Reading Reflection Chapter 7

Description of the levels of classroom discussions.

The book breaks this down into three main types of discussion involving: teacher-teacher discussions, student-student discussions, and teacher-student discussions. Each level of conversation yields its own purpose, causing new information to be discovered and un-thought-of questions to be asked. One of the most rewarding discussions will be student-student conversations. Since they are the ones who are trying to take away new information from this topic that they may know nothing about, it is important that they influence each other in a positive manner, making learning fun and not lame.

Discussion on the questions for “checking in” on students during a project.

The book divides the “checking in” questions into four subcategories: procedural, teamwork, understanding, and self-assessment. It is important to ask questions coming from each category in order to know how the project is going and what needs to be changed. The book gives all sorts of example questions that can be used to stem a deeper discussion with the class and I will probably refer back to them when the information is more relevant.

Discussion on the benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology.

This chapter always talks about technology this and technology that. The students which are allowed to use cool technology in the class will be encouraged by the teacher and might see the class as more hip than what it once was. For example, if cell phones are usually prohibited in the classroom, bringing them in to help students gain a better understanding of the project that is being taught could be beneficial.

Discussion on the 21st-century skills that can make or break a project.

Technology can serve as a distraction, sometimes. It is best to be prepared always for the problems which might arise with technology. An example would be trying to operate a projector to show a powerpoint to your class, but for some reason, you can’t get it to turn on. Although this is a fairly common problem, it should be prepared for.

Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

This project, like any other project, will have outlets for children to become very distracted with their original assigned task. Especially when we have our students making their own weather-measuring devices, it will be extremely important to stress the importance of using the tools for what they are for and not to harm other students or be disruptive with them. Perhaps this can be accomplished before each lesson by allowing time for the students to carefully pick up each object and guess what it might be used for.