Double Entry Journal # 15

1. Give an example of an authentic form of assessment the students engaged in a PBL performed well on?

 

In one British study over the course of three years, students were taught using traditional math programs at one school and PBL at another. Three times as many PBL students achieved the highest possible grade on the national exam than students at a traditional school.

2. How does project based learning promote intrinsic motivation?

 

Project based learning promotes intrinsic motivation by allowing students to develop their own interests and get energized about it, regardless of where it brings an immediate reward.

 

 3. What do students who experience PBL do better than student who receive traditional direct instruction? 

 

Students who experience PBL instruction are better at problem solving, researching, planning, and  have higher order thinking skills than students who recieve direct instruction. Students who experience PBL instruction aslo perform better on standardized tests and are able to apply real-world application skills.

   

4. How does PBL align with John Dewey's philosophy of education?

 

Dewey proposed that learning by doing was one the best ways to learn. Project based learning is a student-centered approach that involves active learning, critical thinking, and problem solving.  Students are learning by doing in PBL's.

 

 5. Why do our assessment practices need to change if we are going to prepare students for the 21st century?

 

 

Double Entry Journal # 14

What are some challenges to inquiry approaches to learning?

Some of the challenges associated with an inquiry approach to learning is that many times the work falls on the teacher. Often times teachers struggle with this type of learning because they don't fully understand the complexities. In addition, many teachers don't have the skills or knowledge for successfully implementing inquiry approaches to learning. Another challenge is that students are often unfamiliar with this approach to learning and lack prior knowledge or experience.

What are the benefits of group work? Give two concrete examples from the reading.

Students learn more deeply when they can apply classroom-gathered knowledge to real-world problems, and when they to take part in projects that require sustained engagement and collaboration.

Cooperative group work benefits students in social and behavioral areas as well, including improvement in student self-concept, social interaction, time on task, and positive feelings toward peers (Cohen et al., 1982; Cook et al., 1985; Hartley, 1977; Ginsburg-Block, Rohrbeck, & Fantuzzo, 2006; Johnson & Johnson, 1989).

Name one strategy to support group work and find an example of that strategy on the Internet and link me to it.

The think, pair, share strategy is a cooperative learning strategy that supports group work, in which students think through questions using three distinct steps, encouraging individual participation. This is an excellent method for promoting critical thinking and articulate communication in the classroom.For more information about the think, pair, share strategy click here

I found one example of the think, pair, share strategy on youtube. It wasn't the best example, but it gives you an idea.

Struggling Student

In my clinical observations, I have noticed that there are several students who seem to be struggling. But, the one I focused on in particular was a little boy. For starters, this little boy is extremely sweet and very well mannered. However, he has been labeled as one of the lower-level learners. After spending time with this little guy, I came to realize that he has many problems that may be attributing to his lack of understanding and academic success. He has a speech impairment and at times he is inaudible to understand. I think that he also has a hard time hearing. I noticed that he doesn't seem to hear you when you are talking to him. In addition, he wears glasses, and after much observation, I believe the prescription needs to be changed; because he places his face within an inch of the paper when he is reading or writing.

After completing the "Reading Interest Survey" I talked to him about some of his answers. I came to realize that he seemed to like books and going to library, he just didn't have any reinforcement at home. The only time he is exposed to books is at school. Also, my beliefs about his glasses were correct. He told me that reading was hard, because sometimes he couldn't see the words or letters. I really feel that this child could be successful if given the right opportunities and reinforcement. I also think that it would help if someone took the time to have his hearing and vision checked. It's obvious that he is not getting the support he needs from home.

However, on some levels I feel that the school is trying to meet his needs. He goes to RTI for about 25 minutes in the morning for additional help. But, I don't feel that RTI is enough to meet his needs in the classroom. Many of the activities are face-paced and the teacher moves from lesson to lesson and must keep to the daily schedule. The teacher does have a variety of centers, in which students move at intervals. However, without someone there to help him, I think it is defeating the purpose. I have to say that my host teacher does make an effort to try to work with the students who are struggling the most, at her center. But, usually students move through centers about every 10 minutes, which doesn't allot much time for the students who are struggling.

Also, I noticed that there are several times in the day, when students are watching TV. I feel that this is time wasted, especially for my struggling student. I think that it would be beneficial to use this time to help him and reinforce his letter and word recognition, or simply just allow him to look at books. I hope that while I am in the classroom this semester, I can help him. I have already talked to the RTI specialist about having his hearing and vision tested and she agreed that he could benefit from the testing. I am hoping that something happens soon, because the longer they wait, the more likely he is going to be behind.

Verbatim Questions

 For this week we were asked to write some verbatim questions that our host teacher asks and some verbatim questions that students ask. I have kindergarten for my 75 hour clinical. In general, I noticed that my host teacher asks questions that require basic recall of information, such as who, what, why when, and where. In addition, I noticed that there is more questions asked and discussion going on during guiding reading. Most of the students questions revolve around lunch and their shoes! However, I did observe that few students will ask for help when they don't understand something. 

Teacher Questions:
What's the weather today?
If today is Monday, and yesterday was Sunday, what will tomorrow be?
How many tens are 31? How many ones are in 31?
 What does the author of a book do? (Guided Reading)
What does the illustrator of the book do? (Guided Reading)
How is Maya and Julius alike? different? (Guided Reading)
What character would you be and why? (Guided Reading)
How is Julius different from other pigs on a farm? (Guided Reading)
How many ways can we show the number 10? (Math)
Who can go to the board and show me the word little, am, I....? (Sight words)

Student Questions:
When is lunch?
Can you tie my shoe?
Are we going outside for recess?
Can I go to the bathroom?
Can you help me?

Interest Survey

I created a reading interest survey for my kindergarteners. The results of the survey are posted in the graph below.

Double Entry Journal # 13

 What "dominant paradigm" is showing signs of wear?

The “dominant paradigm” that is showing signs of wear is the traditional approach to teaching, which is textbook driven and knowledge is conveyed generally through the teacher. The educational system needs to be moving toward project based learning which allows students to explore, collaborate, research and analyze information. 

According to the research, how does Project-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

The students engaged in project-based learning demonstrated a significant increase in scores on a critical-thinking test, as well as increased confidence in their learning (Shepherd, 1998).

Other short-term, comparative studies of traditional vs. project-based approaches have demonstrated several benefits from projects, such as an increase in the ability to define problems (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992), growth in their ability to support their reasoning with clear arguments (Stepien, Gallagher, & Workman, 1993) 

Shepherd (1998) studied the results of a unit in which a group of fourth and fifth graders completed a nine-week project to define and find solutions related to housing shortages in several countries. In comparison to the control group, the students engaged in project-based learning demonstrated a significant increase in scores on a critical-thinking test, as well as increased confidence in their learning.

According to the research, how does Problem-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

Meta-analyses of studies have found that medical students who are enrolled in problem-based curricula score higher on clinical problem-solving measures and on actual ratings of clinical performance (Vernon & Blake, 1993; Albanese & Mitchell, 1993) than peers who are not enrolled in such programs.

This approach has been found to be better, though, in supporting flexible problem solving, application of knowledge, and hypothesis generation (for a meta-analysis, see Dochy, Segers, Van den Bossche, & Gijbels, 2003)
 

Additional studies have demonstrated that students who participated in problem-based experiences are better able to generate accurate hypotheses and coherent explanations (Hmelo, 1998b; Schmidt et al., 1996) and to support their claims with well-reasoned arguments (Stepien et al., 1993).

 According to the research, how does Learning by Design support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

In one such study, however, Hmelo, Holton, and Kolodner (2000) asked sixth-grade students to design a set of artificial lungs and build a partially working model of the respiratory system. They found that the design project led to better learning outcomes than the traditional approach to instruction. They also noted that the design students learned to view the respiratory system more systemically and understood more about the structures and functions of the system than the comparison group. 

 

What are the differences between the three approaches?

• Project Based Learning is an instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation. The activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom.
• Problem-based learning (PBL) is an approach that challenges students to learn through engagement in a real problem. In a (PBL) students work cooperatively to investigate and resolve an ill-structured problem based on real-world issues or situations.
•  Learning by design is "backward design" which is the practice of looking at outcomes, in order to design curriculum units, assessments and instruction.

 In your opinion, what is the most important benefit to learning that is common across the three types of inquiry-based learning approaches?

Double Entry Journal # 12

3 Things I learned:

1) A student who can provide an acceptable answer has not necessarily mastered the learning--it just means that the student has figured out what the teacher wants to hear and repeats it. The student hasn't internalized the knowledge or connected the "answer" to a larger context of meaning.

2) The failure to make any in depth exploration or additional insight communicates to student very simplistic views of knowledge and shows that the teacher is only interested in the scope of information that is a initiated by the teacher.

3) The kind of learning which lends itself to IRE patterns of instruction is limited to lower cognitive level processes which stress “recall of information” and questions aimed at producing accurate recall or simple identification “do little to promote any real thinking.”

2 Things I Found Interesting:

1) The best way to to approach establishing appropriate types of questions is to shift attention away from the questioning process and toward the learning.

2) Teachers typically wait one second or less for students to start a reply to their question before calling on another student or supplying information related to the question themselves. Interestingly, in studies where teachers were asked to incorporate longer than typical wait times, the action led to “more active participation in lessons by a larger percentage of the students.”

 1 question I have:

Why do so many teachers practice the method of asking questions, in which they seek only one correct answer?

How does asking essential questions improve learning in schools?

Asking essential questions improves learning in schools because it gives students opportunities to be challenged and wrestle the big ideas. By actively exploring essential questions, students can arrive at a deeper understandings and have greater coherence in their content knowledge and skills. 

Double Entry Journal # 11 (Top Ten Reflection)

The top ten project has many aspects of of an exemplary PBL. The first concrete example that I chose was the authenticity of the project. Through creation of their own wiki students were able to  communicate and make connections with an external audience such as their local community as well as a global audience through their online poll. The second example I chose to support the aspect of this project was applied learning. Students were able to use a variety skills such as communicating, questioning, researching, analyzing, and gathering information to rank data.The third example I chose was assessment practices. When students finished they had to present their final product in front of members of the board education. Students also created commercials for the school news. In addition, as students worked on the project they were able use self-assessment from the feedback of their teacher and peers.

4th Grade Content Standards for Science/Reading Language Arts met by PBL

Science Content Standards:
SC.O.4.1.04
demonstrate curiosity, initiative and creativity by developing questions that lead to investigations; designing simple experiments; and trusting observations of discoveries when trying new tasks and skills.
SC.O.4.1.05
recognize that developing solutions to problems requires persistence, flexibility, open-mindedness, and alertness for the unexpected.
SC.O.4.1.06
support statements with facts found through research from various sources, including technology.
SC.O.4.1.07
use scientific instruments, technology and everyday materials to investigate the natural world.
SC.0.4.2.01
describe the different characteristics of plants and animals, which help them to survive in different niches and environments.
SC.0.4.2.02
associate the behaviors of living organisms to external and internal influences (e.g., hunger, climate, or seasons).
SC.0.4.2.03
identify and classify variations in structures of living things including their systems and explain their functions (e.g., skeletons, teeth, plant needles, or leaves).
SC.0.4.3.04
given a set of objects, group or order the objects according to an established scheme.
SC.0.4.3.06
identify and explain a simple problem or task to be completed; identify a specific solution; and list task requirements.
SC.0.4.3.09
listen to and be tolerant of different viewpoints by engaging in collaborative activities and modifying ideas when new and valid information is presented from a variety of resources.

Reading and Language Arts Content Standards:
RLA.O.4.1.13
judge the reliability or logic of informational texts.
RLA.O.4.1.14
select and use a variety of sources to gather information (e.g., dictionaries, encyclopedias, newspapers, informational texts, electronic resources).
RLA.O.4.1.15
use graphic organizers and visualization techniques to interpret information (e.g., charts, graphs, diagrams, non-verbal symbols).
RLA.O.4.1.16
use reading skills and strategies to understand a variety of information resources to support literacy learning (e.g., written directions, captions, electronic resources, labels, information texts).
RLA.O.4.1.17
increase the amount of independent reading to build background knowledge, expand vocabulary and comprehend literary and informational text.
RLA.O.4.2.06
write to persuade using order of importance, classifying differences and similarities, classifying advantages and disadvantages.
RLA.O.4.2.07
develop a composition that demonstrates an awareness of the intended audience using appropriate language, content and form.
RLA.O.4.2.08
create an effective response to a task in form, content and language (e.g., letters, poems, brief reports or descriptions, instructions, journals).
RLA.O.4.2.09
use editing strategies to correct errors in sentence structure (fragments and run-on sentences), capitalization, punctuation and gammar.
RLA.O.4.2.12
use strategies to gather and record information for research topics:
• note taking
• summarizing
• paraphrasing
• describing in narrative form
• gathering information from direct quotes, maps, charts, graphs and tables
RLA.O.4.2.13
select and use a variety of sources to gather information (e.g., dictionaries, encyclopedias, newspapers, informational texts, electronic resources).
RLA.O.4.2.14
use strategies to compile information into written reports or summaries (e.g., incorporate notes into a finished product, include simple facts-details-explanations-examples, draw conclusions from relationships and patterns that emerge from data of different sources, use appropriate visual aids and media).
RLA.O.4.2.15
critically evaluate own and others’ written compositions.
RLA.O.4.3.04
create an age appropriate media literacy product that reflects understanding of format, characteristics and purpose.