Reflection #7

1. Description of the levels of classroom discussions:

Teacher to Teacher- collaborate with other teachers to get ideas and work together to solve project planning. If there is no time for face to face talk then be sure to post a blog or wiki to keep your teacher conversations going!
Student to student- students need to collaborate together and talking about their learning experiences with their teams and across teams. Good communication is all part of effective teamwork.
Teacher to student- lead the classroom whole group by making small announcements or leading the class through something they need to work on or to check up on how students are doing. Circulating, talking to small groups, and observing are all a big part of teacher to student discussions.

2. Discussion on the questions for "checking in" on students during a project:

Some of the questions that come up while checking in on students during their project include: Are we staying on schedule? Do we have the right materials available? How are team members getting along? Is everyone doing their part in the project?
All of these questions consist of checking in on the procedural and teamwork part of the project. It is important to ask these questions to make sure all the students are doing their part and understanding the project. This brings back teacher to student discussions by circulating and observing your students as they work in their teams. It is also very important to be checking in through understanding and self-assessment. Ask questions that encourage reflection so you keep them engaged and focused.

3. Discussion on the benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology:

From email to online collaborative tools, technology offers a wide range of ways to connect students with the broader community. Another benefit is that students can access their work from any computer and makes it easier to answer questions that students might have outside of school through technology. Technology helps them keep track of important milestones and also keeps them organized.

4. Discussion on the 21st century skills that make or break a project:

Teamwork is something in the 21st century that can make or break a project. This can be solved by letting students learm to manage their own team conflicts because this will teach them real-life skills. By making teamwork a focus for formal assessment, we can help emphasize the importance of this 21st century skill. Troubleshooting is also another 21st century skill that can make or break a project. This isn't something that can always be prevented so we have to let our students learn to fine tune strategies and setbacks that go along with troubleshooting.

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project:

This chapter will be very beneficial for our project. One thing that really stuck out to me was the student to student collaboration. It is important for everyone in our group to work together effectively through communication and by each doing our fair share. Teamwork can really be a difficult concept if there are team member that doesnt cooperate or do their task.