Chapter 2:
Knowing who you teach is the first step in being able to plan a lesson or a project for the class. Getting to know your students on a personal level and learning about their interests means that you can use topics that interest your students and incorporate those topics into projects. Another important thing to keep in mind are ways to differentiate your teaching based on student needs. Looking at the baseline data and trends on assessments from previous years as well as assessments given in class can help to determine how much time to spend on topics and it can also influence how you group students for group work.
Chapter 3:
My wish list for creating a classroom where PBL can take place includes a class set of white boards and dry erase markers, construction paper, large chart paper, colored pencils, and tennis balls. I really like the idea of having cardboard dividers set up for students who are working independently. When everyone in the classroom is doing different things, having dividers will help students to stay focused. As far as the physical space of the classroom, I want to be able to move desks around for group work so using tennis balls to eliminate the noise of moving desks would help. I also want to incorporate movement in my classroom through stations or using rubber bands around the legs of the chair for students to fidget with.
I like the idea of table board dividers but the students would have to be well behaved. I can only imagine what ninth graders would do. I love all the other items.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the time and thought you spent reflecting on the importance of getting to know your students and taking time to review not only academic data but also finding out who your students are as people and knowing their unique interests and strengths.
You shared in Chapter 3 that you envision a pbl classroom structure where you can utilize spaces for both collaborative and independent work. I like the idea of dividers as well as flexible seating for your students with the options of grouping desks as tables.
Sincerely,
Dawn