   If the technology is not easily accessible to all students then the technology should not be used. 

     It is inevitable that you never know exactly what will happen through the course of completing a project.  It is important to help your students learn from the setbacks and to learn how to get back on track when something goes differently than expected.  You must discuss a project as it is unfolding to ensure that everything stays on the right track.  

     These topics relate to our group project in several ways.  It is important as students to make sure that there is plenty of student to student discussions when completing our project.  It is also true that technology is never 100% reliable, so it is important to learn how to problem solve.

Reading Reflection #7

      In the classroom there are different levels of class discussion, such as, teacher to teacher, student to student, and teacher to student. Teacher to teacher takes the advantage of opportunities to work together to discuss procedures and assessment. Teachers can use blogs to communicate if they can't meet face to face. Student to student involves students discussing learning experiments and their challenges. Teacher to student can be a whole group lesson when teaching a new concept. The teacher demonstrates the skill and checks in on students understanding and the wrap up of a project. Teachers observe groups, listen, and ask probing questions.
     When checking in with students there are different types of questions you should ask students.
-Procedural: Are we staying on schedule? Do we have the right materials for our project? When is the best time to schedule field trips?
-Teamwork: 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 on their own or is the teachers' help needed?
-Understanding: Ask questions or suggest resources to redirect them and encourage them to push themselves.
-Self-Assessment: Using a blog or journal can be good for students to express their challenges or frustrations while working on a project. Also, students can share questions that they have but maybe weren't comfortable with sharing in front of the class.
     Technology can be beneficial to students while working on a project when the technology is helping students reach learning goals, the technology helps them stay organized, the technology expands their horizons by connecting to outside experts or broader communities(can also be used by teachers to inform parents), and the technology is readily available.
     There are two 21st century skills that can make or break a project. The skills are troubleshooting and teamwork. Troubleshooting is using real-world projects in the classroom so that students understand real-world challenges. Students get a chance to overcome challenges-this is a necessary component of project based learning(if you mess up, learn from it, and make adjustments.). Students learn from setbacks and fine tune their strategies. The second skill is teamwork. Teamwork helps students learn to manage conflicts. As we did in our edtech3470 class, you can have students sign a contract agreeing to work as a team and do their part in the project.
     This chapter relates to our topic of classroom kitchen/catering because we use student to student discussion and ask each other "check in" questions to make sure we are on the same page with our project. Teamwork is also important in our group so that we each do our part and create a great project!

A Guiding Hand - Keeping a Project Moving Ch. 7

                There are three levels of classroom discussion that takes place during a project. There is teacher to teacher discussion, teacher to student discussion, and student to student discussion. Teacher to teacher discussions can occur face to face or through the use of technology. Teachers can discuss procedural aspects of the project, assessments of project pieces, and much much more. Student to student discussion involves the students discussing their learning progress. Teachers should be aware that students may need some guidance and modeling for how to interact with one another in discussions. Once students have gained those skills, the teacher can stand back as bystander, being careful not to take over conversations and stepping in as needed. Teacher to student conversations involve providing students with on-the-spot feedback and checking student understanding. Much of the teacher to student conversations take place with smaller groups of students, so that the teacher can provide feedback.
                As students complete their projects, there are several questions that a teacher can be asking to keep students moving forward. The questions can be procedural questions, such as Are we on schedule? Do we have the materials we need?  The questions can be teamwork questions. Is your group communicating clearly and respectfully? Are all members contributing? Have you found a way to manage conflict, or do you need some help? Questions can be understanding questions. Have you thought about…? What does this mean for your project? Questions can be self-assessment questions. Is this information making sense to me? What am I learning from this information? Is there more that I can do to contribute to my group?
                There are many student benefits to optimizing the use of technology. By allowing students to choose the technology that they would like to use, the students learning can be more meaningful and beneficial to their project. Limiting the students to master one technology is inhibiting.  By optimizing technology, students can stay organized. The optimization of technology can result in students being able to communicate with people around the world. Through the use of technology teachers can provide instant feedback to students.
                 There are several 21^st century skills that can make or break a project. One of the 21^st century skills that students need to master is troubleshooting. In the real world, students are going to face problems and challenges. Students need to learn to deal with these challenges and analyze what’s going wrong or what can be improved. Students also need to be able to manage conflict. Managing conflict will help the students in almost all areas of their future.
                The concepts from this chapter relate to our project because we need to teach students skills for troubleshooting. We can teach students how to predict areas of potential problems or challenges. Such as thinking ahead to our “Taste the World” night and thinking of ways to avoid problems. As teachers, we would need to be communicating with other teachers, because they are outside of the situation, so they can think of things we missed. We also need to be communicating with students, giving them feedback and checking of student understanding.