Chapter 7 - Reflection

Walk by a classroom and you will hear lots of laughter and chatter! This chatter you hear is learning and this dialogue can be explained in three tiers; teacher to teacher, student to student, and teacher to student. Teacher to teacher describes the planning and collaboration between teachers. Student to student occurs between collaborate groups and across groups. Finally, there is the teacher to student dialogue.

Teachers need to remember that there are always chances to check learning; this cannot be overused! We want the students to be independent learners, so questions should promote self-reflection.  However, the best questions are one that the students and teachers both learn from!

Just as questions need to be thoughtful, the use of technology in the classroom should be meaningful as well. Make sure the technology helps students reach learning goals and stay organized. Technology should expand the students’ learning. Many of the 21^st Century Skills we have discussed can really make a difference in how successful your project turns out. For example team collaboration is such a valuable, real world tool for students. As a teacher, anticipate problem areas, but facilitation is a better approach as opposed to avoidance; your students will learn to work cooperatively in school and in life.

My project utilizes 21^st Skills in many ways. Students will be first introduced to many different forms of technology. Also, they will be involved in many student to student discussions during their collaborative group work.