Blog post 6, Project Launch -- Implementation Strategies

In chapter six, Boss and Kross discuss how technology tools such as blogs, ProfilierPro, SurveyMonkey, and Zoomerang can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths. The teacher to be in me believes blogs such as this are great to aid in our reading comprehension. They help us reflect upon what we learned as well as how others made connections to it. (I secretly must admit tonight the sick tired student in me just wants to start spring break and forget about blogging). I am curious about the ProfilerPro in the fact that its states “you can identify your interest, strengths and weaknesses” (p.96). Would this be a helpful tool to set up our pen pals? I guess I am confused as to how the badge changes when they acquire new skills.

When we are getting our students minds ready for a project, we need to tap into their prior knowledge. Many teachers use variations of the KWL charts. I think guiding the students with deeper questioning is imperative for this to be effective. As Boss and Kross say, “students often don’t know what they don’t know, and they don’t yet know why they should care” (p.101). I have seen many teachers use the KWL charts where they have the students pull out a piece of paper and make their own. They do not push for deeper questioning or even indicate that they will check it out. It is tucked away with a bunch of other meaningless piles of papers.

 The strategies I liked that Boss and Kross mentioned that would shake up ideas of what they know and get them interested were incorporating role-playing predictions and discrepant events. Most children in Elementary school would have a blast acting events out and you would get a true indication where students are. This would also help others get caught up to their classmate’s understanding. As for discrepant events, who else is still wondering why the ice cube sank? Enough said.  

It is important to teach the fundamentals first. Many of the strategies we use we build off the other. Their example about driving hit home. If you have ever been in car and experienced the first time a student in drivers training has used the on ramp to a highway you will get it (you want to open your door and jump out). I cannot imagine how horrible it would be if you started them out there without teaching the basics.

In preparing students for using technology in projects, it is important that we plan efficient ways for them to use it. Some ways the authors suggest are setting up a technology playground where students can explore, allow technology able students to each other’s, introduce project management tools, have a technology specialist demonstrate and record so you can playback later.

What I really like is chapter was the suggestion on how to transform our questions to promote inquiry and deeper thinking. This directly relates to my project. We have learned that students learn best through inquiry method. I am trying to become a more reflective lesson planner so I can develop inquiry questions. I am hoping by again walking through the steps of the students that I will be able to help them develop inquiry questions. Ultimately, I am hoping this skill becomes more natural to me. I am thinking with my next inquiry lesson I should do an experiment on if a stem carries only water. We have seen how carnations carry food coloring but what about salt water or sugar. I think this would be a great experiment for students to see how road salt can negatively affect our crops and shed light on why people are going organic.