Reading Reflection 7

There are three levels of classroom discussion.  The first level is teacher to teacher.  Teacher to teacher likely involves procedure.  An example of this would be what the plan tomorrow would be, or asking who would lead an activity.  The second level of classroom discussion is student to student.  Students should be discussing what they are learning during the process of the project.  This should occur between students in their own group, as well as students in other groups.  The third level is teacher to student.  Lecture should not dominate teacher to student interactions in a project based classroom.  However, there are times that it will be important to address all of the students.  This may occur when it is important to teach a skill that is important for the students to use while working on their projects.
There are four different types of questions teachers should ask the students when they are "checking in" on the progress of their project.  One type of question is procedural. Procedural involves asking the students if they are staying on schedule, or if they have the right materials available.  The next type of question would be about teamwork.  The teacher should ask the students if they are getting along with everyone else in their group, or if one student is carrying too much of the load than the rest of group.  Another type of question the teacher should ask is about understanding.  Teachers should make sure students are understanding the information they are learning during the project.  the last type of question is about self assessment.  The teacher should ask what the students are thinking about in terms of their project.  This will provide a form of self assessment for students that are participating in the project.
Teachers should be asking students questions about optimizing the use of technology during their project.  One example of this would be asking the students if technology is helping them reach their learning goals, or is it making them go off track.  Another example of a question the teacher should ask would be if technology is helping students stay organized.  Are the students using tools that will help them stay organized?  The next example would be asking the students if the use of technology is helping them connect to outside experts that have great knowledge of their subject topic.  The last example would be asking the students if they have access to the technologies that they need.
One of the 21st century skills that can make or break a project would be managing conflict.  Managing conflict can be done if a group has teamwork.  It is important to pay attention at the beginning of the project to make sure that the students have good teamwork.  This will help prevent major conflict among the group.  Teamwork is a real life skill that will benefit them for years to come.
A great amount of topics in this chapter relate to our project.  The topic that relates to our group the most is discussion.  Discussion is very important when it comes to our project.  It is very important to know what each group member is working on at all times so that we are all on the same page.  An example of this would be the assignments we have that we are not allowed to do the same topic.  Without discussion it is a great possibility that two of us in our group may end up doing the same topic for that particular assignment.