Reading Reflection 7

1.) The most important aspect of effective classroom discussion is having good questions; however, the questions need to be complex and offer a variety of answers. When looking at different levels of classroom discussion you can break them apart into three categories. The first level is teacher-to-teacher discussion. Allowing teachers to work together not only helps during the planning stage of a lesson but also the implementation phase because it allows the colleagues to work together and provide feedback to one another. The second level is student-to-student discussion. Students should always be talking to other students about their learning experiences as they unfold. We want our students to learn good communication skills, as well as teamwork. It is also important that students are learning how to work together and provide feedback. The third level of discussion is teacher-to-student. When a teacher veers away from the traditional classroom style of whole class lectures you will find that are many other ways to facilitate conversation with your students outside of the regular classroom. At times teachers may still find it necessary to teach to the class as a whole, but more often then not the teacher should be circulating the classroom while observing and talking to the students in smaller groups. The teacher can also use the classroom website or email to get into contact with students as well.

2.)  The thing that is most often overlooked by teachers is the difficulty of the questions they are providing to their students. Higher-order questions are essential to the classroom because it provides for more in depth ideas and thoughts. Even though the questions we are asking our students is very important, it is just as important that as teachers we are questioning ourselves and how our students are responding to the lesson. As students are working on their projects it is important to remember to check-in on their progress, and make adjustments where need be. To ensure that you are on the right track you may want to start by asking questions that pertain to the procedure and schedule of project. You also need to observe your students and see if they are participating in teamwork. Any good teacher should spend time observing their students so that they can monitor their students understanding. Lastly, you should take the time to ask the students what they feel about the project and reflect upon their responses.

3.)  Incorporating technology into your project is something that your students will often enjoy, especially when you allow them to use the technology they know and love, such as iPads, iPods, cell phones, etc. As long as you are checking in on the student’s proper usage of technology it can be very beneficial and helpful to them while working on their projects. We want our students to understand how to use technology to their benefit, as well as master all of the tools that they well need for later in life.  As long as they are meeting their learning goals it is fun for the students to complete their projects using different forms of technology they like using, or want to learn more about.

4.)  Troubleshooting and teamwork are either 21st century skills that can make or break a project. When students learn that real-world projects come with real-world challenges it is important to help students understand that they can learn from their setbacks. Instead of allowing your students to think they failed, we should encourage them to take what they learned and apply changes to see where they can go different. We also need to monitor our students to make sure that their teamwork skills are working. By paying close attention to group dynamics we can distinguish how effectively the group works together. To ensure that teamwork is taken seriously by your students you can make it a focus of formal assessment, to emphasis its importance. We want to teach our students how to be professional and respectful of their peers, just like in the real world.

5.)  This chapter relates to what we are doing in class right now because it helps us as teachers understand how to analyze all the different forms of conversation that occur in our classrooms. We want to make sure that we are prepared to provide our students with the constant reminder to be respectful and considerate of their peers. It also helps us look at the questions that we are presenting to our students and helps us further determine how useful they are to our learning environment.