Group items tagged

Building positive group work ethics in project-based learning Teach_Tec 4 Nov 2011 8:59 AM 0 Can you think of a job or profession that is done alone? No co-workers to consult, no team responsible for contributing different pieces of a project, no meetings (well, maybe that might be okay ; ) It's hard to come up with many. Artist? Author? (at least during the initial writing process). We could probably come up with a few more, but the list is relatively short. Working in teams, collaborating with others in our work and life is fundamental. Not only do we gain social benefits, but the ability to combine the strengths of a team most often leads to a better end result. Though we've all heard that initial reaction from students as a group project is introduced: 'Can we pick our own groups?' or even worse, 'Do I have to be with him/her?' The skills of working effectively in groups need to be coached, practiced and encouraged. So when you see reflective comments such as these (from real students) it is encouraging: "A good team looks like a team that is on task, getting along and sharing." (5th grade) "A good team looks like a friendly team with members working together. I have learned practical skills that will help me get a job." (5th grade) "A good team looks and sounds like they are working together, improvising, compromising, discussing ideas calmly and working out disagreements." (6th grade) "In the real world you may have to work with people you do not like and you need to know how to still be productive." (6th grade) So how did these students get here? Pauline Roberts, a 5th and 6th grade teacher at the Birmingham Covington School in Bloomfield Hills, MI has made developing these skills a priority. The unique program she and her colleagues have collaborated on at this 3rd - 8th grade public school is called ENGAGE. The focus is to embed 21st century skills across multiple grades and all parts of the curriculum with a specific

I saw a guest post on a blog about how new teachers can connect to their students. It had some great advice on it-things like "praise in public but reprimand in private," and "admit when you're wrong." Absolutely, and as a teacher I can testify that those ideas are very effective.

As I shared in my popular post 21st Century Educators Don't Say, "Hand It In." They say, "Publish It!, publishing to an authentic audience is much more powerful than publishing to an audience of one (the teacher) or some (classmates, parents). It also enables students to produce real work that has real world meaning and empowers them with a valuable skill necessary for success in life. Knowing how to develop and share a message that can make a difference.

Steve Wheeler shares a presentation Web 3.0: The way forward?. Steve takes a three-fold view of web development: 1.0=linking, 2.0=participation, 3.0=existing data reconnected for smarter uses. Stephen Downes responds "let me be the first to name the new web: Web eXtended (or just Web X)…idea of Web X is that it combines web 2.0 (social web) and web 3.0 (semantic web) to create what I have called, in the past, the semantic social web. But it's more than just that, because it takes these and moves them off the web and into your hand. And more than just that, because it's the web of data, the geoweb, augmented media, the 3D web, and more. The eXtended web - the web, extended from the internet, into your life."

Collaborating on a debate assignment with Google Docs and Social Bookmarks This evening I'm in Denton, Texas, and my son is back in Edmond, Oklahoma. He needed some help with his advanced debate class assignment, in which he's researching the definition of "Objectivism" and writing some attacks as well as defenses for it. Thankfully, as a 7th grader he knows how to use both Google Documents as well as Delicious social bookmarks. He called me this evening after our weekly K-12 Online Conference organizer Skype call, and I helped him brainstorm ideas for his assignment. It was REALLY cool for both of us to work synchronously on the same Google Doc, and watch the text in real-time which we were both adding to the document. It was also great to see the social bookmarks he'd already saved on his delicious account for "objectivism," and make some suggestions for other sites he could utilize.

Math Fun Facts are ideas and puzzles that will change the way you think.

Learning never stops, but for it to start, it must be engaging and have relevance to the learner. The process is cyclical, starting with a big idea which provides a real-world context, and continues through to reflection, where the initial assumptions are revisited and where to go next is explored.

Learn about the 21st Century Literacy project and our philosophy.Discuss your ideas and concerns on our Google Group pages. Find answers on the FAQ page.

While reading Professional Learning Communities at Work™, I considerably marked up the margins with check marks and the letter U; the check marks meant "this is so important" and the Us symbolized that the ideas, as I saw them, were important because they were actually universal truths. Concepts like curiosity, practice, cooperation, support, reflection, and growth that first appeared in the introduction said to me that this book provided elements that are ageless and timeless. I knew that what was being explored could be meaningful for anyone, in any circumstance, and in any environment.

Lots of web resources, project ideas

This site has great ideas, how to's and inspiring examples for digital storytelling