Monday, December 8, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
M6 Reflection
How can I help my students become self-directed learners?
Getting students to take ownership for their work can be difficult. One of the methods that really struck me in this module was designing formative assessments that required self-directed behavior. The check list that I created will be an attempt to put the ownership on my students.
I think that modeling self-directed behavior in advance and during the unit should help them to know how to handle themselves when they get into a situation with less structure then they are used to. Having group or class discussions about the expectations at various points throughout the unit can be helpful too. Pointing out examples of good self-directed behaviors and praising them will also help.
How can I support the diverse needs of learners?
There are a number of different ways to differentiate for all learners in a PBL unit. The first thing will help with this process is to make sure that there are (or could be) parts of the unit that hit all different types of learning styles. Make sure that there are hands on activities, plenty of chances for discussion and collaboration. Have both times when heavy interaction is happening between studeents and others where there is quiet working conditions. Vary the range of ways that students and groups can publish or present their information. Secondly, effective grouping strategies can help out. A mix of different types of group activities will help to address many needs. Pair shares, popcorn, break outs, and many others. Thirdly, some built in scaffolding can help to meet the needs of all students.
Getting students to take ownership for their work can be difficult. One of the methods that really struck me in this module was designing formative assessments that required self-directed behavior. The check list that I created will be an attempt to put the ownership on my students.
I think that modeling self-directed behavior in advance and during the unit should help them to know how to handle themselves when they get into a situation with less structure then they are used to. Having group or class discussions about the expectations at various points throughout the unit can be helpful too. Pointing out examples of good self-directed behaviors and praising them will also help.
How can I support the diverse needs of learners?
There are a number of different ways to differentiate for all learners in a PBL unit. The first thing will help with this process is to make sure that there are (or could be) parts of the unit that hit all different types of learning styles. Make sure that there are hands on activities, plenty of chances for discussion and collaboration. Have both times when heavy interaction is happening between studeents and others where there is quiet working conditions. Vary the range of ways that students and groups can publish or present their information. Secondly, effective grouping strategies can help out. A mix of different types of group activities will help to address many needs. Pair shares, popcorn, break outs, and many others. Thirdly, some built in scaffolding can help to meet the needs of all students.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
M5 Reflection
How do I assess student learning?
Student learning needs to be assessed early and often in a project based environment. Diagnostic, Formative and Summative evaluation all serve their roles in the process. Pinpointing your students' starting points and prior knowledge is extremely important if you plan to help students attach new learning to it throughout the unit. monitoring and guiding stusdents throughout the course of the unit is probably the biggest and most tricky type of assessment because it must lead them towards the finished product without being to rigid or to open. The fact that students need to take ownership over this very important part of the evaluation process requires some pre teaching and modeling on our part so that they have a good idea of where the project needs to go. This can be done by modeling how you assess them on a day to day basis and why you do it the way you do. Making constant inferences to the standards and other bench marks in the lessons leading up to large unit can pay dividends when it comes time to have them create their own assessments.
How do I involve students in the assessment process?
Getting students to understand the standards and objectives, let alone own them is difficult, but not impossible. It is extremly necessary if they are to create assessments. If they do not have the goal in mind, they cannot chart a course for it.
If students can understand how and why you assess them they can learn to assess themselves and others. Breaking down this process for them and making it transparent can really help them to understand what the bigger picture is in any activity and can help them to think more like you do. I've always said that if students could understand what you were doing and why, that they would be more likely to take some of the ownership in it. If you can get your students to take ownership in the assessment process then all else will fall into place.
Student learning needs to be assessed early and often in a project based environment. Diagnostic, Formative and Summative evaluation all serve their roles in the process. Pinpointing your students' starting points and prior knowledge is extremely important if you plan to help students attach new learning to it throughout the unit. monitoring and guiding stusdents throughout the course of the unit is probably the biggest and most tricky type of assessment because it must lead them towards the finished product without being to rigid or to open. The fact that students need to take ownership over this very important part of the evaluation process requires some pre teaching and modeling on our part so that they have a good idea of where the project needs to go. This can be done by modeling how you assess them on a day to day basis and why you do it the way you do. Making constant inferences to the standards and other bench marks in the lessons leading up to large unit can pay dividends when it comes time to have them create their own assessments.
How do I involve students in the assessment process?
Getting students to understand the standards and objectives, let alone own them is difficult, but not impossible. It is extremly necessary if they are to create assessments. If they do not have the goal in mind, they cannot chart a course for it.
If students can understand how and why you assess them they can learn to assess themselves and others. Breaking down this process for them and making it transparent can really help them to understand what the bigger picture is in any activity and can help them to think more like you do. I've always said that if students could understand what you were doing and why, that they would be more likely to take some of the ownership in it. If you can get your students to take ownership in the assessment process then all else will fall into place.
M4 Reflection
How can technology be used most effectively to support and assess student learning?
Technology when relating to research has replaced the mediums through which inforamtion is exchanged and also to a larger degree how it is processed. It has made vast ammounts of information available and easily accessable (the world has becaom truly "Flat"). There is almost too much information to process. This wasn't possible in the old mediums. Access to technology is in most ways access to information.
Technology tools have led to a revolution in how students demonstrate their understanding of concepts and allowed students to exercise higher level thinking skills. Many of these tools allow students to examine critical issues from many perspectives, collaborate with peers in their classroom and around the world and finally to produce quality finished products and share them with a real and authentic audience as large or small as desired. These finsihed products and the process that goes into creating them makes for a better and deeper kinds of assessments over a long period of time.
Technology when relating to research has replaced the mediums through which inforamtion is exchanged and also to a larger degree how it is processed. It has made vast ammounts of information available and easily accessable (the world has becaom truly "Flat"). There is almost too much information to process. This wasn't possible in the old mediums. Access to technology is in most ways access to information.
Technology tools have led to a revolution in how students demonstrate their understanding of concepts and allowed students to exercise higher level thinking skills. Many of these tools allow students to examine critical issues from many perspectives, collaborate with peers in their classroom and around the world and finally to produce quality finished products and share them with a real and authentic audience as large or small as desired. These finsihed products and the process that goes into creating them makes for a better and deeper kinds of assessments over a long period of time.
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