Keeping a project moving requires teachers to support
students on their learning journey and know that it might not always unfold the
way you expect it to. Classroom discussions are a good way to keep things
moving and help your students stay productive. There are three levels that take
place during project implementation and those are teacher to teacher, student
to student and teacher to student. In the middle a project student teams are
likely going to be moving at many different paces and in different directions,
which is why creating questions for “checking in” will help monitor progress
and make necessary adjustments to your project plan. Procedural questions such as “Are we staying on schedule?” or “Do
we have the proper materials to continue our project?” will help track progress
towards milestones and remind students of the project calendar. Teamwork questions like “Are students
able to manage conflict themselves, or do they need my help?” will help you to
assess each team’s dynamic. Understanding
questions that may consist of “Have you thought about...?” or “Have you
considered going about it this way?” will help restrict teams from using faulty
information or suggest resources to redirect them. And lastly, Self-Assessment questions will help to
find our what students are thinking about the project and encourage reflection.
Through use of these questions, it may help you to understand and uncover information
you did not expect!
I really liked that you outlined the different types of questions to ask and talk about. I also liked that you mentioned how groups and even students within the same group will be going at different paces and not all be at the same point in the project as one another. You're right when you say it's important to check in with students!!
ReplyDeleteReally liked your opening statement, I think it’s crucial to differentiate teaching for your students. Not just pouring facts to students but actually creating a successful learning environment by learning sometimes on the fly to make modifications for your students. It’s also great that you talked about that each child has a different learning pace because each child is different. One great example of doing while teaching a project might be to help students help each other by engaging in meaningful discussion, and asking them the right questions that will help them think critically. I agree that by asking the right questions you may find things you didn’t intend that could be helpful to you or your students.
ReplyDeleteI like that you focused on procedural questions because I think this was an important part of the chapter. These are very helpful to make sure your project is going the way you want it too and you can check yourself as many times as you want. I also like how you noted that students will be at all different points and working at different paces which is so important to remember and adjust to.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the fact that you went over some of the types of questions and gave examples for them. These types of questions are important for teachers to ask, especially during PBL. I also agree that classroom discussions help students stay productive and keep things moving. They also allow for teachers to ask higher-order questions enforcing evaluation and analysis from the students. It also is a good way to check your student's understanding and struggles.
ReplyDelete