The conversations among Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps, via webcam, were quite interesting to watch. The conversation dealt with project based learning for third graders, as well as everyone else. After watching these videos I have a better understanding on project based learning and also a better understanding of what it is to be an educator when using project based learning. Something interesting I learned from this was that with project based learning you are trying to incorporate many goals within a project to acquire new knowledge to students. Anthony mentions some goals of a good project in the video, Anthony states that for a project to be successful, "It needs to be provided to an authentic audience, the students should be interested in the topic, it should involve the community and the project should be driven by state standards content." When students come together to work on a project, this project should be presented to an audience. Providing the project to an audience allows feedback from peers to the students and allows the students to learn from one another. Also when forming a project be sure to think of the students and what interest them. Students will preform much better on a project if it is on something that they are interested in. Another great component of a project is to involve the community into it. When you involve the community into a project for kids, you are providing them with a better understanding of how new knowledge learned from the classroom, can be used and explored all around them. However, one of the most important aspects of a project is that it should comply with state standards. For an example, if you are developing a project for fourth graders, the project should obtain goals that the state has developed as necessary for that grade level to know and understand. With project based learning, it is very crucial that children are allowed to revise and reflect their work. When children are able to revise their work they are allowed to see what mistakes they may have made, or are shown in which other direction they could have taken. This allows children to see that there are many other ways than just one to reach a goal.
Another fact I learned from these videos is that teaching is hard work. Teaching is a job that never ends, and to be a great educator, you, yourself, has to be interested in learning. Also as an educator, you will find that things don't always goes as planned. None the less, as a teacher you have to be flexible and creative to develop an alternate strategy to obtain the goal you want to meet. So yes, teaching can be hard work, but if you enjoy what you do and look at it in a way that you are helping children succeed in gaining an education that they will use to carry them throughout life, you'll never work a day in your life.
I also thought that having to put all of the required learning elements into a project was very informative. I did not give it any thought before watching the conversations. I have been asking myself how do you incorporate project based learning, and Anthony helped me out in understanding how take different requirements and putting them together to make a project. Being able to hear how an elementary teacher uses project based learning helps me understand it more, as well as makes me more intrigued by it.
ReplyDelete"...with project based learning you are trying to incorporate many goals within a project to acquire new knowledge to students." Acquire is not the correct word to use here. Think about what you are trying to say. Rewrite.
ReplyDeleteHi James,
ReplyDeleteProject based learning is new to me and I would have to research it a lot more and as Dr. Strange says, use it to learn it. It is an interesting topic for me since I have been away from the public teaching arena for 16 years. One thing I know for sure, having worked in the private sector for so long, most of our work in this realm is project based and depends on collaboration and teamwork to achieve goals. Project based learning is also teaching soft skills of communication, teamwork and conflict resolution which will be beneficial to students in the long run.
Lynn Gartman - EDM510 student
@LynnGartman
http://gartmanlynnedm510.blogspot.com/
Hey James,
ReplyDeleteProject based learning is something that the majority of Dr. Stranges students have been doing all along and just havent known it. I didn't find out until this blog was assigned. Anthony has helped me find ways of using project based learning in my future classroom. I think this post was great! I completely agree when you say teaching is hard work and that it is a never ending job. But if you love what you do, you'll be fine with it! Great post!!
Caroline Parker
http://parkercarolineedm310@blogspot.com/
Hey James,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you highlighted that Anthony pointed out that education is a hard job that doesn't end, and that to be a good teacher you need to invest yourself in learning more about the profession, and being flexible when things don't go quite like you'd expected. Once when I was in high school, a teacher said that you should try to select a job/career where you would still go to work even if you weren't getting paid. I think teaching is like that. Yes, we need to pay the bills, so obviously we need to get paid- ha! But, it is such a purpose-filled, rewarding profession that I feel that way. The "pay" is way more than $. It's in experiences and joy and wisdom shared and helping others to grow and learn, etc. It's a noble profession.
Thanks again,
MAP