Reading Reflection #3

1. Discussion on what should be considered in finding the “Big Idea” for a project.

- Searching for the “Big Idea” takes practice. Teachers need to take time to refer to teaching guides, professionals, and colleagues about what is important. Teachers first have to ask themselves what they want their students to complete; what they want their students to be able to do or know at the end of the project. The ideas teachers explore should have “real-life” contexts and should be able to connect to the world outside of the classroom. Once teachers have a general idea or goal of the lesson, they need to ask “why is this important to my students to know/learn?” Also, teachers should ask “how will this benefit my students?” The text discusses how students will become more invested in learning when they know that their project offers value for their community or world (pg. 46). Investing time in exploring the “Big Idea” will provide the teacher and students the opportunity to learn new skills or master unfamiliar content during the project. Teachers should also take advantage of how the “Big Idea” of one project in a certain subject can overlap other subject material. And finally, a teacher must “imagine how the project will help students develop 21^st century skills; think beyond subject mastery to the important skills, attitudes, and habits of mind the project might involve” (pg. 47).

2. Discussion on the 21^st century skills.

- A well-developed project will challenge students to stretch their intellectual muscles; such a project should force students to think critically, develop conclusions, make inferences, and ask questions. In order to ensure students are being challenged in such necessary ways, teachers incorporate and plan for learning actions associated with Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Bloom’s Taxonomy is categorized into six objectives; they are (from lowest instruction to highest) remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create (pg. 47). Analyzing, evaluating, and creating (the three highest instruction of the taxonomy) are the bases of project based learning projects. Projects that encourage students to analyze, evaluate, and create will develop higher thinking skills and stretch their intellectual muscles.

3. Discussion on the 21^st century literacies.

- The chapter explores and defines multiple definitions of 21^st century skills and literacies; all of which go beyond the ability to read and write (pg.48). The enGauge 21^st Century Skills is a model that highlights the “Digital-Age Literacy”. The Digital-Age Literacy involves “scientific, economic and technological literacies; visual and informational literacies; and multicultural literacy and global awareness” (pg. 48). Inventive thinking, effective communication, and high productivity are also highlighted in the Digital-Age Literacy. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines literacy as “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts” (pg. 49). The NETS.S addresses “creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, research and information fluency, digital citizenship, and technology operations and concepts” as the bases of literacy (pg. 49). In general, literacy “boils” down to learning how to be independent, aware and productive citizens. Teacher Jeff Whipple describes literacy as “wanting our students to be information artists” (pg. 50). Can our students find the information, can they assess whether the information is useful, can they deal with raw data, and can they explain their own understanding of it?

4. Discussion on each of the essential learning functions.

- There are 8 essential learning functions described in chapter 3:

1. Ubiquity: Learning Inside and Outside the Classroom, and All the Time

- In the 21^st century it is becoming easier and easier for students to learn anywhere and at anytime. Teachers should look for tools that allow/help students be more mobile and learn wherever they are, whenever they want, and more frequently, with whomever they want.

2. Deep Learning

- In order for our students to be exposed to higher-level thinking, we as teachers must encourage our students to navigate and sort, organize, analyze, and make geographical representations. Students need the appropriate tools to help them organize and make sense of the data they explore, research, and learn.

3. Making Things Visible and Discussable

- Visual representation can get the conversation started. Showing rather than telling, conceptualing with "mind" maps, seeing things too small or too big, too fast or too slow for the naked eye, examining history through digital artifacts, expressing ideas through photography and multimedia, graphical representations and modeling, animaiton, and digital art are all tools that can be used to make material visual and discussable.

4. Expressing Ourselves, Sharing Ideas, Building Community

5. Collaboration- Teaching and Learning with Others

6. Research

7. Project Management: Planning and Organizing

8. Reflection and Iteration

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

- This chapter is useful to our project because we now know how to look for the "big ideas", it showed us how to make use of the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, and how we should/could incorporate the essential learning functions. Every aspect of this chapter is a learning experience that we can incorporate into our porject to make it worth while.