Reflection 7

1. Levels of classroom discussion:
- Teacher to teacher: teacher conversations will likely touch on game plan and who is leading the activity for the procedural and touch on making a mini lesson and getting opinions for the formative assessment. If teachers can not meet face to face be sure to make effort to check the project blog, wiki or other collaborative tool to keep the teacher to teacher conversation going.
- Student to student: students should always be talking about their learning experiences within their teams and with other teams. Explaining their thinking gives students opportunities to learn from and challenge each other. A teacher must spend plenty of time listening to student conversations.
- Teacher to student: Mainly use whole class discussion. Teachers are apt to be circulating, observing, and talking with smaller groups of students.

2. Questions for checking in:
- Procedural: Are we staying on schedule? Do we have the right materials available? Whens the best time to schedule a field trip, expert visitor, or other activity?
- Teamwork: How are team members getting along? Is one student carrying too much of the load for the whole team? Are students able to manage conflict themselves, or do they need help?
- Understanding: Have you thought about....? Have you considered this research?
- Self-assessment: ask questions that encourage self-assessment and reflection.

3. Optimizing technology:
Questions that may help in maximizing the potential of technology during a project...
- Is technology helping students reach learning goals, or is it leading them on side trips?
- Is technology helping students stay organized?
- Are students taking advantage of available tools to help organize their research?
- Are students able to use technology to expand their horizons by connecting to outside experts or a broader community?
- Is access equitable?
- Do students have ready access to the technologies they need?

4. 21st century skills that make or break a project:
Troubleshooting is a 21st century skill that distinguishes effective project managers. Help students understand that real world projects come from real world challenges. Teamwork is another 21st century skill that can make or break a project. This helps emphasize the importance of 21st century skills.

5. Relation to topic/project:
This chapter helps with the project we are doing because it gives us an idea of how to interact with other teachers and students and how students need to interact with each other in order to get a project started and moving. I think learning about the questions you need to ask during the project process are also important to know when doing a project in the classroom.