I am a little stumped on this one because I tend to be creative and need a little more time to let my philosphy marinate. Here are a few ideas I am simmering now:
• open doors, open hearts, open minds
Then I got stuck. Check back when I come up with something a little more eloquent.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Assignment 3 - PBL Reflections
It is true. It took me a week to get caught up. That's because I got a new toy this weekend and spent the entire weekend configuring it.
Now, Project-Based Learning:
I think I have been doing PBL my entire teaching career. I am sure the reason for that is because as a student, I learned best while doing PBL. I am a do'er and want my students to be do'ers as well. And, I get tired of doing all the work.
So I teach in a collaborative manner. I want my students to contribute their experiences and knowledge to the overall development of our classroom experience. Of course, it can be a challenge at times since they are only in the 6th-8th grades. And sometimes the experiences of some are far greater than the experiences of others. So we share all we can.
As I read the PBL articles, I realized that I employ many of the ideals held by some of the great minds in child development. And while I don't always bring all the cards to the table at the same time, I try to create student-directed, student centered learning (Dewey), I keep in mind the stages of mental development (Piaget), I involve the multiple intelligences of my students (Gardner), I encourage an active process of learning (Bruner) and I promote critical thinking and higher order thinking skills from Bloom's Taxonomy.
In our particular project, "Sharing Our Legacy," it is our hope that by honoring the heritage of each of our students, we will foster a sense of respect of each of our ancestors. By drawing a parallel to historical events, we hope students will discover a deeper understanding of their personal family history and the times in which their ancestors lived. We hope that our students draw solid conclusions about the decisions their ancestors made and the consequences that came as a result of their decisions. Will out students use this new knowledge in their own lives? Time will tell but we hope so.
Since this is a yearlong project that will encompass many interactive activities and lessons, the acquisition of new technology skills, the collaboration of teams of students, a constant review of work by peers and professionals and a final project that will be unveiled at Campbell Union School District’s first (and we hope annual) Multimedia Fair, we rest assured that the skills acquired are those honored and valued by industry.
Now, Project-Based Learning:
I think I have been doing PBL my entire teaching career. I am sure the reason for that is because as a student, I learned best while doing PBL. I am a do'er and want my students to be do'ers as well. And, I get tired of doing all the work.
So I teach in a collaborative manner. I want my students to contribute their experiences and knowledge to the overall development of our classroom experience. Of course, it can be a challenge at times since they are only in the 6th-8th grades. And sometimes the experiences of some are far greater than the experiences of others. So we share all we can.
As I read the PBL articles, I realized that I employ many of the ideals held by some of the great minds in child development. And while I don't always bring all the cards to the table at the same time, I try to create student-directed, student centered learning (Dewey), I keep in mind the stages of mental development (Piaget), I involve the multiple intelligences of my students (Gardner), I encourage an active process of learning (Bruner) and I promote critical thinking and higher order thinking skills from Bloom's Taxonomy.
In our particular project, "Sharing Our Legacy," it is our hope that by honoring the heritage of each of our students, we will foster a sense of respect of each of our ancestors. By drawing a parallel to historical events, we hope students will discover a deeper understanding of their personal family history and the times in which their ancestors lived. We hope that our students draw solid conclusions about the decisions their ancestors made and the consequences that came as a result of their decisions. Will out students use this new knowledge in their own lives? Time will tell but we hope so.
Since this is a yearlong project that will encompass many interactive activities and lessons, the acquisition of new technology skills, the collaboration of teams of students, a constant review of work by peers and professionals and a final project that will be unveiled at Campbell Union School District’s first (and we hope annual) Multimedia Fair, we rest assured that the skills acquired are those honored and valued by industry.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)