Notes from Boss and Krauss, Chapter 6 and 7

Chapter 6: Project Launch--Implementation Strategies

Important-- fill kids will optimism and enthusiasm, teach prerequisite concepts (in a way that doesn't kill optimism and enthusiasm)

--Before and after the project, have students complete a self-assessment in which they consider the concepts and dispositions that they will learn (metacognition)


    Tools for this: blogs, ProfilerPRO, SurveyMonkey, Zoomerang

"Good projects start by tapping students' prior knowledge" (p. 96)
--KWL charts
   *I have learned that high schoolers HATE KWL charts.  They think they are babyish. 


--Image studies

--Role-playing predictions 



Teaching the Fundamentals
--Small lectures/readings/activities on information/concepts/skills that will set the foundation for students' inquiry 

--Setting norms for online and in-person collaboration, time management, technology use

--Sharing the assessment rubric

--Preparing technology (set up "technology playground" p. 102)
    *Amy and I talked about each group/kid setting up their own historical researcher's toolbox in which kids maintain a list of resources that they have at their disposal... media center databases, specific websites, interview techniques, etc

--Tap into student expertise-- find out students' skills and knowledge so they can be resources to each other

Promoting Inquiry and Deep Learning 

By creating good driving questions, students are pushed to think deeply and create their own questions.  

Good driving questions often start with "Which one?" "How?" "Should?" "Why?" or "What if?"


*Nice chart on page 109


Chapter 7: A Guiding Hand--Keeping a Project Moving

 "Keeping a project moving requires teachers to support students on their learning journey.  It doesn't always unfold the way you expect.  This is where the art of teaching comes in" (p. 113).

Teachers should...
-- be curious and observant about student understanding
-- be flexible
-- willing to shift from dispenser of information to faciliator



Consider different levels of classroom discussion:
--Teacher to teacher
--Student to student
--Teacher to student


--Need to shift towards more higher order questions.  "How do you know?" "What did you notice?" "Why do you think that happened?"


--Questions for Checking In

•      Procedural
•      Teamwork
•      Understanding
•     Self-assessment

Two other considerations-- optimizing technology and managing conflict