Class 3 Homework Ch 4 - Pitfalls to avoid!

[Jane Krauss]

You've done projects before. What pitfalls can you anticipate and avoid? Let's teach each other. I'll go first.

[Deirdre]

I too have problems with time management when I work in the realm of PBL. I don't seem to schedule enough time for kids to think and talk together about their ideas. I always seem to get caught up in the class management aspect, ie - there’s always somebody who is off task, and needing redirection. When I find myself giving reminders/and redirections to students, I assume they are finished thinking/working together. Only to find out they only scratched the surface, and many need more time. I would like to find better prompts for students to keep them on track, and effectively using their time. It seems to me that the learning process seems rushed when after two days of group project time, the students are not where I expected them to be, and I have to push them to get on task.

[Jane Krauss]

Everyone's replies are NAILING the next phase of our work-- planning with the end in mind. Thanks for your willingness to share, everyone. Here we GO!

[Brian Holte]

Pitfalls have been me:
1. Too many tasks, too little time.
2. The evaluation gets cut short (if done at all).
3. Too difficult for the mid-and lower-skilled students
4. Not prepped enough, 'cuz too much to prep.
5. Too many students have too little experience and/or ability to self-manage.
6. HW required to complete the project (but too many stu's don't do it as needed).
7. Tech resource (i.e., laptops in COW) not always available for duration of project. Also some students do not have Web access at home.

[Jane Krauss]

Pitfalls have been YOU? or reality of school?
1. Too many tasks, too little time. -- Are we paring down to the essential? During projects can we forgo spelling or some other time suck?
2. The evaluation gets cut short (if done at all). YEP, or we assess the wrong stuff.
3. Too difficult for the mid-and lower-skilled students. We need to plan for differentiated experiences.
4. Not prepped enough, 'cuz too much to prep. Again, paring down, jettisoning.
5. Too many students have too little experience and/or ability to self-manage. That's why we need mini demonstration project that gets at the skills of project learning, including how kids manage themselves. Very meta.
6. HW required to complete the project (but too many stu's don't do it as needed). Assign team homework, require them to get together?
7. Tech resource (i.e., laptops in COW) not always available for duration of project. Change some of the school expectations on this-- and your own. I'd like to talk about this more, have ideas. Also some students do not have Web access at home. There's an asset mapping exercise to do here-- Make the city library branch or school lab or neighbor a resource. (I have a story about the Phillippines, please ask me)

[Deirdre]

I think it is a great idea to assign group work for homework. But, can we really expect students to get together and study or work together outside of school/class hours? I do think that friends study together. (if friends are grouped together than they actually have an advantage over other groups who do not have social interactions on a regular basis.) Perhaps, that is how these social networking pages can work. If students extend there group time together through internet tools, then we have accomplished an important learning objective. I still need to understand more fully how to add social networking, blogs, or wiki’s, and all the other technical dimensions (21Centry skills?) to my project based learning curriculum

[Susan]

My biggest pitfall is remembering that projects take a lot more time than I schedule for. Then I am scrambling to fit the project into other areas of the curriculum, which makes the project seem disjointed.

[Jane Krauss]

I understand 'disjointed'. Wouldn't it be nice if we could give other subjects a rest during project time and really dedicate the time it deserves? (I'm being provocative here.) Could we drop spelling and handwriting and SSR?