Knowing how to proceed is certainly one key to the success of any project. In the article entitled “Exploration”, it stated that a good project should ask an authentic question and offer the opportunity for students to solve problems in a real-life situation so that they can see the need for learning the information. With regards to this, we encountered the philosophy of Seymour Papert of MIT again. Evidently the founders of the 21th Century Learning Environment have adopted his philosophy and firmly believe that teachers should abandon their curricula and teach what is necessary and useful. I understand this point of view but I do not agree with it.
All of us must conform to standards in the real world. There are laws, ordinances, statutes, instructions and guidelines that we must learn, follow and conform to in order to maintain healthy environments, operate machinery, buy, sell, and use products. Many are universal for the purpose of keeping order within the society in which we live. For instance the hot water handle is always on the left side and the cold water handle is always on the right side of the faucet. It is a standard in the plumbing industry. So when Mr. Paperts says replace curricula with what is needed at the time, I ask who makes that determination… the classroom teacher? Families should be able to move from one school to another or one area to another without fearing that their children will have to revisit what they have already learned or miss what they should have learned because the teacher deemed that it was not necessary. I think that the teacher should decide how to teach content but he should not be given the freedom to abandon curriculum and replace it with what he feels is necessary. That would lead to chaos.
The same article, “Exploration,” stated that in order for the project to benefit the students, the teacher should begin by communicating the objectives of the project in performance-based language that is measurable such as, “You will be able to do something and explain something.” He should provide a rubric that will guide the students through the process and enable them to assess their learning as they problem-solve. Along with the presentation of the rubric, the teacher should clearly state his expectations, namely that the student should participate fully and deliver nothing short of excellent work. That was the case of teacher, Scott Mc Colm of Seattle, whose 9th grade physics class was given the task of constructing a wing … he told them that they were going to knock the socks off their audiences with their graphs, data and presentations. [Planning for Project-Based Video http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning-introduction-video]
Certainly the teacher will consider student strengths, weaknesses, multiple intelligences and knowledge of the content when he designs the project and makes group assignments. The project should provide an opportunity for all of the students to use their skills and strengths to contribute to the completion of the project and the ensuing presentation.
How to Group
I thought that the theories that determine the composition of the group were varied. There were those who felt that diversity is best and others who favored homogeneous grouping especially in regards to the grouping of gifted students. It was interesting that some researchers felt that the gifted students would be hindered by cooperative learning if they were forced to work with lower performing students. On the other hand, others proved that the academic achievement of the gifted student does not suffer when he is grouped with the less capable student. [”How have Cooperative and Collaborative Learning Developed Since They Became Popular” http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/coopcollab/index_sub2.html
In the article "What are the Critical Perspectives, " Vickie Randal maintained that in PBL, the burden of teaching and completing a project often falls on the stronger more confident student. I do not intend to defend her argument, but that seemed to be the case in Mr. Trane’s class in the video entitled “Group Activity.” [http://ohiorc.org/adlit/video/videoClip.aspx?clipID=6&segmentID=15]
When Mr. Trane questioned the groups that contained one white male, the white males took the initiative to answer all of the questions. The black males and the white females in those groups sat and listened. In the group that contained one white female, one white male and one black male, the female was assertive but the black male was not. On one occasion, one black male offered a comment. Perhaps the black males were camera shy. I do not think that the black males were less capable than the white males but it appeared that they were not as comfortable explaining what they were doing as the white males were. I also noticed in the group that contained a white male, a white female and a black male, the white students seem to be doing the work as the black male student observed.
In the group that contained all females, two blacks and one white Muslim female, one black female took the lead as if she had been appointed the group spokesperson by saying that she had no idea how to build a parallel circuit. I observed that Mr. Trane had to give that group more attention than he gave the others. At one time, he seized a moment to teach a mini lesson so that they could finish the project. Perhaps each of those females could have been placed with other individuals. The group that seemed to be the most productive was the two- man white male group. Both seem to contribute equally to the success of the project. Therefore, I concluded that perhaps the students could have been paired so that some of them could have been more engaged. It was ironic that in that same video, the teacher
acknowledged to the two team white male group, “Cody actually finished the flashlight by himself… I was really impressed with him.” Some students work better as individual than in a group. Teachers must respect those students. “What are Critical Perspectives” http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/coopcollab/index_sub4.html
Conflict Resolutions
One of the arguments against PBL is that conflicts often arise that impede learning process. I did not observe any conflicts among the groups that were videotaped; however, having been a teacher for over 35 years, I know that conflicts often arise and can hinder the progress of a project if the students do not know how to resolve them expeditiously. Therefore, it seems that some conflict-resolution training would be beneficial for the students before the undertaking of a project so that neither the teacher nor the student would spend precious time with dealing interpersonal issues.
Accountability and the Reflection
There must be a way for the students to monitor their progress on a daily basis since there is a timeline to which they must adhere. From time to time, I talk to a teacher in Algeria about pedagogy. I love to hear her talk about the projects that she creates for her students. I asked her how did she monitor their progress daily. She told me that each group must take notes and submit them to her at the end of the period.
I appreciated the fact that Mr. Trane asked his students to reflect on the project for that day and that the reflection should include an evaluation of their performance, the materials provided and him as the instructor. The reflection is an interesting aspect of the project. It teaches the student as well as the teacher to reexamine their work and never be content with what appears to be, at the moment, a satisfactory performance. I think that the probing questions outlined in the part 5 of the article “Exploration” under the subheadings Reflect and Adjust, Reflect in Questions, Reflect in Attitude. And Reflect on Work Habits are extremely important. As we very well know, students love to socialize during group activity so they need to be aware that too much socialization can hinder the progress or affect the success of the project. They need to be concerned about how their behavior and attitudes affect group performance
The Notion of an Audience
In the video Planning for Project-Based Video
[http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning-introduction-video]
Students were asked to present the results of their findings before their peers, parents and engineers. Certainly this forced the students to raise the bar for themselves. I liked this feature of the project. I noticed that those who were video taped dressed as if they were employees in the business world. That was a nice touch. At the conclusion of the project, the students not only acted the part but they dressed the part of workers in the real world.
Some Realities
One of my online friends is a principal in Pakistan. I asked him what he thought about project based learning as a method of instructing and he said that it was the best way. I asked him if PBL was one of the methods that his teachers used in his school and he replied, “No.” Therefore, I asked, “Why?” He responded that his school had limited resources and that his students were poor and could not afford the materials necessary for participating in projects. One must be realistic and use some foresight. Project-based learning and Inquiry based learning are not inexpensive endeavors so the teacher must be resourceful as well as creative to have a successful program.
All of us must conform to standards in the real world. There are laws, ordinances, statutes, instructions and guidelines that we must learn, follow and conform to in order to maintain healthy environments, operate machinery, buy, sell, and use products. Many are universal for the purpose of keeping order within the society in which we live. For instance the hot water handle is always on the left side and the cold water handle is always on the right side of the faucet. It is a standard in the plumbing industry. So when Mr. Paperts says replace curricula with what is needed at the time, I ask who makes that determination… the classroom teacher? Families should be able to move from one school to another or one area to another without fearing that their children will have to revisit what they have already learned or miss what they should have learned because the teacher deemed that it was not necessary. I think that the teacher should decide how to teach content but he should not be given the freedom to abandon curriculum and replace it with what he feels is necessary. That would lead to chaos.
The same article, “Exploration,” stated that in order for the project to benefit the students, the teacher should begin by communicating the objectives of the project in performance-based language that is measurable such as, “You will be able to do something and explain something.” He should provide a rubric that will guide the students through the process and enable them to assess their learning as they problem-solve. Along with the presentation of the rubric, the teacher should clearly state his expectations, namely that the student should participate fully and deliver nothing short of excellent work. That was the case of teacher, Scott Mc Colm of Seattle, whose 9th grade physics class was given the task of constructing a wing … he told them that they were going to knock the socks off their audiences with their graphs, data and presentations. [Planning for Project-Based Video
http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning-introduction-video]
Certainly the teacher will consider student strengths, weaknesses, multiple intelligences and knowledge of the content when he designs the project and makes group assignments. The project should provide an opportunity for all of the students to use their skills and strengths to contribute to the completion of the project and the ensuing presentation.
How to Group
I thought that the theories that determine the composition of the group were varied. There were those who felt that diversity is best and others who favored homogeneous grouping especially in regards to the grouping of gifted students. It was interesting that some researchers felt that the gifted students would be hindered by cooperative learning if they were forced to work with lower performing students. On the other hand, others proved that the academic achievement of the gifted student does not suffer when he is grouped with the less capable student. [”How have Cooperative and Collaborative Learning Developed Since They Became Popular” http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/coopcollab/index_sub2.html
In the article "What are the Critical Perspectives, " Vickie Randal maintained that in PBL, the burden of teaching and completing a project often falls on the stronger more confident student. I do not intend to defend her argument, but that seemed to be the case in Mr. Trane’s class in the video entitled “Group Activity.” [http://ohiorc.org/adlit/video/videoClip.aspx?clipID=6&segmentID=15]
When Mr. Trane questioned the groups that contained one white male, the white males took the initiative to answer all of the questions. The black males and the white females in those groups sat and listened. In the group that contained one white female, one white male and one black male, the female was assertive but the black male was not. On one occasion, one black male offered a comment. Perhaps the black males were camera shy. I do not think that the black males were less capable than the white males but it appeared that they were not as comfortable explaining what they were doing as the white males were. I also noticed in the group that contained a white male, a white female and a black male, the white students seem to be doing the work as the black male student observed.
In the group that contained all females, two blacks and one white Muslim female, one black female took the lead as if she had been appointed the group spokesperson by saying that she had no idea how to build a parallel circuit. I observed that Mr. Trane had to give that group more attention than he gave the others. At one time, he seized a moment to teach a mini lesson so that they could finish the project. Perhaps each of those females could have been placed with other individuals. The group that seemed to be the most productive was the two- man white male group. Both seem to contribute equally to the success of the project. Therefore, I concluded that perhaps the students could have been paired so that some of them could have been more engaged. It was ironic that in that same video, the teacher
acknowledged to the two team white male group, “Cody actually finished the flashlight by himself… I was really impressed with him.” Some students work better as individual than in a group. Teachers must respect those students. “What are Critical Perspectives” http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/coopcollab/index_sub4.html
Conflict Resolutions
One of the arguments against PBL is that conflicts often arise that impede learning process. I did not observe any conflicts among the groups that were videotaped; however, having been a teacher for over 35 years, I know that conflicts often arise and can hinder the progress of a project if the students do not know how to resolve them expeditiously. Therefore, it seems that some conflict-resolution training would be beneficial for the students before the undertaking of a project so that neither the teacher nor the student would spend precious time with dealing interpersonal issues.
Accountability and the Reflection
There must be a way for the students to monitor their progress on a daily basis since there is a timeline to which they must adhere. From time to time, I talk to a teacher in Algeria about pedagogy. I love to hear her talk about the projects that she creates for her students. I asked her how did she monitor their progress daily. She told me that each group must take notes and submit them to her at the end of the period.
I appreciated the fact that Mr. Trane asked his students to reflect on the project for that day and that the reflection should include an evaluation of their performance, the materials provided and him as the instructor. The reflection is an interesting aspect of the project. It teaches the student as well as the teacher to reexamine their work and never be content with what appears to be, at the moment, a satisfactory performance. I think that the probing questions outlined in the part 5 of the article “Exploration” under the subheadings Reflect and Adjust, Reflect in Questions, Reflect in Attitude. And Reflect on Work Habits are extremely important. As we very well know, students love to socialize during group activity so they need to be aware that too much socialization can hinder the progress or affect the success of the project. They need to be concerned about how their behavior and attitudes affect group performance
The Notion of an Audience
In the video Planning for Project-Based Video
[http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning-introduction-video]
Students were asked to present the results of their findings before their peers, parents and engineers. Certainly this forced the students to raise the bar for themselves. I liked this feature of the project. I noticed that those who were video taped dressed as if they were employees in the business world. That was a nice touch. At the conclusion of the project, the students not only acted the part but they dressed the part of workers in the real world.
Some Realities
One of my online friends is a principal in Pakistan. I asked him what he thought about project based learning as a method of instructing and he said that it was the best way. I asked him if PBL was one of the methods that his teachers used in his school and he replied, “No.” Therefore, I asked, “Why?” He responded that his school had limited resources and that his students were poor and could not afford the materials necessary for participating in projects. One must be realistic and use some foresight. Project-based learning and Inquiry based learning are not inexpensive endeavors so the teacher must be resourceful as well as creative to have a successful program.
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