This article discusses the instructional strategies of Greene County Middle School science teacher José Garcia. Mr. Garcia employs challenge-based learning, which marries project-based learning with student inquiry and makes effective use of technology.
What makes up a productive design team?
How do we capitalize on everyone’s skills?
In today’s workforce, individuals with various skill sets typically work together in teams on specific projects or challenges. During this team formation stage, it is important to consider roles and responsibilities and discuss the developmental nature of teams.
This was another aspect that I found crucial in my attempt at collaborative teams and challenge questions this year. The make-up of the teams was very crucial. Careful observation of accountable talk, engagement, and student roles through the use of observation charts helped me group the students in more appropriate groups and still give them some choice as to who they could work with. Heterogeneous vs. homogeneous groups were key. I hope to explore this in more depth through this challenge based model.
"Challenge Based Learning applies what is known about the emerging learning styles of high school students and leverages the powerful new technologies that provide new opportunities to learn to provide an authentic learning process that challenges students to make a difference."
"In Project Based Learning (PBL), students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. While allowing for some degree of student "voice and choice,""
In reviewing this I found that you can sign up for select topics that you will be sent e-mails with updated or new info. in those focus groups. I also like that this gives worksheets and other planning/organizational tools Perhaps others may find this helpful.
Are there "penalities" for not doing well on these tests? Can a student be denied graduation? I know this is coming in PA with the Keystone Exams. I also believe remediation (in 12th grade) is a requirment if you are not proficient on the PSSA in 11th grade.
I would suggest "demonstrates" rather than has. I also think that one of our greatest challenges in schools - teachers, leaders and students - is coming to some common understanding of what these terms mean, especially in the 21st century. For example, our understanding of collaboration is probably all over the board from "works in groups" to uses social networking sites to connect with other experts.
Does Apple really define this? While they funded the study, I wonder if attaching their name may give the impression that the corporate world is now identifying what we as educators ought to be doing. Maybe...Through research funded by Apple Computer...
While I agree with this as well, the challenge is how do we prepare teachers to engage in this instruction. Also, as I was reading I kept thinking, this sounds much like differentiated instruction...how do the two fuse together?
Here is where you take everything you've said and make your case as a an alternative to the way teachers traditionally prepare students for standardized tests.
How do we break this cycle? If this is true, then wouldn't it be reasonable to say that the future teachers in our classes would continue this, I mean besides those of us in this class, aren't we just preparing a new wave of teachers to continue following our bad models.
Good point. When our only references are those based in our own learning experiences how do we get away from that? I guess constant reflection on our own process and close attention to our students.
Yes, Jen. I think reflection is the key. And hopefully that is what we are doing here. Through reflection, you'll be able to gather some new knowledge to move your own classroom toward better alternatives to test preparation.
How might we meet the needs of the system and the needs of the learners
Great picture. The first thing that came to my mind however was what does this look like at a high school setting where students are competitive or on the other extreme, just going through the motions. How do we bring the enjoyment of learning to the high schools and continue a model of creativity?
Through collaboration, creativity, exploration, and sharing students can be assessed in a real world way.
I think you are right, this is a good summation of your ideas, we need to continue rewarding those who go outside the box of the traditional testing model and recognize the possibilities of engaging students at a new level and making assessment just a brief stop and a progression in a longer journey of learning the 'big ideas'.
You mentioned "negative" modes of testing. If assessment is a valuable part of learning - I believe it is...valuable feedback - what are the postive ways we assess student learning?