Blog Assignment #9

What can Teachers and Students Teach us about Project Based Learning?

   Project-based learning, as we have discovered throughout this course, is about allowing students to take hold of their education, and let them control the method in which they learn course material. It is done in large by students harnessing their technological abilities and diving in to the wide world of information and creativity. The articles and videos that were referenced in this blog post are all about project-based learning.

   The first source we were assigned to review was an article called Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning by John Larmer and John R. Mergendoller. They begin the article by explaining the difference between busy work and project-based learning. They describe a typical science project where the teacher gives specific details and items for the students to use, such as specific books, websites, and project details. In the end, the students are all doing the exact same thing with no ambition to go out and learn more about their subject. Larmer and Mergendoller give seven key ingredients to effective project-based assignments. You should always give students "A Need to Know", "A Driving Question", and a "Student Voice and Choice". These give the students initiative and engage them in the material that they will be learning. In the article, the writers say, "They [the students] are unmotivated by a teacher's suggestion that they should learn something because they'll need it later in life, for the next course, or simply because "it's going to be on the test." With a compelling student project, the reason for learning relevant material becomes clear: I need to know this to meet the challenge I've accepted." This is the point of giving students "A Need to Know". Another point made that stood out to me was, "A project without a driving question is like an essay without a thesis. Without a thesis statement, a reader might be able to pick out the main point a writer is trying to make; but with a thesis statement, the main point is unmistakable. Without a driving question, students may not understand why they are undertaking a project. They know that the series of assigned activities has some connection with a time period, a place, or a concept. But if you asked, "What is the point of all these activities?" they might only be able to offer, 'Because we're making a poster.'" This is why we give students "A Driving Question" and "Student Voice and Choice".
   More things that should be included in project-based learning is "21st Century Skills", "Inquiry and Information", "Feedback and Revision", and "A Publicly Presented Product". The writers state, "A project should give students opportunities to build such 21st century skills as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and the use of technology, which will serve them well in the workplace and life. This exposure to authentic skills meets the second criterion for meaningful work—an important purpose". These skills are indeed important. Through project-based learning, students develop these skills through group collaboration and presenting their learned material. "Inquiry and Information" allows students to do more than just search websites and books for information. Instead, they allow students to create their own web of questions they come up with themselves, and go out in search of answers to these questions. All of this is student generated learning. "Feedback and Revision" is a way for the teacher to teach students how to use rubrics, and to help students to see that everyone's work is not perfect before the final presentation. It shows that there is always room for improvement in everyone's work. Lastly, "A Publicly Presented Product" motivates the students to work harder on their project. Instead of just the teacher seeing it, other students and sometimes other people they don't know on the internet, depending on how the project is presented, will be viewing their work, which makes them want to do top notch quality work.

   The second source that we looked at was the video Project-Based Learning for Teachers by Tony Vincent. For the most part, it seems to be an introductory video for a seminar of some sorts. It did give a great three minute summary of what project-based learning is. According to this video, project-based learning is this:

   The third source that I chose to review was High School Teachers Meet the Challenges of PBL Implementation by Edutopia. The video begins with a teacher's opinion of how she would go about creating a school from scratch if she had to. The first thing she asked herself "What kind of world will the students be going into?" and "How will they need to be prepared?". This video is about Sammamish High School, in Bellevue, Washington, which is a high school that is in its third year of a five year transition into a school wide project-based (or problem-based) learning approach. They are currently rearranging 30 courses, changing the teaching styles of over 75 teachers. The people in the video noted that by putting the choice in the teachers' hands, and allowing them to choose their own curriculum to create project-based learning assignments made it easier for teachers to adapt to the new learning style. A teacher stated that English and Math are difficult subjects to approach in a project-based manner. An example of what is being done in their English classes though is the reading of Elie Wiesel's Holocaust memoir Night, and comparing the silence the Jewish people faced to the silence other social groups in the world face today. It is an engaging, real-world application that keeps the students wanting to learn more. All of the teachers enjoy how excited and engaged their students are in project-based learning. The teachers involved in this shift of learning are constantly collaborating with one another, and with people that are more experienced with project-based learning. It involves a week of summer training, along with faculty meetings and even a class period every day of them working together to create the best assignments for their students. The students are also seeing the advantages of project-based learning. Students were interviewed and they shared how with project-based learning, they are able to see the big picture of how what they are learning applies to their future and everyday lives.

   The fourth source I chose was "Project Based Learning PE" by a blogger that goes by the name Pflug. This blog describes a Project-based learning assignment that was created for high school students that has them create a PE lesson for middle school students. The lesson, which applies to the high school students as well as the middle school students, has the students use the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) standards for current physical education. The project addresses the importance of being healthy and physically fit, but also allows students to work with younger students and develop team work skills.

   The last source I chose was "Two Students Solve the Case of the Watery Ketchup by Designing a New Cap" by Lindsey Float, which is a report that was done by PBS Newshour. This is an example of project-based learning that reached the media's attention. It's pretty amazing that the level of work being done by students through project-based learning is reaching new audiences. The two students, Tyler Richards and Jonathan Thompson, are a part of Project Lead the Way at their school North Liberty High School, in Liberty, Missouri. The question that brought this project to life was to finish the sentence, "It really bugs me when...". The students then took the answer to that questions, and did research on something that was relevant to them. Richards and Thompson just so happened to choose wet bread from water being in the ketchup bottle. The students searched through patents and discovered that they had an idea they could work with. Using 3D printing and other engineering technology, they created a ketchup cap that caught the attention of not only their skeptical teacher, but the news! That is so exciting! The work students are doing in high school classrooms is being recognized in the general public.

   Teachers and students can teach us many things about project-based learning, especially since they are using it more often than we are. The most important thing I have gotten out of all of these sources that they can teach us is the importance of project-based learning and the impact that it has on students' lives. They are learning. They are excited about learning. They are reaching new depths in their learning that I never did as a high school student. They are taking their learning beyond the reach and beliefs of their teachers. It is a phenomenal thing to see!

Project 12A

Project 14

The links below bring you to a slides presentation that describes the project based learning assignment we have designed for tenth grade U.S. history. There is also a lesson plan, rubric, and project calendar.

PBL Digital Scrapbook Presentation

Digital Scrapbook Lesson Plan

Digital Scrapbook Rubric

Digital Scrapbook Project Calendar

Project 9-Video Book Commentary

Blog Assignment #8

What can we learn about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch?

In the video, "Randy Pausch's Last Lecture:Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", Pausch makes five major and impactful points of things that we can learn from. The first is “Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things”. As soon to be teachers, we are going to hit many brick walls. These brick walls let us prove how badly we want things by pushing us to our limit to overcome them. They force us to work our hardest to accomplish what we want to accomplish. Whether the brick wall is a pile of paperwork or a working with a struggling student to help them accomplish their educational goals, those brick walls prove how much determination we have and how much we love what we do. The second point is “Have fun while learning-its ok”. Most of the time people think about learning at school and automatically associate it with being bored and sitting in a desk all day. We should encourage students to have fun while learning. We should also bring the fun to the classroom. Using project based learning techniques or hands on manipulatives, we should make learning a lesson fun for the students.

   The third point Pausch mentioned is “Never lose your childlike wonder-it drives us”. No matter what age group you teach, it requires an imagination and childlike wonder to make things happen. You have to be able to think outside of the box to relate to your students and adapt lessons to what encourages them to learn. The fourth point that is mentioned is “Loyalty is a two-way street-Believe in your students adn they will believe in and with you”. All I can say is “wow”. That is such a strong and true point. Anytime someone believes in you, you automatically respect them and believe in them as well. When I was tutoring one of my middle school friends in math, he often would say that he just didn’t know what to do. After showing him how to do the problems and enforcing that I believed in him and that he was able to do these problems he began to do better. Not only did he do better, but every time we met he was more eager to work on his studies, and listened more attentively. I could tell by that change in behavior that he believed in me, and believed that I was capable of teaching him what he needed to know. That is one of the most encouraging feelings I’ve come to know. In the classroom, we have to treat all of our students that way if we want them to succeed and believe in us as their teacher. The last main point that Pausch makes is “Apologize when you screw up, focus on other people”. Often times we mess up. I know I mess up on a regular basis. It is part of being human. However, we have to be able to recognize when we screw up and be able to apologize for our mess ups and continue on our learning walk and our everyday walk. Students often get frustrated when they are working on problems and make mistakes. This can cause them to become discouraged and not want to learn anymore. We, as educators, need to show students that everyone makes mistakes because of the simple fact that we are all human. If we can allow our students to see us accept our flaws and mistakes, then they are more likely to accept theirs as well and be able to move on from their mistakes.

   The amazing thing about this lecture is that it is applicable to our everyday lives, even outside of the classroom. We face many of the things he mentioned on a daily basis, whether we realize it or not. Another thing is that Pausch gave this lecture for his students, not for us. He was focused on bettering his students, not himself. As teachers, we should always focus on our students, rather than ourselves. This was a great lecture that is very beneficial to the classroom learner and the teacher as well.

C4Ta#2

   The person I was assigned for these two C4Ta assignments was Jen Deyenberg, a teacher from Alberta who is an avid blogger of technology in the classroom. Her blog is found at trailsoptional.com.

   The first blog post of hers that I read was SimCity-Teaching local Government and Civics. She used SimCity 3000 with her sixth grade class to compliment their local government unit in social studies. It teaches the students how to “manage decision making, balance wants and needs of citizens, lobby groups, and government responsibilites,” Deyenberg states in her post. She says it brings the unit to life by allowing students to build a virtual city and make all of the decisions for the city. The game provides instant feedback on the decisions the students make. The game also judges the students’ jobs based on Sim happiness. If the students do a terrible job, they could get fired as mayor of their city. If they do a great job, Deyenberg says they create statues in their honor. Deyenberg says she uses the 1999 version of the game because it is the least complex compared to newer versions. The newer versions require more needs and it takes away from the concept of the game. Deyenberg posted a video of the students talking about their experience with SimCity. Click here to watch. In the video, she goes around the classroom asking the students higher order thinking questions that the students are able to answer by reflecting on what is occurring in their city. This is a really neat idea.

   The second post that I read was My Word Coach-Nintendo DS in the Elementary Classroom. In this post, Deyenberg discusses how she does vocabulary lessons with her students using a game on the Nintendo DS. The game teaches spelling, definitions, and using the words in proper context. It has a variety of games ranging from having missing letters in the words to choosing the correct definition of the word. The good thing about these games is it gives the students instant feedback on whether they were correct or not, and instant feedback helps drive the student to keep trying until they get the answer correct. Deyenberg says she has the students enter the words they got wrong into a Moodle database, and chooses from those words which words she will put on a spelling test. It gives her a way to test what the students know and be able to target what they specifically don’t know. She says that their favorite game is the block letters game, similar to Tetris, where they have to spell a given word as the letters fall from the top of the screen. Another is alphabet soup where the students are given a bowl full of letters and a definition, and the students have to spell the word defined using the letters given in the bowl. The best part is that the students are being tested on their level. The game gives leveling tests to see how much the students know before they start playing. This is another neat way to use interesting things to teach the students. I really enjoyed this idea.

Blog Assignment #7

      How Do We All Become Learners?

   In the video, Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten, Mrs. Bennett discusses how advanced her kindergarteners are with using technology to complete innovative and interesting tasks that keep the students engaged in their learning. Elizabeth Davis is also there from another school to advocate the learning techniques. Mrs. Bennett describes how the kindergarteners take their reading book for the week and create book trailers in iMovie about the book. Mrs. Bennett's school, Gulf Shores Elementary School, uses group stations to reinforce learning. These stations always include an iMovie trailer. Mrs. Davis discusses Alabama Virtual Library, and how they use it at Daphne Elementary School to teach basic researching skills in the kindergarten classroom.

   In the video, We All Become Learners, Mrs. Bennett and Mrs. Davis discuss how the dynamics of learning changes with the addition of new technology in the classroom. Basically, they state that everyone teaches each other; students teach teachers, and teachers teach students. Bennett discusses Padlet use in the classroom. She shares a story about how a kindergarten student taught her how to take a selfie in the Padlet program on her iPad. She also shares how teachers just get the students to show them how to use programs that they do not know how to use. It gives students initiative to learn. It was basically all about putting the teacher and student on the same level of knowledge and allowing them to learn together.

   The first video I chose to watch from Mrs. Bennett's Google+ list was Mrs. Lauber Interview, featuring Dr. Strange and Mrs. Lauber from Gulf Shores Elementary School. She states that the better the technological tool available, the better the task at hand is completed by students. She states that her second graders will be given a topic and they go out on their own and create their own projects on iPads. She states that she doesn't teach her class at all. She stands in the front of the class, presents a topic, and guides the students on how to go about learning on their own with peer teaching. The students begin projects with paper and pencil, and go further by taking their written work and creating their own presentations. She emphasizes the use of rubrics as well. According to Lauber, students' test scores have increased tremendously with this new tactic of learning.

   The second video I chose to watch was Interview Rosado How to Get a Job. Dr. Ernie Rosado is a principal at Gulf Shores High School. Rosado discusses how hiring changes every year. They look for more qualities in teachers every year when they hire. He states that he needs a teacher coming out of the university that uses technology, understands technology, is a team player, and does not lecture. You need more than a lesson plan. You have to adapt the lesson to reach different learning styles. At Gulf Shores High School students are working with the community to complete tasks that are useful. Their engineering students were building a boys scout building, working alongside the architect. Marine science students were working with live salt water animals, and working with salt water reefs and fish.

   The third video I watched was CW PBL 1, featuring Christie Whitehead and Michele Bennett. Christie taught at Gulf Shores Elementary School, left, and has returned to teach at the school once more. She is getting to experience the new technological changes to the classroom environment at GSES. She says that it is exciting and refers to it as a new wave of learning. The do a lot of cooperative learning and students get to teach each other and sometimes the teachers as well. It is a very hands-on, nonthreatening, learning environment. The do project based learning that ties in all of the students' subjects. She states that she has never seen studetns so eager to learn, and they are now that they have their own projects working with this new technology. She again states that she is very excited and encouraged by the attitude her students have towards learning.

   The fourth video I watched was Altmyer and Bennett First Practice Session. I chose this video because it shows just what everyone has been talking about. It is a video of two teachers learning how to use the technology that their students will use in the classroom. They are figuring out how to use Google Hangout and its advanced tools. Bennett describes the ability to record these Hangout sessions as a teaching tool. Teachers can get together during the summer and discuss things. The benefits of recording these sessions are also discussed. Basically, with the ability to record Hangout sessions, everyone doesn't have to be present for the session. They can just watch the recorded session later. It is also described as a Personal Learning Network (PLN).

   All of these videos focused on one main thing: technology used to promote project based learning in the classroom. Every level of education is looking for teachers that know how to use today's technology, and use it effectively in the classroom. These videos show how advanced Baldwin County schoools are with technology in their classrooms. These videos also promoted self teaching and peer teaching. Students are teaching other students how to perform tasks on the iPad or computer. Students are sometimes teaching their teachers how to use the technology in the classroom. I feel it puts everyone on a level playing field in the classroom. Kindergarteners are being taught how to use technology that college students were introduced to not too long ago. Students are being born into a technological era and the classroom is adapting to this. In the next few years I have to become more creative and proficient in using technology and adapting it to lessons. I believe that project based approaches are very beneficial to teaching students not just what they are learning, but why they are learning it. Often times, students ask "Why do we need to learn this?". With project based learning, they are being given explanations for why they "need" to know how to do something without a teacher telling them flat out why they are learning it. Students like to see the "big picture" of information on their own. Project based learning is a way for students to do that. The technology that students are using in the classroom is helping students to do so.

Project 13

The Water Cycle

Our group chose to do our PBL on the water cycle. We used ALEX to find course objectives that matched what our students would be learning about. We used Padlet to create a board to guide our students during this project. Our course objectives and a link to ALEX can be found on the Padlet. Click the link below to see our Padlet! Links to our rubric and project calendar are also below.

The Water Cycle Padlet

Lesson Plan

Rubric

Project Calendar

Project 8: Book Trailer

Miss Nelson is Missing Book Trailer



Click here to watch this trailer on Youtube!

Blog Assignment #6

   The video conversations between Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps were very insightful. Anthony Capps is a third grade teacher in Baldwin County and was a former student of Dr. Strange's, who was very active in EDM310 as a student. The first two videos, Project Based Learning Part 1: Experiences of a Third Grade Teacher and Project Based Learning Part 2: Experiences of a Third Grade Teacher, discuss project based learning and how Capps has implemented this learning style in his classroom. Capps states that most people believe that project based learning is a form of reinforcement of information, used to review what students know from being taught a lesson. He says that project based learning is really creating a project that requires the students learning the material you want them to know in order to complete the project. In other words, it is creating a project where in order for the students to complete the project, they have to go and learn specific materials and use those skills within the project. Capps also stated four criteria to look for when creating a project based learning project. Those are create a project with an authentic audience so that the students are rewarded for their accomplishments, that peaks the students' interests, that involves community interaction to express real life situations and applications, and create a project that is driven by content. He goes on to share several examples where project based learning was not only a beneficial, but an exciting learning experience for the students who participated.

   iCurio and Discovery Education were two sources discussed by Capps and Dr. Strange. In the the video iCurio, we discover what iCurio is. iCurio is a search engine designed to search topics and filter out the unnecessary and off topic sources that typically pop up using regular search engine, making it better for students to research on. iCurio is not only a search engine, but it is a form of the cloud. Students can save and organize information they find on the internet. They simply log in to their account and get to searching. The video Discovery Education goes in depth on the benefits of Discovery Education. It is a website that provides videos for most science and social studies topics. Capps states that students often learn better from seeing and hearing, along with reading. This is another great source to use within project based learning.

From the videos of Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps, I have learned how beneficial project based learning is for students. It is proven that elementary school students are benefitting leaps and bounds by this learning method. For more of the videos of Capps and Dr. Strange, click the links below.

The Anthony-Strange List of Tips for Teachers Part 1

Don't Teach Tech-Use It

Additional Thought About Lessons

Project 3 Presentation

Blog Assignment #5

Personal Learning Networks

   According to Dr. Strange, a personal learning network (PLN) is a network of people, places, activities, and organizations that enable you to learn. He points out in Developing a Personal Learning Network in EDM310 that PLNs are frequently changing as new information arises. He also makes it clear that in order to take advantage of PLNs, we must change our mindsets about teaching and learning, and adapt to the world of information we live in. The easiest way to connect to a network is through social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube. Michael Fawcett reflects on similar ideas in his video PLN. When he began using a PLN in a short amount of time, he found a connection to dsicuss things that happen in the classroom, and finding tools to use in the classroom. He believes that PLNs are extremely important tools for the classroom teacher. It promotes professional development, and allows you to connect with other teachers around the world.
   PLNs can give you information on new teaching developments you have never heard of before. They are formed by connecting through social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. I began my own PLN using a Twitter account by following other educators that frequently post about their classrooms, and who blog about new ways to use technology in the classroom. The firts person I added to my PLN was my first Comment4Teacher assignment Vicki Davis, who I have found to be very resourceful through posts and tutorials.



This is a very good explanation of how Twitter can be used to develop a Personal Learning Network by Danny Maas.
Managing a Personal Learning Network Using Twitter & Hootsuite

Project 7 Videos

Click here to go to My Sentence Video on Youtube!







Click here to go to My Passion Video on Youtube!







Click here to go to Welcome Parents Video on Youtube!







Click here to go to Welcome Students Video on Youtube!

Project 15: Search Engines

There are many search engines out in the big wide world of the internet, and believe it or not, there are more search engines than just Google! The goal of this project is to expand our searching options and discover different ways to find information than just using Google. Here, I will provide a summary of eight search engines and links to each so that you can explore them and learn more about them for yourself. Click the the search engine name above the review to see it for yourself.

Ask.com
Formerly known as Ask Jeeves, Ask.com is a search engine that has fallen down in the ranks of search engines with the rise of Google. Ask.com is about the same as Google, except you can usually find slightly different sources that Google doesn't pull up. Google usually finds the most popular sources when you search for things, and Ask.com gives you the 100th page Google sources without having to search through 100 pages of sources. When you pull up their website, they usually want you to "ask" something and when you hit the "answer" button, it gives you what it has found. It also has these really cool, and relevant to history and current events, question of the day.

Kayak
Kayak is the travel search engine that any vacationer wants to know about. This search engine takes the destination you are searching for, and "compares hundreds of travel site at once" saving you up to 25% off guaranteed. This is what they advertise on their home page. From searching hotels and "flights on this site just to get an idea of the site, it proves to be more useful than other search engines that show you every travel site, leaving you on your own to navigate the maze of prices on your own. Kayak does all of that work for you.

Picsearch
Picsearch is a search engine similar to Google images, that allows you search the internet for strictly pictures. It allows over 3 billion images to search through, which also provide links to websites they are located on. Again, this is similar to Google images, except it isn't Google images. I particularly am fond of how you don't have to worry about accidentally searching in the non-image web search bar. It's only pictures.

WolframAlpha
WolframAlpha is not only a useful search engine that acts as an updated almanac, but is also a math nerd's best friend. WolframAlpha is my favorite of all the search engines, mainly because it functions as a calculator that can solve a broad spectrum of problems. It derives and integrates functions. It plots lines and planes in 2D and 3D spaces. It will tell you what the temperature is in Toronto (that is, if you want to know the temperature in Toronto). If what your searching has a number attached to it, then there is a good chance that WolframAlpha knows how to give you the answer that you are searching for.

Yahoo!
Yahoo! search engine is the second largest search engine on the world wide web. It is popular for its email services, its simple to use search bar, and its access to the world today. Yahoo! provides articles to Hot Topics in the news, celebrity gossip, and location services. Its operations are similar to Google, where you type in what you want to know and it gives you sources to look for what you are trying to find.

Bing
Bing is another search engine that is similar to Yahoo! and Google. Bing is known for being owned by Microsoft, and for filtering search results so that you don't see unrelated information. It provides you with several types of sources such as videos, pictures, articles, and websites when you search a topic. I do not often use Bing; however, it does prove to be useful when meshing sources.

IceRocket
IceRocket is a search engine that I am sure everyone in EDM310 is probably thankful for. It is a search engine that searches blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. It searches the information to bring you the most recent posts related to what you searched. Their homepage shows recent searches, top searches, and trending items.

ChaCha
ChaCha is the question answerer. You can access ChaCha via text message, or on the internet. You ask it a question, and a person from ChaCha responds with an answer to your question. It was very popular to use when I was in high school; however, reasons for usage were mainly just to cheat on graded assignments. I think it is cool how it is accessible without getting on the internet. It gives you information by simply just sending the search engine a question.

C4Ta#1

   For my first two C4T assignments, I was assigned to Vicki Davis's blog Cool Cat Teacher. Davis not only writes her own posts, but also provides posts written by others that are also very resourceful.

   For C4Ta#1 I read/watched her post 50+ Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom. In this video post, she introduces her two-step strategy for innovation and change. The first she shares is to "Innovate like a turtle", which means to basically just move forward in adapting the classroom slowly and steadily. You do not have to become a techonology wizard over night. It only takes small steps at a time to progress your classroom into becoming a technology based classroom. The second step is to always have your "Big 3" list, which is a list of three goals or things that you want to learn or accomplish for your classroom. She goes on from there to list many different things you can do in the classroom that will make it more tech savvy.

   For C4Ta#2, I read Davis's post "ECM #149 OER: TEACHING WITHOUT TRADITIONAL TEXTBOOKS". This was a review of a show with Amy Pace, a Presidential Award winning science teacher who is on a committee of outstanding teachers that create their own textbooks for their students to use. It is a source to save money, and it is also better tool for the classroom. These textbooks are revised every year by a committee who use the feedback of other teachers that use these textbooks. It allows for teachers to put information that they know students are going to need to know, and what will be taught. It also allows for more emphasis to be put on specific topics that may need it, but do not get it by large publishing companies. These textbooks meet state standards and are widely used in the state of Utah. Davis posts links to listen to this interview on iTunes and online.

Vicki Davis does a phenomenal job on her blog. She used technology to her advantage. She is very tech savvy, and I believe her blog is very resourceful for more topics than just technology in general.

Blog Assignment #4

Asking Questions: What questions do we ask? How do we ask?

   When I've tutored students in the past, I've always wondered why I got so many empty stares from the students when I would ask them simple questions on whether or not they understood the topic we were covering. I have discovered the reason why through trying to find out the answer to this simple question: "What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?"I discovered that I was asking questions the wrong way.
   I have discovered that there is such a thing as a "right way" to ask a question to a class. In the article, The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom, by Ben Johnson, Johnson addresses this point from the very beginning. He begins with pointing out that teachers need to accept the fact that they do not know everything, and when we act as if we do then begin to ask the students silly questions it confuses the students. Students need more than yes or no questions from the teacher. When we ask them yes or no questions, they will usually just answer the question with the majority of the class instead of making themselves look like they don't understand. Johnson addresses these dynamics further in his article, making it seem as if there is a student hierarchy established amongst students. Johnson also states that, "...sometimes the students do not understand, and if they do not know what they do not know, there is no way that they can ask a question about it". That would be a reason to not ask students yes or no questions. He says that the best way to approach asking questions that test for understanding is to ask higher order thinking questions. He also suggests not singling students out to answer questions in class, because it causes the other students to not think about the answer for themselves.
   Joanne Chesley's youtube video Asking better questions in the classroom addresses these same points as Johnson does. Chesley states that professors often find students unresponsive in class, and when it comes to answering questions they are simple answers. According to Chesley, that is caused by teachers asking questions that are close ended questions that require yes or no answers. She states that when teachers ask questions that are close ended, students often give the response that the teacher asks for and teachers do not realize it. She suggests open ended questions that can have personalized answers and require more thinking than just guessing yes or no.
   The article Asking Questions to Improve Learning provides amazing examples of questions to ask in the classroom and why you should ask them. The strategies they share for asking questions are also great. It, too, examines the use of higher order thinking questions in the classroom. A few points that were made in this article that really struck me as things I should know about asking questions to become an effective educator are follow a yes-or-no question with an additional question, create questions that are centered around the coursework that is being presented to the class in that lecture, and ask questions that can have several answers so that the students can think about others answers and provide their own arguments and support. It causes the students to think about the material more in depth, and to form their own ideas on the material being studied.
   The basic things to know about asking questions are to not ask yes or no questions, ask open ended questions that lead to debate or discussion, and ask questions that reflect the course material being covered in that class period. In order to ask questions that are effective for students learning and understanding, we have to find out what makes our students think. We also need to find ways to make sure our questions are making students form their own opinions about the material, and also help the students to realize if they really understand the material or not.

Blog Assignment #3

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?



   The best way to provide meaningful feedback to your peers is through peer editing. Peer editing is defined as working with someone your own age to improve one anothers' writing skills by the video What is Peer Editing? and the slideshow Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial. These two gave important instructions to peer editing. They both had three rules to follow: stay positive, be specific, and follow the three steps of editing. The three steps of editing are very useful and are usually included in the average writing rubric, which you saw being used by students in the video Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes. The first step is to begin by complimenting the writer. The second step is to give suggestions to the writer; this is where being specific comes into play. You should give suggestions on word choice, details, organization, sentences, and topic (What is Peer Editing?). According to Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial, making suggestions means to "give the author some specific ideas about how to make his or her writing better". The slideshow goes on further, giving examples of how to make suggestions. The third step is to make corrections. When making corrections, it is important to use proofreading symbols such as those shown in What is Peer Editing?. You should also be sure to be specific in what corrections need to be made. Both the video What is Peer Editing? and the slideshow Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial are specific on what important corrections you should look out for: punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, and spelling.

   I was unaware that there were actual rules to proofreading. I knew that you should always proofread in a kind manner, but I definitely learned the rules to peer editing from these sources. The video Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes shows great examples of how peer editing can go wrong. I can honestly say that I am guilty of being a "Mean Margaret" and an "Off-Task Oliver". Watching the students in the video did show me just how unproductive it is when students do not care about the peer editing process, are mean to one another, do not stay on topic, and take advice personally. I also learned that students can use rubrics just as productively as teachers can. In the 10 Mistakes video, the students were referring to a rubric while peer editing each others' work, and it showed to be very productive for improving their writing.