Blog Post #9

What can teachers and students teach us about 

project based learning?

Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning

Below are key points from the article Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning byJohn Larmer and John R. Mergendoller. The points are critical keys to each part of PBL.

1. A Need to Know
• "Teachers can powerfully activate students' need to know content by launching a project with an "entry event" that engages interest and initiates questioning."
• This is a perfect way to motivate student in their learning.
• Teachers should motivate by suggesting that they will need it later in life, instead of "it will be on the test"
2. A Driving Question
• Have questions that brings students to discussion
• "A good driving question captures the heart of the project in clear, compelling language, which gives students a sense of purpose and challenge"
• What is the point?
• Gives students a sense to think about at the beginning of a unit or an assignment
3. Student Voice and Choice
• Project-based learning is key
• If students have a choice within a project given in a class, they seem to work harder and are prouder when they bring personality into the project.
4. 21st Century Skills
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Critical Thinking
• Use of technology
• Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in PBL
5. Inquiry and Innovation
• Research
• Not "copy & paste" information, but search deep to answer questions.
6. Feedback and Revision
• Reflection is KEY
• Peer feedback
• Rubrics
• PBL: What motivates students today
• Encourage
• Compliment
7. A Publicly Presented Product
• Real audience

Project Based Learning for Teachers

I absolutely loved this video! It is a great start video to Project-Based Learning, stating clearly and simply the main points of Project-Based Learning. I could see myself showing this video to my students on the first day of class to give them a little heads up to how learning in my class will be done through PBL. Good words popped up on the video like "Questioning, Investigating, Sharing, and Reflecting" which are great for the students to hear and think about when it comes to their learning. The video also had MANY examples and ideas of PBL!

Project #14 Individual

Project Based Learning Plan #2

University of South Alabama

Department of Leadership and Teacher Education

K – 6 Teacher Education Lesson Plan Format

Sarah Byrd                                                   

3rd Grade                                            

Time Required: 45-60min

I.      Science

• Classify substances as soluble or insoluble.

II.     Behavioral Objectives

• Students will identify and label the effects of certain materials in water through an experiment testing the solubility of each material given to student. Also, students will fill in information regarding the lecture on a worksheet. Students should have a 90% accuracy with this experiment.

III.    Lesson Concepts

• Solution:  mixture of substances that are evenly spread throughout each other; particles in a solution are molecular in size.
• Solvent:  part of a solution that is usually present in the larger amount.
• Solute:   part of a solution that is usually present in the smaller amount.
• Dissolves:  breaks up into the smallest particles of that substance so that a solution forms.
• Dilute:  a solution containing a relatively small quantity of solute as compared with the amount of solvent.
• Which material is more soluble than another?
• What are the properties of Solutions?

IV.    Materials

Dissolving Investigation Worksheet. Pencil. Solutions and Solubility Powerpoint. Computer. Smart Board. Transparent drinking cups. Paper towels. Plastic spoons. Sand. Chalk. Flour. Rice. Coffee grounds. Sugar. Salt. Gravy. Water.

V.     Teaching/Learning Procedures

1. Motivation: Students will be motivated by having a fun hands-on experiment, and will receive a grade on “Dissolving Investigation” worksheet.
2. Instructional Procedures
• During lecture students will fill in vocabulary questions on “Dissolving Investigation” Worksheet
• Once the experiment slide comes up on the screen students will then work in table groups of 4 and start the experiment. Procedure will be up for the class to see and they can begin their experiment.
• Fill the clear glass with water.
• Select materials from list on “Dissolving Investigation” Worksheet
• Label each cup by writing the material chosen on a piece of tape and stick it on your chosen cup. Only one material for each cup!
• Use the plastic spoon to pick up a scoop of the material.
• Gently shake the material into the glass of water labeled with that material.
• 3 scoops should end up in the glass.
• Stir with plastic spoon
• Continue until your group has 8 labeled cups with 3 scoops of the material chosen in each cup.
• Observe what is happening to the material  once it is stirred into the water. Does the material dissolve or not? Is the material soluble or insoluble?
3. Closure: Students will complete worksheet in class, and if not finished will be finished for homework. Experiment WILL be completed in class.

VI.    Assessment/Evaluation

• Lecture during “Solutions and Solubility” powerpoint, and ask for student participation to answer questions and give examples. Teacher observations during experiment, and help with questions from students. Worksheet will be graded the following day for completion and accuracy.

VII.   Supplemental Activities

• Students who finish early will be asked to clean up early and read for the remainder of the class period.
• Students who need remediation in Solutions and Solubility will be provided with videos (Youtube) that they can watch at home, and look over “Dissolving Investigation” Worksheet while watching these videos.
• Soluble and insoluble materials - Experiment - Elementary Science
• Soluble and Insoluble

Dissolving Investigation Worksheet

Power Point

Project #9

C4T #2

C4T #2

Stump the Teacher
By: Josh Stumpenhorst

Post #1
September 16th, 2014

Mr. Stumpenhorst's blog post was about his opinion of the new Common Core Standards for ELA. He mentioned the very overwhelming workload now for Reading and Writing. His worry is that because of the amount of work and pressure the teachers are putting on their students, the students will become "burn out" on Reading and Writing. Students will start to hate coming to class and develop a hatred for Reading and Writing. 

My Comment:

"I am a student at the University of South Alabama with the hopes of getting a degree in Early Childhood Education. This blog post brings me back to my high school english classes. I recall the amount of writing and reading I did, and although I have a very deep passion for reading, I didn't like going to my english class. It is a very real thing that students can get "burn out". I graduated in 2012 for Hoover High School in Birmingham, Alabama, and I thought back then that we did a ridiculous amount of work, so I can't imagine doing the work you're describing above, especially since you say that it is even overwhelming for the teachers. I am very curious to see how your school year will end and if the students will become "burn out" or not."

Post #2
September 5th, 2014

Mr. Stumpenhorst's blog post was very interesting. It was about how he told his students to do something and when a student asked "Why?" he gave a detailed explanation on why the activity was important to his learning. The student told Stumpenhorst that he expected him to say "because I said so", and that brought some questioning into the classroom. Stumpenhorst basically started stating that he believed it was important that teachers know why they are doing a certain activity! "As a teacher, if you can’t explain why we are doing something, then should you be doing it? Kids have the right to understand why they are being asked to do things in school and we have the obligation to explain that to them." Quoted by Stumpenhorst. 

My Comment:

I vividly remember getting the "because I said so" from my parents growing up, and would never have really thought to compare it in a classroom setting. You've simplified daily activities by your quote, "As a teacher, if you can't explain why we are doing something, then should you be doing it?" I do really enjoy this sentence; it is simple and smart. 

Blog Post #8

Teaching & learning from Randy Pausch

Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

The link above is the "last lecture" of Dr. Randy Pausch. As I sat down to watch this video to write my blog for the week I saw that the video was long and didn't expect to watch the whole thing, but I was wrong. Pausch's lecture video was very enticing that I even enjoyed watching it. After watching the video, where Pausch addresses three things:

1. My Childhood dreams
2. Enable the dreams of others
3. Lessons learned

I wondered what I could learn about teaching and learning from him, and I believe one of the main things I learned is that Pausch was ALWAYS learning more even when he was a professor himself.

Pausch was constantly learning from his colleagues, mentors, and students. He mentioned so many different people in his video that helped him and pushed him academically to be better. I love the story he mentioned in his video, where he gave his students a project to create something, and he was absolutly blown away with all the work the students had thought of. But instead on telling the students that this was a good standard he said, "good work, but I think everyone could do better" Pausch didn't want to limit the students with a standard, and it was the best thing he could do for them.

Overall, the video was very good. Dr. Randy Pausch was a very talented and successful man. He has taught me that I should ALWAYS be learning and pushing myself even after I finish school, and also to never limit my students. Very simple things that are great at inspiring me in my journey of teaching.

Project #13

Sarah Byrd
EDM310
Project #13 (Collaborative)
Group #1

Lesson Plan #1 Group 1 W6

Lesson Name:  Traveling to American Indian groups Category: Social Studies Grade Level: 5                       Lesson Number: 1 of 1 Date: Oct. 5, 2014

Alabama Standard(s): Distinguish differences among major American Indian cultures in North America according to geographic region, natural resources, community organization, economy, and belief systems. •  Locating on a map American Indian nations according to geographic region

Objectives: According to rubric in assessment.

Upon finishing the project of “traveling” to different tribes, students will be able to receive 90% of their points according the the rubric below.

Activities: Students will be giving a starting amount of “money.” All students will receive $500 to start their journey which will start in Mobile, Alabama. In this journey the student will be required to travel from one region of the country to “visit” the different tribes. At each tribe, the students will be required to “participate” in two activities to that particular culture. In participating, the student will have to research an activity done by those people and write a short (3-5 paragraphs) description of that activity. Ex: When visiting the Pueblo Indians the student can help “build a house” and in doing so the student will write a description of the the type of living arrangements on the Pueblo Indians. After they have participated in at least two activities then they will travel to another group. In doing so they will have to learn where the tribe is/was located. Being that the student will start out in Mobile, if their first stop is the Pueblo Indians, they will have to travel to Central Arizona to visit this group. The location will have to be researched by the students. The money comes into play with travel and activities. The student will have to pay to travel from region to region. The student will look up the distance between the two destination points (ex: Mobile and Arizona, a rough estimate of one state to another is acceptable). Mobile and Arizona are 1,591 miles apart. It will cost the student $3 to travel every 24 miles. The student will have to use math skills the figure this out. 1,591 miles distance/24 miles per gallon. Then that total will be multiplied by $3 per gallon of gas to find out how much that drive will cost them. In this case, $199. This would be subtracted from the original $500. The activities with the tribes will cost the student $100 per activity for the first two activities and $50 for the third activity on. After they have traveled to the region and done the activities, they will turn in that portion of the assignment (via a class blog). After it has been turned in, the student will receive more money for their travels. If the student traveled and did at least two activities, they will receive $500 more. If they travel and participate in one activity, they receive $200. If the travel and participate in no activities, the student will receive $150. The students will have to visit 8 different groups. Six if the groups are listed below and 2 of the groups will be at the student’s choosing. The goal is to have a little money as possible by the end of the journey. The student’s project will be graded by number of tribes visited (8 minimum, 6 of which are specified), number of activities performed (16 minimum), and how much money they have left (less than $50 for the best grade) by the end of the project. Part of the student’s grade will also come from from his or her list of sources (minimum of 16) due at the end of each section of the journey. In addition, spelling and and grammar count. The project is worth 50 points total. The summary at the end of each section of the journey (minimum of 8) will be on their class blog. This will include the tribe’s name, region of the country, how far the student traveled, what activities were performed, the total cost started out with and finishing with, and sources used (2 sources per tribe required). Groups to visit: Navajo Cherokee Siou Chippewa Choctaw Apache 2 nations of the students choosing.

Materials/ Equipment: Internet access, computer access, writing utensils and paper (if desired by the student to keep account of travels), and research material (decided on by the student).

Homework: Student will have some class time to work on this project, any time necessary to work on this project outside of the allotted time will be homework.

Assessment: 10 points 8 points 6 points 4 points 2 points 0 points Grammar/ Spelling No grammatical or spelling mistakes Minor grammatical or spelling mistakes Several grammatical or spelling mistakes Major grammatical or spelling issues Many major issues grammatically or in spelling Made no apparent attempt to follow grammatical or spelling rules Sources 16+ sources 12-15 sources 8-11 sources 5-7 sources 2-4 sources 0-1 sources Money left Less than $50 $50-$100 left $101-$175 left $176-$300 $301-$500 left $501+ left Tribes visited 8+ tribes 6-7 tribes 4-5 tribes 2-3 tribes 1 tribe 0 tribes Activities performed 16+ activities 12-15 activities 8-11 activities 5-7 activities 2-4 activities 0-1 activities ·

Blog Post #7

How Do We All Become Leaners?

• How to make an Audio QR Code.
• iPad Reading Center
• Poplet with Ginger Tuck
• AVL & Kindergarten Students

After watching these videos, I am blown away by the technology use in the classroom in today's elementary schools. Not only are the programs complex, but the students are able to use these programs with ease. Even kindergartners are using iPads to make web charts and use search engines to research! I am a little wary about all the technology in the classroom with such young students, because I grew up with paper and pencils and craft time, not computer time. I do love technology though, and have many strengths when it comes to technology. I have had a Mac computer since I was a senior in high school, and can easily navigate a Mac. I also can pick things up rather quickly, but some of the programs Dr. Strange has me doing in EDM310 is a little bit difficult. I am new to Google Drive, and it took me a couple weeks to finally get the hang of working through this. I believe that I will need to explore more of the different kinds of programs used in the classroom in order for me to effectively use them as a teacher. I do see myself using Project Based Learning in my classroom, and hopefully I will be able to master the technology being used and work through my weaknesses.


Project #7