What is a blog. Blogs, short for weblogs, are used to share information and opinions with readers and to solicit feedback and discussion. They often take the form of a journal and are regularly updated with new entries. You will be creating a blog to serve as a record of your learning as we go through the various modules.
Reflect on the the focus of Modules 1 & 2 and blog about how it has helped you plan and create your unit.
Please answer the following questions: How can Curriculum-Framing Questions help support my students' learning? How can I plan ongoing student-centered assessment?
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As a student I questioned (and still do) the reason the teacher wanted us to complete an assignment. As is true with most people, I learn best by doing. Because of this, I can see why Project Based Learning could quickly become popular. When I was graduating high school in Minnesota, requirements were being made to complete “standards packets”. These packets contained projects that students were to complete, and in completing them, they would be assessed on their success in each of the standards areas. That made more sense to me than Standards Based Testing, but I can see that it would be much more difficult to formally grade. Teaching with projects can be like those standards packets, only it would only be my students participating and I would be responsible to assess them. I like the idea of my students learning through doing.
In order to create projects that are worth-while for my students to complete, I will need some type of framework. Curriculum-Framing questions are useful in making sure that the students will be guided to the outcome that is expected. After all, if I just hand a kindergartener a piece of ice, without some framework, how can I make sure that they will learn about solid, liquid and gas? Some might learn about states of element (though they would not understand what that is), but some might throw the ice, some might build an igloo, and some might eat it. While that would be lots of fun, it is not the expected outcome!
If I were in a classroom with older students, I could use a blog or similar communication with each student to evaluate their working knowledge of the standards. With smaller children, I might have to do some “testing” of knowledge, by taking them to a separate table and having them identify the color, shape, number, etc. and/or USE the color, shape, number, etc. to complete a project by following directions. The outcome would show me their knowledge.
Curriculm Framing Questions are very useful in a classroom setting when a project or assignment is being given. Asking questions of the students during this time can make the lesson relevent. It can make the student focus on and look outside the box for different answers that may lead to the same conclusion.
Student Assessment Learning is great because the student can self-evaluate their own work or experiences. This can help them row stronger in their academic growth and may help in setting any future goals that they may have.
Why are we learning this? When will I need to know this? When will I ever use this? These are the typical questions that I hear my students ask. Curriculum framing questions help students understand what they are learning and why. Well constructed questions can help me capture my students’ attention and draw them into the lesson, make connections with other subjects, and focus their learning. Essential questions start an open-ended discussion that allows me to gain a better understanding of what ideas and attitudes my students are bringing into the project. Unit questions support student investigation into the essential question. Essential and unit questions help students understand and explore the answers to why and how. Content questions support the essential and unit questions and help students understand and explore the answers to who, what, where, and when.
Planning ongoing student-centered assessment is something that I need to work on. My art class is very much a project based class and I am constantly conferencing with my students while they are working on their projects as an informal assessment. When the project is complete, students turn their work in to me for final assessment. I think in order for the assessment to become more student-centered I could use a variety of methods. Students could journal or blog a written self-assessment of their project. I could also have two students partner or place students in small groups to assess each others work using the project rubric.
Curriculum-Framing Questions help support my students' learning by letting them know what they will learn, why they will learn it and ultimatly get them excited about what they are going to learn. It also help to create or access schema about this or related subjects. I plan ongoing student-centered assessment by looking at what it is we have learned and what it is that I would like them to take from everything taught. It is a great thing as a teacher because I look at the grade my students recieve on assessments as the grade I get for my teaching or the subject.
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