Final Concept Map

Reading Reflection #11

As a result of using Project-based learning approach, students take learning as well as teaching into their own hands.  This is a very beneficial lifelong lesson that continues to develop even after the project is complete.  A student’s project can be “brought home” when students learn leadership, teamwork, and cooperation throughout their project and because the project is designed, created and presented by them they will complete the project with a sense of pride, achievement and ownership.  Not only is Project-based learning beneficial for students, but for teachers and faculty as well.  The teachers are able to review students’ projects and take a new look into the minds of students.  They are then able to network with other faculty and share inspiration and good, as well as not so good, ideas with others.  Concepts in this chapter relate to our teams topic/project by emphasizing the importance of taking pride in the completed project.  Once the project is completed, our team has developed knowledge about teamwork, dedication and what it takes to help make a project beneficial.  Our teammates will use this knowledge throughout their lives to all projects that they may become involved in. 

Reading Reflection #11

1. Using the Project-Based Learning approach means that there is no "dead end" after a project is completed. Students should feel accomplished--like they finished a journey--after their project is complete. With PBL, projects open new doors and ideas for students. PBL isn't only beneficial for the students, but for the teacher as well. With the PBL approach, teachers are able to link projects together which makes for easier lesson planning. The PBL approach focuses on the experience, learning, and reflection.

2. To bring a project home, there are many things that must take place. First, there should be a final reflection after the project. As mentioned in previous chapters, reflection is essential in a project because it allows students (and the teacher!) to bask in the glory of all their hard work. It allows them to critique their work and focus on their strengths. Critique is another part of bringing a project home. This is an opportunity to pick out the best ideas from the project and incorporate them in the next one. Next, it's important to share insights with other teachers and colleagues. This can also be an opportunity to practice using technology to share ideas from the project (ex. blogs, social media, etc.). The most important part about bringing a project home is to make sure you enjoyed the journey.

3. This chapter relates to our project because as a team we will have to collaborate on how to bring the project home. We will take our strengths and put them toward our next project, and we will eliminate parts of the project that didn't work out as well. We will take time to reflect on how the project went and we will enjoy the journey and accomplishments along the way.

Sarah Hughey's Reading Reflection #11

1. Description of what occurs as a result of using the Project-based learning approach.

At the end of a successful PBL unit, the class as a whole will feel like they have gone on a "journey" and have created many memories, projects, and ideas together as a result of it.  A PBL unit should lead to more paths to more projects that can be done, which helps the teacher plan for future units.  The way the students have been engaged all throughout a PBL unit also changes their thinking outside of the classroom - they take the thought processes they've gained and apply them to life itself, and teachers such as Vicki Davis notice a remarkable improvement in maturity and confidence in their students.  It also brings the teacher closer to her/his colleagues.

2. Discussion on ways to “bring your project home”.

There are many things a teacher can do to "bring the project home".  Capitalizing on the investment that the teacher made in the PBL unit by capitalizing on all of the things mentioned above is one way.  Critiquing the work into the project design, implementation, and reflection stages with the colleagues and sharing insights with others (either with teachers and others within the school or outside the school, which can also build onto the tradition and identity of the school), being a resource for others trying to implement the PBL-based teaching method, entering a contest to gain exposure for both the teacher and the students and to receive more feedback, and simply enjoying the PBL experience are all other ways to "bring the project home".

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

 These relate to our project because all of this would have happened if we successfully implemented our PBL project in an actual classroom.  The occurrences listed above would hopefully occur, and we could capitalize on them by "bring the project home" with the steps listed above as well.  This chapter showed us how to continue benefiting from the project even when it ends.

Reading Reflection #10

1. Setting aside time for reflection is extremely important in project. Reflection allows students to feel good and accomplished about the project they just completed--it is very healthy for students' learning and helps learning stick. Reflection lets students create their own meaning of different concepts, which is why the learning sticks. Without reflection students might now think about important concepts they learned throughout the project.

2. Students need to reflect and elaborate because it will help them become more accomplished project-doers. Elaborating and reflecting help students with their cognitive thinking and allows them to think about the project in a different light. Elaboration makes the project meaningful to students and makes for more ambitious projects.

3. Building a tradition within the classroom is a really neat concept to promote great project work. Starting a tradition will ignite excitement within the younger students and it will have them prepared for learning and great projects. When the community and parents notice the students' accomplishments from the projects, they will be able to give you support as a teacher.

4. Having celebrations for students after they complete a project, whether it be big or small, is extremely important for their confidence as learners. We as teachers need to make our students feel important, like they just completed the most extraordinary project. Students deserve a celebration! It also allows them to reflect on their project one last time and showcase their project. It also gives us as teachers an opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate their hard work.

5. The concepts from this chapter relate to our project in many ways. Using this project can help us build a tradition for our classroom. We should also make sure to include a time to reflect and elaborate on the project so we can make sure our students are getting the most learning from the project.

Sarah Hughey's Reading Reflection #10

1. Discussion on the importance of setting aside time for reflection.

Reflection can help students feel good about what they accomplished and develop confidence, but it can also reinforce what they have learned.  Reflection helps students "create their own meaning" and further interpret what they have learned along with how they grew and what they want to continue studying.  Reflection time can also be used to help students find learning fun and positive.

2. Discussion on the reason students need to reflect and elaborate.

The reasons students need to reflect are mentioned above - these help cement in what they learned, feel good about their experience, develop confidence, see how they grew and what they want to learn next, and find learning fun.  Elaborating on what they want to learn next and how they want to go about it helps the teacher see how to facilitate the next project and utilize their learning wants in the lesson plans, and it also helps students get excited and prepared for the work that is coming.

3. Discussion on how schools build tradition and identity.

One part of building tradition and identity is to create awareness about what the tradition/identity is in the students, families, and communities.  Once they know what the school is about, the foundation for a tradition and identity is set.  Word of mouth, especially between siblings, helps this identity and tradition and creates support and excitement.  For example, younger siblings will be so excited to do the projects they hear their older siblings talking about.  As this support and excitement grows, the community will then want to get involved by both celebrating and viewing the student work but also helping with the lessons themselves.  All of this develops pride and a sense of privilege among the students for being in that school.

4. Discussion on the importance celebrating a project.

Celebrating student work and projects is important, as it also celebrates learning and helps build the tradition and identity discussed above.  Displaying student work and a end of the year event where all of the projects created are shown and remembered can be a great way to celebrate all that was accomplished and create memories.  Doing this every year in all grades is motivating and rewarding for the children for their work.

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

These relate to our project because we need to create time and room to celebrate student work, and all throughout this class we have studied how we need the community and school support for PBL-based learning and teaching.  Developing traditions, identities, and celebrations rooted in PBL will make it easier to use this type of teaching method and use our project in a real life classroom.  We also need to make sure students have time to reflect after they do projects such as the one we are making.

Reading Reflection #9

1. A good way to get a better understanding of the students' prior knowledge is to create some sort of activity to get a sense of where students are and how far they need to go to meet their learning goals. This method can be called "establishing anchors."

2. Like I mentioned before, establishing anchors is important when conducting a project because it lets the teacher know how far students are and how far they have until they reach a certain goal. Establishing anchors helps each student become a successful learner.

3. One real-world way to assess what a student learned in their project is by bringing in a panel to judge the students' work. This example can help motivate students by putting them in a real-world setting and it is a fun and different way to assess the students' work. Also, having guests come in to assess work gives students a chance to defend their work and explain their research and what they have learned. \

4. The concepts in this chapter relate to our project because we will need to figure out ways to assess the students' work. It would be fun to have a fitness instructor or a dietitian come in to assess the students' research and fitness plans they have created. This would give them a taste of the real world while also assessing them.

Sarah Hughey's Reading Reflection #9

1. Description of a method of understanding prior-knowledge of students.



One method to understand the prior-knowledge of the students is to do a small activity and gauge their responses.  For example, the KWL activity reveals to the teacher what the students already know and wonder about.  Not all students will be at the same place, so this shows the teacher if s/he needs to do a review lesson on background knowledge or if only a couple students who could be reached individually need extra help.

2. Discussion on the importance of establishing anchors for a project.
Establishing anchors gives the teacher a feel as to where the students are going to begin in the project and how far they will have to stretch themselves to get to the end goals.  With this sense, teachers will be prepared to give projects that aren't so difficult that they overwhelm the student's starting point and are impossible for them to complete but that are also not so easy and don't require much on the part of the students.

3. Description of several ways to assess what students learned during the project.

- Asking students what they learned: A teacher can simply ask the students to reflect on their projects and what they felt that they learned.  This can not only help the teacher see how the students improved but also give them insight on ways to improve their teaching (ex. how the students in the chapter mentioned they really liked the use of podcasts).
- Having the students create something new: This will force the students to either summarize or demonstrate what they learned.  For example, all of us are creating our websites with everything we have created and learned this semester.  This is our professor's way of assessing us instead of something traditional such as a multiple choice exam.
- Modeling real-world assessment: Assess the students the way that they would be assessed in the field that their project was in.  For example, if the students did a science project, assess them like how scientists are assessed, and if they created something like a graphic art, assess them like how those in the field would be assessed.
- Enter a contest/submit for publication: This motivates students to really put forth their best effort, and this is point-blank real world assessment.  For example, if they make a business plan, have them pitch it in a business plan competition.

4. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
One of the connections I made early was how we're creating an over-arching website for our project as a final exam and how we're witnessing one of the ways of assessment in action.  We also need to incorporate checks for background knowledge and ways to establish anchors in our project so we will be prepared to do this in the future.

Reading Reflection 8

1. Technology makes it easy to branch out and make connections beyond the classroom. Digital tools allow for sharing among colleagues, parents, students, and others. One great example of technology that helps make connections beyond the classroom is blogging. Blogging is an easy and excellent way to communicate with an audience and connect with others. Blogging and other communication tools are important because it allows each student to have a voice in the classroom. Other ideas to branch out include digital stories, researching, and others.

2. The EAST Initiative Model demonstrates the benefits of using technology to solve problems and improve their community. It is a great idea that allows students to collaborate, research, and display their work by use of technology. EAST Models can be seen in many schools today, and the teachers must let the students take the lead when it comes to accomplishing their goals--an example of PBL. EAST was built on four main ideas: Student-driven learning, authentic project-based learning, technology as tools, and finally, collaboration.

3. Letting students lead is essential in project based learning. As teachers, we need to understand that sometimes students are more capable of leading their own project than we are. We don't necessarily need to be the designer of the project--we should listen to our students and let them explore their options of projects that meet their interests. It's important to let students be in charge of their own learning

4. The first concept from this chapter that I could relate to our project is the use of digital stories. We are working on digital stories right now in order to introduce the main topic of our project. Another concept that can be used in our project is letting students lead. This is a neat way to see how students collaborate and learn on their own terms.

Sarah Hughey's Reading Reflection #8

1. Description of some ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom.
 
Technology can be used to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom.  For example, blogs can be used to not only help develop students' writing skills but also to help students express themselves to people outside of the classroom and connect with experts in the topic they're writing about.  Digital-age projects can also encourage or require students to connect with people outside of the classroom, whether they're contacting experts, classrooms across the globe, etc.  Projects that incorporate inquiry are great opportunities to involve an expert, and in certain projects teachers can arrange for these connections.  Students should be prepared before these contacts by teaching them how to be efficient at interviewing, and experts should also be advised on what will be asked and how to talk with the students.  Projects such as The Flat Classroom Project also can be used to connect students with other students who live elsewhere.

2. Description of the EAST Initiative Model.
 
The Environmental and Spatial Technologies (EAST) Initiative model has students using technology to make an actual difference by doing projects that help them master different technologies in the context of solving a community problem.  The four cornerstones to this model are student-driven learning, authentic project-based learning, technology as tools, and collaboration.  Also vital to this model is teacher to teacher support and training, as teachers who take on this model also get a new role in their classrooms - facilitator instead of the one who has all of the control.  Professional development for teachers occurs in three phases: a collaborative training experience held for a week in the summer, then when the educators begin to have questions about implementing the EAST model, and then when the educators go further into the real-life problems the students run into.  Teachers also get ongoing support and networking.
 
3. Discussion on some reasons to let students “lead” their projects. 

 Students are more than able to lead their own projects and come up with project ideas that they are passionate about.  Teachers don't have to micromanage the learning, creativity, and projects occurring in the classroom, and students can be intrinsically motivated instead of always extrinsically motivated to do projects.  For example, the book speaks about a teacher who connected a student with dyslexia with an international teacher who she could relate with, and this connection gave the student the idea to create a wiki for students with dyslexia.  This example shows that students are able and willing to try to solve problems and create project solutions without a teacher leading them to it.


4. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
 
 This chapter relates to our topic and project because now we have a new model to use when developing our topic/project along with encouragement that coincides with what we have already been learning (to utilize people outside of the classroom in the projects and to let students take initiative and autonomy over their projects).  We can continue incorporating the emphasized ideas into our topic/project while also looking for ways to practice incorporating the EAST model into our teaching methods.

Sarah and Arika-- For the digital story project, I am planning on creating a fictional short story about a boy who ate too many sweets and candy and got sick. This will introduce the topic of nutrition and why it's important to eat healthful foods.

Sarah Hughey's Reading Reflection #7

1. Description of the levels of classroom discussions.


Teacher to teacher:  Teachers discuss not only to plan the project but also during their implementation as well.  Teachers will discuss routine things such as who will lead which activity and other things such as formative assessment.  These discussions also don't have to be face-to-face; they can be via a project blog, wiki, etc.

Student to student: Students need to be talking as they work together on project needs, of course, but they also need to be discussing what they are learning and discovering.  This helps them learn both the material and communication skills.  Teachers can join student to student discussions and should be listening to them as a bystander, but teachers have to be careful not to take over the conversation.

Teacher to student: This is the most common level in a traditional classroom but less in a PBL classroom.  This level is usually used for class-wide announcements when a project management tool such as a project Web site is not being used for them.


2. Discussion on the questions for “checking in” on students during a project.

Questions for "checking in" should be higher order questions that get students to analyze, compare, evaluate, and elaborate.  These types of questions should encourage students to look even deeper in their topic.  Also, give the students time to give an answer - the longer the teacher is willing to wait, the more engaged the students become and the more quality work they provide. 

Beyond just a general discussion on questions, the teacher should "check in" with procedural, teamwork, understanding, and self-assessment questions.  All of these questions keep the students on task, help them with work management, and encourage them to think further about their project. 

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

The benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology are many.  For one, technology can help students reach learning goals, or it can misdirect them on "side trips" if not optimized.  Technology can also help them keep organized and manage time/work better and help them "expand their horizons" and connect them to people outside of the classroom relate to the project idea.  For technology to be optimized, it must be accessible by the students.


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

21st-century skills that can make or break a project include knowing how to troubleshoot, overcome challenges, and managing conflict.  Troubleshooting and overcoming challenges is key to PBL; without these skills, students will not be able to work on their problems because the point of PBL is to teach them to find solutions to problems.  Conflict is also natural in any team and must be dealt with maturely and responsibly, as no team will be able to get anything done if they're always tied up in arguing and fighting.  Managing conflict also relates to intercultural differences when working with students from different cultures, which is a skill they must develop for PBL to be successful.

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

We are currently practicing teacher-to-teacher discussion and collaborating together to create a PBL project, and this chapter will become more and more relevant to use when we actually begin working with students.  We have to be prepared to have many different levels of discussion, check in with questions, optimize technology, and teach 21st-century skills.  Studying this now will help us manage PBL units in the future.

Reading Reflection 7

1. Classroom discussions are important in order for the classroom to be productive in its learning. There are different levels of discussion in classrooms. The first is Teacher to Teacher. This level includes teachers working together and taking opportunities to collaborate with other teachers. This is a good way to plan ideas for the classroom by discussing with another teacher and brainstorm for the upcoming days. The next level is Student to Student which includes students talking about their different learning experiences. This promotes teamwork and good communication skills, which are important for students to learn. The last level of classroom discussions is Teacher to Student. Teacher to Student is when the teacher promotes whole group discussion with the students. It's important to stay away from the lecture format when dealing with Project Based Learning.

2. When a project is assigned, students will go different directions with the project, especially in PBL. So it is important to check in with students to see how the project is going. Parts of checking in include seeing if the student is staying on schedule and using good time management skills, team members getting along, checking for understanding, and finding out what students think of the project. Checking in is an essential part to project progress.

3. When optimizing the use of technology for a project, it may be a good idea to check with your students and see what technology they prefer to use. This will keep students interested in the project if they are using technology they know and love--which is a huge benefit for projects. The technology chosen should help students reach their learning goals, keep them organized, expand their horizons, and gain new insights for communication.

4. Managing conflict is essential for a project. Students should be able to manage their own team conflicts, and this skill will be important to know and use in their futures. A way to avoid conflict is for team members to agree on their responsibilities and consequences. This way students know what they are accountable for. To make sure conflict is being managed, the teacher should include a feedback rubric to score the other members of the team to make sure everyone is doing their part.

5. The content in this chapter is relatable to our project because it helps with avoiding conflict among students and checking their progress. It's important to see how a student is doing with a project before they turn in the final product, and this chapter gave instruction on how to check in with our students. It also helped with learning how to work collaboratively and discuss in different ways.

Lesson Plan 2 Topics

Sarah and Arika-

Just a reminder that I plan on having students record their different fitness activities throughout the week and putting them in a bar graph on Excel. 

Sarah Hughey's Reading Response #6

1. Discuss how technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths.
2. Describe several ways in which you can get students’ minds ready for a project.
3. Discuss the elements of teaching fundamentals first.
4. Describe the important steps in preparing students for using technology in project.
5. Discuss ways to promote inquiry and deep learning.
6. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

1.When discussing how technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths, it is better to discuss specific tools rather than just giving general descriptions on how technology can help with this.  Three examples of technology tools that can encourage students to be reflective and evaluating are blogs, ProfilerPRO, and online surveys such as Surveymonkey and Zoomerang.  Blogs encourage these traits by making students reflect throughout the project on what is being learned (like we are doing with our blogs in this class).  ProfilePRO surveys the students and shows them what their interests, strengths, weaknesses, and similar characteristics are.  This tool can be used to show students how their ProfilePRO results are changing over time as they go through their project and learn new things.  The online surveys can help the students track trends and compare their assessment to the group as a whole.

2. To prepare the students' minds for a project, teachers can introduce projects with a Know-Wonder-Learn (KWL) activity.  I have done such an activity in my other education classes, and this is how it was done: The professor put up a chart with three columns: one for "K", one for "W", and one for "L".  Then, as a class, we would have to write what we already knew about the topic and what we wanted to learn about the topic.  After the topic was done, we would write down what we learned under the "L" column.  However, the book suggests creating interest and excitement before introducing a task such as KWL.  This makes sense to me, as I can imagine the "W" column being completely empty if the students are disinterested in the topic and don't have the interest to come up with questions about it.  Teachers should invite students to think and discuss about the topic for quite some time (the book suggests several days) to create optimism and excitement.  Ideas to include in this preparatory stage include discrepant events that challenge taken-for-granted knowledge, role playing, and using technology such as Google Earth and Flickr to increase background knowledge and curiosity.

.3. Teaching fundamentals are critical to a successful PBL project.  If the students don't have the prerequisite background knowledge needed, then they may not tackle the project in the right direction and will struggle learning the skills and information needed for the project while trying to do the project at the same time.  And, in my opinion, having the students work on a PBL project before they have the skills needed for it is unlike the real world, where people are interviewed for a job to make sure they have the needed skills before being hired and working on projects.

4. To prepare students to use technology in a project, the teacher should first "set up a technology playground".  Have technology be available, and allow the students to explore them by and with each other before immediately jumping into a lesson on how to do it.  Offer help when needed and keep an eye out for when a specific lesson is needed, but trust that the students have the ability to explore it for themselves.  Next, teachers should "tap student expertise" - they should allow the tech-savvy students to teach the others.  Practice runs should be done with the student teachers along with making available teaching tools (ex. demonstrations/tutorials) if it seems like a tool that the majority of the students wouldn't be using.  Third, teachers should "introduce project management tools" such as logs or journals to make it easier for the students to keep track and reflect on the project and for the teacher to provide just-in-time assessment.  Fourth, the teachers should demonstrate if they are comfortable with the tools to be used, or they can allow a student or technology specialist to demonstrate, perhaps with a screencast.  The teacher should be willing to "rely on [any available] technology specialist[s]", and finally, the teacher needs to recognize that one size does NOT fit all, so not everyone has to master every tool or application if it is not something that will potentially be needed for lifelong learning.

5. A teacher has many ways to promote inquiry and deep learning.  A method the book gives is to guide students into skilled questioning - for example, leading students to use question starters such as "which one", "how", "what if", "should", and "why" can help students ask questions that will get them deeper into the topic rather than questions that just skims the surface of the information.  This leads students to collect information and make informed decisions, understand problems and various points of views in order to come up with solutions, create a hypothesis about the topic, debate morality or practicality, and understand cause and effect.  This thinking leads to information literacy: "less looking, more thinking".

6.  All of these concepts relate to our project, as we need to make sure to incorporate them into any PBL project we create.  We want to be able to have students that can reflect and evaluate their strengths and work, be able to prepare students for a project that everyone is going to have to exert much time and energy on, not have students be lost because they don't have the fundamentals, have students be ready to use technology in a project, and be lifelong learners who inquire and learn in depth.  If the students are achieving these, we know that our project was a success and that the time and resources were well used.

 

Reading Reflection #6

1.  Technology can be great for students while evaluating their own strengths. One student will have different strengths than another, but they can collaborate and use the tools that they both know best and help each other out. Technology can also help students stay organized and on tasks. It can also allow students to give and receive feedback not only from teachers, but also evaluations from other students.

2. First things first, it is important to get an understanding of the students' prior knowledge in order to get their minds ready for a project. It's also important to instill passion on whatever topic the project is on because if you are passionate about it, chances are your students will be too. Encouraging students to think about the project and giving them a few days to explore the topic is also a great idea to get students' minds ready for a project. This gives them time to brainstorm and think about how they want to pursue the project.

3. Teaching fundamentals first is all about teaching prerequisite knowledge and skills in order to succeed in the project. Once students understand the fundamentals, they will have their own independence to explore the project and come up with ideas on their own. If students have a basic understanding of the topic, they can then plan investigations for the project from their prior knowledge.

4. It is important for students to realize that technology is not the whole project, but simply a tool to help complete a project. Technology is for learning, however sometimes it requires additional planning. To prepare the students for technology with a project, it is your job as the teacher to identify exactly what technology will best benefit your students. Flexibility is also important when preparing for technology.

5. To promote deeper learning for your students, you must ask the right questions. With the right questions, students will have to think on a deeper level to understand the project and other related aspects of it. Teachers should design collaborative activities for students to help them with their research and findings. The book mentions guiding your students to think like scientists--encourage them to analyze the data they are finding.

6. This chapter, like the others, is relevant to our project because we can use all of these ideas while planning. This lesson talks a lot about the preparation for a good project and finding the right technology that will benefit our students--and that's exactly what we are doing in our project. We want to find technology that will help them complete their project and also find ways for them to analyze their data and promote a deeper learning.

Reading Response #6 Arika White

Technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths.  This can be done by use of blogs to reflect what they are learning over the course of learning.  ProfilerPRO can be used to determine a student’s learning characteristics as well as identify their strengths and weaknesses.  Also, SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang are websites that use surveys to help students track trends and help individuals to compare their self-assessments with their whole group.  Before the project begins, the students will need to have their minds ready and a collection of their prior knowledge will need to be discovered.  Many teachers use a Know-Wonder-Learn activity to begin students with the project.  One important beginning step of introducing the project is to help students develop excitement, passion, imagination and begin to think about the project and develop ideas.  Teachers may help students develop excitement prior to beginning the project by posing questions a week or two before the project is introduced to get students engaged and excited about the topic.  It is important for teachers to teach the students fundamentals of the topic first, before launching the project.  This is important because students can then be introduced and taught the basics of the topic so they can distribute their time more efficiently.  Instead of using the project time to become familiar with the basics of the topic, they can manage their time more efficiently to study the topic deeper.  Preparation to use technology in the project requires advanced planning.  The use of technology is not the project, but instead, how the project will get done.  This preparation can be done by considering that you are a student, and which methods would be most effective to get the project done.  By creating an exposure to many, un-alike topics, teachers can promote inquiry and deep learning by asking the students to brainstorm ways that those topics can be connected.  As a project is launched in this manner, students will branch off with their own inquiries to develop a deeper understanding in those areas they are interested.  Concepts in this chapter relate to my group’s project especially the idea of reaching a deeper understanding.  By allowing the students to brainstorm and develop their own chosen plans for health and nutrition, they can take the knowledge to a deeper understanding by investigating, researching and studying a topic they are more interested in.  

Concept Map Version B

Reading Reflection #5

1. Before starting a project with students, it is important to consider your preparation. Projects require time management, organization, communication, and much more. Before starting a project, you will need to gather plenty of resources to support your project. You want your students to get the most out of the project and benefit greatly from it.

2. Teachers' project management needs include tools for communication, tools to present milestones, methods to get resources to students, systems for managing the project, structures to support productive learning, and many other tools. Students' project management needs include tools to help them manager their time, tools or systems to help manage materials and drafts, collaboration tools, methods to seek assistance, ways to get feedback, and ways to work interactively to see how parts add up to a whole.

3. There are many applications that can be used to assist in project management. One of my favorite ways to manage a project is through a blog. This allows viewers to see what is going on in the classroom and allows them to comment and give their input. Drupal and Textpattern include tools such as surveys and discussion forums that make it easier to collaborate.

4. This chapter relates to our project because we need to consider all of these concepts before launching the project. As a team, we have also been using a blog and practicing using applications to help us plan our projects.

Sarah Hughey's Reading Response #5

1. Discussion on the items that should be considered before starting a project with students.
2. Discussion on teachers’ and students’ management needs.
3. Discuss some of the technology applications that should be considered for use in a project.
4. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

1.  The items and people that should be considered before starting a project with students are materials, use/access of technology, any experts that should be consulted, who else can help with the project, and how responsibilities will be divided between the teachers if it is a collaborative project between classrooms.

2.  Students need to manage their time wisely.  To help with this, a project calendar with milestones and visual deadlines helps students keep better time management skills.  This calendar can either be a low-tech literal calendar on the board or one that's online.  If having a project that spans across many weeks, it helps students to have it broken down into manageable pieces and smaller deadlines so they are not overwhelmed.  It is also beneficial for parents to be aware of these deadlines and have access to the calendar so they can help their students and simply be in the know.  Both teachers and students have a management need of organizing the project.  Learning management systems online can help with this, as students can have access to their work wherever they have internet and teachers can view student in-progress work and be aware of any needs out there.  Teachers also need to manage the teams and mix them up every so often while matching students together who will work well together.  Finally, teachers have to plan for assessment and will have to manage multiple assessments and feedback methods throughout a single PBL project.

Tools that teachers need for management are tools for communicating about the project and changes about the project, tools for making milestones/events such as deadlines available for viewing, methods for giving students resources, systems for managing work products, structures supporting a healthy learning environment, and assessment tools and strategies.  Tools that students need for management are time-management tools/systems, systems to manage materials/drafts, methods for asking for guidance, methods to get feedback from themselves and others, and ways to see how everything comes together.

3. Some of the technology applications that should be considered for use in a project include a wiki (esp. the "Flat Classroom" wiki), a blog, a "desktop" application, and personalized web pages (ex. either an actual website or a "home page"/"startpage" that many browsers and e-mail services offer).  Page sharing in particular between students, teachers, and parents can be beneficial.

4.  These concepts are very relate-able to our project.  For one, being more aware of our and our students' management needs will help us design our project in order to ensure that nobody is frustrated due to a lack of management tools and to make sure we can efficiently get our work done.  We also need to incorporate the various items and people that the chapter suggested rather than just only coming up with an idea, and being in a technology in the classroom course means that we need to also consider how to incorporate technology applications in a meaningful way.

Reading Reflection 5

Introducing the idea of project based learning for a new project requires teachers to consider certain items.  These items include the resources that will be needed as well as to plan the strategies to support effective time management, teaming and assessment.  Teachers’ management needs include a communication method to take place with the students, tools for marking and announcing milestones to be reached and looking into, and having available, the resources that will be needed by the students.  These resources may be new to students, so teachers should also a lot time to introduce unfamiliar items.  All in all, successful management of the teachers will result in the students learning management of their own.  Project management needs of the students includes methods for seeking assistance, ways to get and use feedback on their work through self-reflection, team input, and teacher advice, collaboration tools and tools to help manage their time.  This learned management of the students will be displayed by setting the end goals of their projects, and the steps that will need to be taken to reach them.  Relating to the management of students, teachers can incorporate technology applications.  This may include an online assessment for the students to complete to determine that the students did, in fact, take the management responsibilities of developing a plan to distribute their time and resources to successfully complete their project and meet their end goals.  This planning for the project to be done by teachers and students relates to our group project of tracking health habits in small groups by having the students work together to develop a plan for the week to obtain a healthy lifestyle as well as each student documenting, and communicating, their daily health data to their group to receive feedback.  

Sarah Hughey's Reading Response #4

1. Discuss the potential pitfalls in project design.

"Long on activity, short on learning outcomes." - Projects can take up much time and energy yet does not hit on significant learning outcomes.  Small/lower-order learning aims are much better suited for a brief lecture or reading rather than a huge project.

"Technology layered over traditional practice." - If students are just making use of technology rather help the students reach a somewhat "lofty" goal, then the project does not stray far from traditional uses.  A sign that technology is really essential to a project is if it is used to connect students to other people, data, and primary sources that they would not be able to use if the technology was not there.

"Trivial thematic units." - Thematic teaching is not a synonym for PBL - it must be interdiscinplinary, collaborative, and rigorous.  For example, just relating all of the core subjects to a theme is not PBL; using a theme to create over-arching projects with all of the stated qualities can be a PBL unit.

"Overly scripted with many, many steps." - Students need to have the freedom to direct their own learning, not have to follow many predetermined steps.  A PBL unit will not end with "cookie cutter work" due to specific steps the students had to take.

2. Discuss the features of a good project.

Features of a good project includes the following: designed loosely so students have the option of pursuing different learning paths rather than tightly-designed and leading to cookie cutter work; makes the students to create their own meaning; focuses on a "driving" question; relate to complex and motivating real-life problems or situations that are relevant to the students' lives; multidisciplinary; collaborates with others outside of the school; uses primary sources or "rich data" rather than all secondary sources; sets students up to be the "inquiring expert"; develops and builds upon 21st-century skills and literacies; emphasizes important learning dispositions; and has students "learn by doing" rather than be passive learners.

3. Discuss where project ideas come from.

Project ideas can simply come from others who have tested them and found them successful.  However, teachers are free to create new project ideas, and these ideas can come from many sources - the news, current issues, the students' interests, a "classroom irritant" used in an educational way, and a synthesis of an already successful idea and new tools.

4. Discuss the steps to design a project.

Before finalizing or designing a project, it is beneficial to create a "Project Sketch" with notes and ideas.  When ready to develop the project, the framework needs to first be revisited - what will the learning objectives be, what 21st-century skills will be addressed, and what learning dispositions will be developed?  Then what will be the "evidence of understanding" will be decided - what will students be able to do or understand when the project is over?  Then the "vehicle", or the project theme/challenge itself, will be planned with "optimal ambiguity", which is the ideal balance between flexibility and structure the students need to succeed.  Then the introduction or "entree" to the project experience that will get the students' attention and excitement will be planned. 

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

The concepts in this chapter are very relative to our topic/project, as we are in the process of project design!  We need to keep all of the pitfalls in mind so we don't fall into them while also making sure that are project embodies all of the qualities of a good project.  The steps in designing a project will also be used as we create it.

Reading Reflection #4

1. Long on activity, short on learning outcomes- when planning a project, it's important to keep in mind the outcomes that a student will get from the project. Is the project really worth their time if they can gain the same knowledge simply by reading a chapter of a book or listening to a lecture?
  Technology layered over traditional practice- it is important for students to understand technology and use it for their projects, but that should not be the primary outcome of a project. Technology should help students obtain a goal, and not just a fancy way to present a project.
  Trivial thematic units- Thematic teaching is not PBL, however that doesn't mean it has to be trivial. As teachers, we just have to be careful not to turn thematic teaching into a repetitive, useless project. Instead we should think outside the box to turn it into PBL.
  Overly scripted with many, many steps- As teachers, we don't want to assign projects with limited or predictable results. We should avoid "recipe" projects and allow students to reach their own outcomes. This will lead to more significant learning.

2. First things first, to create a good project you must avoid the potential pitfalls discussed above. Flexibility is huge when designing a project because projects will not always be "cookie cutter" or predictable--broaden the topic for the kids and let them explore their own options.

3. Good project ideas can come from anywhere if you open your eyes. Teachers can look through books, get ideas from colleagues, find ideas online, etc. Once you get an idea for one great project, it will get the juices flowing for your next big projects.

4. The first step in designing your project is to revisit the framework. This is where you make a list of the learning objectives and decide what you want your students to get from this certain project. Next, you must have a good grasp on the topic if you expect your children to succeed in the project. It is important to understand your students and imagine what they will gain from this project. After that you must plan a theme and structure for the project. And finally, you must think of how you will introduce the project and get your students excited for it.

5. This chapter relates to our project because it gives us advice on how exactly to set up our first project. As a team we can take advice from this chapter and use the concepts in our own project, such as learning outcomes and flexibility.

Sarah Hughey's Reading Reflection #3

1. Discussion on what should be considered in finding “the Big Idea” for a project.
2. Discussion on the 2lst Century skills.
3. Discussion on the 21st Century literacies.
4. Discussion on each of the essential learning functions.
5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

1. When considering the "Big Idea" for a project, we should make sure that our project is important to our students and real life, is complex, is multidisciplinary, and can fit within the PBL scheme.  Making sure the project is important to both the students and real life is key, because the students will not be as engaged in the project if it is not relevant from their viewpoint and the project will not prepare them well for the future if it is not relatable to real life problems they will face in the workplace.  Having it be complex and multidisciplinary is important so it students can deeply engage in the project and so that the teacher can teach all of the subjects the students need to learn.  And of course, if the idea doesn't fit into the PBL scheme then it cannot be used for a teacher using PBL.

2. The skills needed in the 21st Century relate to Bloom's Taxonomy's three highest order objectives: analyzing, evaluating, and creating.  Conveniently, these higher-level thinking skills are also utilized and developed in PBL.  According to the book, most traditional assignments usually stick to the lower-order objectives, but PBL requires the students to engage in the higher-level thinking skills needed in real life.  And these higher-level thinking skills are, as listed in the book, "Digital-Age Literacy", "Inventive Thinking", "Effective Communication", and "High Productivity.  These enGauge 21st Century skills clearly link back to the higher order Bloom's Taxonomy's skills when a closer look is taken at all of the more detailed skills listed under each of these categories.

3. The listed definition in the book on literacy is "the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts."  But these skills aren't just something one "has" or "doesn't have" -- students display literacy on a continuum.  However, when it comes to digital literacy, the book takes an even broader approach to literacy's definition and says it simply "boils down to learning to be independent, aware, and productive citizens", and the categories of literacy the book uses comes from ISTE NETSS: "Creativity and Innovation", "Communication and Collaboration", "Research and Information Fluency", "Digital Citizenship", and "Technology Operations and Concepts".  The book then emphasizes that students need to be "information artists" rather than students who only utilize the first three thinking orders in Bloom's Taxonomy.

4. As listed in the book, the essential learning functions are "Ubiquity" (being able to learn anywhere and everywhere, especially with technology), "Deep Learning" (creating one's own meaning out of information from primary sources rather than just absorbing someone else's), "Making Things Visible and Discussable" (turning ideas from text into graphics or infographics and then discussing them), "Expressing Ourselves, Sharing Ideas, Building Community", "Collaboration - Teaching and Learning with Others", "Research", "Project Management", and "Reflection and Iteration."

One concern I have with the "Making Things Visible and Discussable" section is that making everything "visable" would cause a significant challenge for visually-impaired students.  I would also think this can go too far and then make students not be able to analyze information that isn't "visible", which is a significant amount of information out there in real life.  One can be too extreme with this section if not careful, which would hurt some students more than help them.

5. All of these concepts relate to our idea/project.  For one, we have to make sure that our "Big Idea" is compatible with the criteria listed under item #1.  With a topic such as "Staying Healthy", I'm sure that it meets all of the needs of a PBL project.  We can also practice and develop our 21st Century skills and literacies and learning functions while doing the project so we will one day be able to develop these in our students.

Reading Reflection #3

1. To find the "Big Idea" for a project, it is important to know your students. Once a teacher knows their students well, they will know what their students should know and what they're capable of. They will also be able to predict how their students will respond to a certain project. It is also important to have a complex and important idea for students to study and to reflect on the concepts and their importance. 

2. Developing 21st-century skills is important for students these days because it will help them succeed not only in school, but eventually in the job market. Using well-designed projects in the classroom will help students develop skills that students in traditional classrooms might not acquire. I especially liked the part in this portion of the text that contrasted a traditional biography assignment with a reconsidered biography assignment that was much more in-depth and engaging.

3. Having 21st-century literacy simply means to understand the ideas behind having 21st-century skills. Students who are literate in the 21st-century skills are independent, aware, and productive. 

4. Learning Functions:

    a. Ubiquity- I like the idea of ubiquity because it allows students to be studious while on the go. Having mobile devices makes it easy for them to stay engaged even when they are not in the classroom.

    b. Deep Learning-Deep learning is extremely important in my opinion because it helps student grasp the ideas and concepts from certain lessons. Using databases to do additional research on a topic is extremely beneficial for the student and their learning. 

    c. Making Things Visible and Discussable-This function is definitely helpful for the visual learners in the classroom such as myself. I like the idea of making things visible for students, because I feel that it helps them grasp the concept better when they can actually see it and discuss it. 

    d. Expressing Ourselves, Sharing Ideas, Building Community-Using blogs, tagging, and other social interaction is a great way for students to bounce ideas off of one another and brainstorm as a community. 

    e. Collaboration- I think collaboration is a huge part of PBL and is one of the reasons why it can be so successful. Collaboration is definitely beneficial for students because it allows them to work together and learn from each other.

     f. Research- Research is great to help students learn more about a topic, but they need to know the right tools that will make researching beneficial for them. 

     g. Project Management- This function is good for students because it will help them learn how to manage their time and keep them more organized in the future. 

     h. Reflection and Iteration- Blogs make it easy for students to look back on their thinking and it is a good way to show how much a student has grown and learned from post to post. 

5. All of these learning functions will be helpful to our project because students will be engaged with most of them throughout the project. For instance, students will brainstorm ideas and collaborate with each other, they will make visuals to help display what they learned, they will do research and develop deeper learning skills, and many more aspects. For us as the teachers, we will be looking at the "Big Idea" for the project, and this chapter will help us figure out what that big idea is. 

Assignment V Topics

Emilee --

For Assignment V, we have to each do a separate lesson plan with different ideas.  If any of us do the same idea/lesson plan, then all of us lose points.  So Arika is going to do something with Food Pyramids with Kindergarteners and I'm going to do something with Preventing Illness/How to Stay Healthy with 4th graders.  Then you can do whatever topic/grade you want that's related to our overall project but isn't the same as what we did.

Reading Reflection #2 : Arika White

Throughout chapter two, it was made clear that project based learning will be useful in the lives of everyone for as long as there is work to be completed in a learning community.   A learning community can be any business work team, big or small, that engages in ongoing, collaborative problem solving focused on making the business better.  Learning communities are beneficial because they in the process, individuals and the team expand their ability to achieve the end results.  Importantly, they assist each other in developing new ways of thinking and new strategies to find a solution based on the prior knowledge of the individuals.  Learning communities effect teachers because with all of the extra work that teachers are responsible for leaves little time for them to discuss, in detail, and share their strategies with other fellow teachers.  However, learning communities makes this possible and encourages teachers to make beneficial additions to their strategies.  Learning communities affect students by creating a teaching strategy that allows students with many different learning styles to learn.  Shared vision in learning communities creates a school where everyone works together in learning and growing as a whole.  The goals of a school with a shared vision includes that the students are learning, a culture which welcomes collaboration and school improvement in encouraged, and results are focused on.  This chapter on learning communities relates to our project highly in the area of collaboration and shared ideas.  Not only is our project being completed through a process of shared ideas and strategies of our group members, but also in our virtual project as well.  We are extending our learning community across the globe to receive knowledge and exposure to many other areas as well from a country across the world that our students will communicate with. 

Reading Reflection #2

Learning communities are an interesting part of teaching that many of us will face in our future careers. The main focus of learning communities is working together and collaboration.
One of the main benefits of learning communities from the teacher's perspective is being able to collaborate with other teachers and brainstorm together. Teachers in a learning community are able to work closely with each other and bounce ideas off of one another. This makes it easier for planning lessons and other activities that go on in the classroom. Another benefit is being able to be around other teachers instead of just students. Single teachers in the classroom do not get a lot of time to interact with other teachers. However, I would prefer to work alone in the classroom for the most part, just because that's the type of teaching style I prefer.
Learning communities can be great for both the teachers and the students because it strays from the traditional way of teaching. It mixes things up a bit for the students and can make learning a fun experience for them and their peers. As for the teachers, it gives them a break from teaching the same way over and over and it allows them to try new teaching styles. Learning communities not only allow for teachers to collaborate, but also students. All in all, learning communities create a rich learning experience for both the students and the teachers.
There are many components that go into creating a professional learning community. First of all, there has to be a clear sense of mission among all teachers in the community. If not everyone has the same mission, then the community wont function well. Not only do they have to share a mission, but teachers should also share the same vision for the classroom, shared values and beliefs, and be able to work together. Of course, in a learning community, teachers should always focus on what's best for the students and their learning. This should be a common goal among the teachers. These teachers should also be open to change and be willing to improve and improvise their work as time goes on.
The concepts in this chapter relate to our project, because our team will be working as a learning community to provide these kids a great lesson. The three of us will brainstorm and collaborate to decide what activities will be best for our fictional classroom. To be successful, we will need to incorporate concepts we have learned into our project.

Sarah Hughey's Reading Reflection #2

1. Discussion on the focus of Learning Communities.

Learning Communities shift their focus away from the traditional focus on what is being taught to what the students learn.  As quoted from Reinventing Project-Based Learning, the three main goals that Learning Communities emphasize in order to focus on what students are learning are 1) "ensur[ing] that students learn", 2) "creat[ing] a culture of collaboration for school improvement", and 3) "focus[ing] on the results".  Within the PBL Learning Community, a single teacher cannot function as efficiently as they could with only their classroom and resources; a teacher must find others who are willing to collaborate with them in order to reach these goals. 

While I don't doubt that these goals are met through PBL and Learning Communities, it would be hard to convince me that other types of teaching do not also want to ensure students learn and have successful results and to have a culture of collaboration.  One could argue that the goal of collaboration is harder or near impossible to do in a traditional classroom setting, as this book has done, but for every example the book gave of a teacher not being able to collaborate in a classroom, I can come up with another example of a teacher meeting these goals without using PBL or the book's version of Learning Communities.  Again, I'm sure the book's method towards teaching meets the goals stated, but I'm still not convinced that it's the best way for every teacher no matter who the teacher is.  I'd also argue that there's a lot of overlap between what is being taught and what the students learn.  I understand the book's distinction between the two, but I don't think the distinction is as great as what the book makes it out to be.

2. Discussion on the benefits of Learning Communities.

Benefits for learners include students learning to work and learn together, developing group-working skills necessary for the workplace, doing projects similar to the ones done in the workplace and being familiar with what has to be done to achieve success, developing general communication, management, and motivation/persistence skills, and building bonds with their peers and having someone to share the ups and downs with during their projects.

Benefits for teachers include more connections to colleagues and less isolation, more dedication to the mission, more sharing the responsibilities with other teachers rather than carrying everything by oneself, better learning, and a better chance of changing the foundation and systems of the school rather than constantly having to fight a futile battle for a needed change.

3. Discussion on how Learning Communities affect teachers.

Beyond the benefits listed above for the teachers, I noticed that the book also stated that the programs Learning Communities use focus on "adding something new rather than improving what a teacher is already doing".  I actually do not agree with this philosophy at all.  New and changing ideas are great, but I would much rather be able to perfect something I'm doing before moving on to another idea rather than just changing ideas for the sake of adding new ideas.  Yes, I would immediately switch ideas if what I was doing was not working whatsoever or if there really is something out there that has benefits that I can't get with the current idea, but I don't agree that adding something new should be emphasized over improving what is being done.  Teachers should feel free to keep doing something that's working rather than pressured to keep changing for the sake of change.

4. Discussion on how Learning Communities affect students.

Many of the effects Learning Communities have on students were listed above under benefits.  To also link it to the last chapter, students will leave the classroom with strong memories of the work they did when teachers come together in Learning Communities and implement PBL in their classrooms.  With the quality teaching and learning that comes from these, it will be hard for students to forget the projects and items they worked on throughout the year.  Making school fun and memorable like this can motivate students to continue in their education, reduce drop-out rates, and increase the likelihood students will want to continue onto higher education after their K-12 years are over.

5. Discussion on the components for shared vision in Learning Communities.

In order to have a successful Learning Community, the members and overall community have to share certain components and qualities, otherwise it will not work or be as effective.  These include clearly knowing what the mission is and believing in it, agreeing with each other on what must be done to achieve the mission, working with each other in teams to figure out what the best way possible there is to achieve the mission, having these groups headed by teacher-leaders, a focus on student learning rather than what is being taught, being results/goal-oriented, working and collaborating with teach other, and a dedication to improvement and life-long learning.  I think that all of these goals are great not just for Learning Communities using PBL but also for schools everywhere. 

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

    

This chapter relates to our project in every way.  The three of us will have practice working as a "Learning Community" as we work on this project throughout the course, and we will work hard to apply the concepts from this chapter in our project.  I think that we will even receive some of the benefits teachers get from being a part of a Learning Community as we work together and prepare to become teachers; for example, teamwork will make us feel less isolated, will make us share responsibilities rather than feeling the whole weight of the project by ourselves, and will make us feel more dedicated to the work when we know others are depending on our collaboration and hard work.

Arika Practice Map

Link to Practice Map

Assignment IV Link - Google Document and Google Map

Google Document:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-bLm9mUD0TO61e8Rjkp2UDXIORlU7qN27WHUVFp6k_k/edit?usp=sharing

Google Map:

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zPp7bl687O0U.kBvJeIvrMTAE

Map Description:

This map shows the locations of both classes and the distance between them.

Map Link Test

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zPp7bl687O0U.k15lGjRieRqY

Link to our Assignment 4 Document

Link to our Assignment 4 Document \

LINK CLICK

Reading Reflection #1

Throughout the introduction of “Reinventing Project Based Learning”, Boss and Krauss did a great job supporting the idea of establishing a new way of teaching, reinventing Project Based Learning.  All of the stories that were discussed about teachers who incorporated this new project based learning method into their classroom were very excited fulfilled with the results.   

As the students of Western Michigan University’s teaching program are introduced to the reconstruction of Project based learning and the success stories that are available, they more than likely will develop an interest in incorporating this method into their classrooms.  While beginning the journey through Project-Based Learning, it should be kept in mind that the majority of today’s students are up for the challenge.  As students are exposed to new modern forms of technology throughout their everyday lives, they appreciate the opportunity to take advantage of exposure to new technologies through this method of learning.  There will need to be communication and cooperation between the teacher and students.  Project Based Learning is a new direction in teaching that has adjustments that will need to be made.  However, It should be kept in mind that the projects that take place in the classroom are rewarding and worth the effort and will likely restore or create a new passion for teaching.  After the students have completed their project in the past, traditional method of learning,  the papers that contained the regurgitated information are likely to be thrown in the recycle bin and the success of the student’s completed project forgotten.  With the reinvented Project Based Learning, it should be kept in mind that students live and learn in the real world.  Once the student’s projects are successfully completed, they should be encouraged to share their findings and take part in other areas of study of the topic.  With this incorporation of sharing their findings with the public, the students will realize that their work matters. It should also be kept in mind that new, modern technologies such as laptops and access to internet are a context that encourages the Project Based Learning approach to teaching.  The access to this technological equipment and doors of communication it opens should be kept in mind. 

Project based learning is rewarding for the teacher as well as the students.  The relationship between the teacher and the student becomes stronger as they develop new ways of working together and accepting and incorporating new ideas.  Through this new method being used in the classroom, students develop good communication skills as well as inquiry skills, learn to be flexible with their working hours, develop a full understanding of how the world works and come to the realization that they, themselves, can do something to make a change in the world. 

            Although Project Based Learning has received outstanding reviews, there are also areas that need to be considered while undertaking this teaching approach.  Teachers nay discover that they need to conduct more research, or seek expert advice.  Also, unless the entire school’s educational staff is initiating Project Based Learning into their classrooms, it may be an uphill battle to explain the reasoning behind your method of teaching to fellow employees.      New Technology Model has the tendency to attract upward bound teachers and often leads these teachers to advance to administrative positions.  New Technology High received exposure to this method from Curtis, Curtis was eventually promoted to the position of curriculum director.