Chapter 6

In chapter 6, our focus shifted from prepping for our project to putting our plans into action. The ideas in this chapter were very informative to our project because it prepares us for launching our project and will this can be exhilarating for some, and can also be stressful for the teacher who has finally gets to put all that careful planning into action. Most importantly, chapter 6 provided strategies for implementing our project that were useful in so many ways: time-saving, technologically supportive, organized, and a light at the end of the project-planning tunnel for pre-service teachers like me.

  The chapter began by describing the project kick-off as a deep, thoughtful learning cycle. It was suggested to incite the interest of students before the project is introduced and to learn what they know and care about before beginning the projects. Teachers are encouraged to teach prerequisite concepts and skills, including those related to technology, as students will need them to carry out the project’s objectives. In taking care to do these things before the start of the project, students and teachers will make a smooth, optimism-filled transition into the project.

   Technology tools can be used to encourage students to be reflective of strengths. Some examples of this could be to use an online survey tool, like profilerPRO, or create your own on Survey Monkey so students can evaluate themselves. At the end of the project, students can complete this same survey and as a result, they will be aware of the progress they’ve made and can feel accomplished and motivated for the next project. Students can also create a blog to log progress and reflect over time on the learnings they've made.

  Some ways to get students’ minds ready for the projects is to figure out what they already know. Know-Wonder-Learn activities are often introduced at the beginning of projects but you can simply engage students in conversation about the projects or related topics and invite them to open their eyes to the possibilities. Ways for promoting inquiry and deep thought include discrepant-events and role-playing predictions. Discrepant events are attention-getting, thought-provoking events like the student-designed investigations led by the 5^th grade teacher and her student about density and buoyancy to generate interest amongst students and to provoke deep—thinking and inquiry in the classroom.

    There are steps that need to be taken when implementing technology in the project. When preparing for technology for students teachers should remember that technology isn’t the focus of the project but rather a tool for completing the project. These steps include setting up a technology playground in the classroom, tapping student expertise, introducing the project management tools and demonstrating for students. While this is important, it’s still imperative to teach the fundamentals first by setting the stage for independent inquiry and to share the assessment rubric.
  
   All of this information can be useful in our PBL unit. The steps to project launching are rather lengthy but the result is a well-carried out projects and students who are ready to learn because their interest has been cultivated and are excited about the project. We can implemtent these steps in our own projects and think about ways to evaluate students to see what they know and to get them thinking about the projects in ways that make them excited about it.