Blog Assignment #11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?

In Back to the Future, I learned that as a teacher, I need to think outside of the box! Brian Crosby from Agnes Risney Elementary School in Sparks, Nevada, talks about how he used Project Based Learning to create a hot air balloon. The children had to write stories about being the hot air balloon. The children learned about air pressure changes and recorded a video to embed into their blog. The students then wrote other classes around the world to send their "high hopes" and they placed them, along with their own and a video camera, and sent the balloon off. The students watched the balloon travel by using Google Maps and watched the video feed from the balloon. This project really was outside of the box.

In the Blended Learning Cycle and Paul Anderson is all about flipping classrooms. Blended learning is blending online, mobile, and classroom by using the five E's, Engage, Explore, Explain, Expand, and Evaluate.

We also need to incorporate QUIVERS which stands for
QUestion
Investigate
Video
Evaluate
Review
Summary Quiz

I really liked Sam Payne's 5th Grade. We need to teach our children about internet safety and reliable internet sources. We also need to make sure our students are specific. In one part of the video, a students said "gives information," Payne replied that if he is going to say that, he needs to state what kind of information is being given. Another lesson we can learn from Sam Payne is to keep our lessons relevant to the students. Payne was teaching 5th grade and was teaching about internet safety by letting the students create a super hero. Any child in elementary school would love to build their own super hero, so Payne made sure he was relating to the students' interests. Another lesson we can learn from Payne (and Spider Man) is that "With great power comes great responsibility."

Project Based Learning is a video about integrating subjects into one class by using Project Based Learning. By doing so, the students have more time to work on their projects. The students are alos learning real world experiences. As a future teacher, I learned that I need to give good feedback and to never let my students give up just because they think they are done. Getting feedback from myself and their peers, a student may have to correct a project multiple times, but it will be an end result that they are proud of.

Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program gives a simple definition of Project Based Learning. PBL is
In depth learning
Integrated thematic instruction
Based on a "real world" problem
Research based
Project and presentation
PBL lets students show that they know the material without taking a test, they have to produce and present a project. PBL is based on a student's choice, the students decide how they want to do their project and the teacher is there as a tool. This makes the students self-motivated and puts them in charge of their own learning, which is what I like about it.