Knowledge

• ever-widening circle of teachers

• technology information with authentic and meaningful context

  • how to make a web page - tables, backgrounds, hyperlinks, email

  • image work - digital images, cropping, masking, compressing

• collecting class work

• Bev Hanson  http://starcatholic.ab.ca/stben/classes/2h/munsch.htm

Comprehension

• teaching students technology skills

• coaching, sharing technology expertise with one another

• beginning to explain the procedure of documenting student work

• Cheryl Weighill - http://www.youngchildrenslearning.ecsd.net/cw%20tops%20and%20bottoms.htm

Application

• selecting project topic, choosing which segments to use, narrowing focus

• planning, then putting into action all the best ideas

• applying expertise

• social dialogue to construct and to solve problems

“Without the students there would be no website. As children got excited and shared ideas with others about what they would be using in their journals, as reflections on fieldtrips, or information learned on topics of study they had purpose for committing their thoughts to print. As their ideas were valued by being put on a website they were further encouraged and had another purpose for writing. As students collaborated with the teacher, older students and each other a meaningful website evolved. Their ideas for what should be included on the website and how the ideas be delivered made the project meaningful for all the people involved.”

In like manner, as the students contributed to the excitement, so too, teachers contributing their ideas and interacting with each other build enthusiasm, energy, and creativity.

e.g. District Assessment for Learning - synopsis - then application

http://www.youngchildrenslearning.ecsd.net/assessment_for_learning.htm

Analysis

• completing the project report forms, using Bloom's Taxonomy to take the learning apart and see the unique characteristics

• analyzing the work

• comparing to and discovering from other's works on similar topics

• http://www.youngchildrenslearning.ecsd.net/hatching_chicks.htm

Synthesis

• taking past project work learning and creating a new project

• forming and working with a team to construct and design a new web/project

• creating a new piece of work - Cara Fedorak

• Movie Making- http://www.moviemaking.ecsd.net/

http://www.moviemaking.ecsd.net/cackett.htm

Evaluate

• using the project rubrics to judge or decide

• initiating a competition and rubrics

• measuring success, reflecting

• recommending to others

• contributing to world knowledge

• new ways to demonstrate learning - student conferences

• leading practice

“The students were very excited about being able to gather information off the internet and discover actual photos of planets and space vehicles. They wanted to see how what we were learning was going to be shared with others and were more than willing to use the digital camera to collect data to put on the web. Parents are also anxious to see what the children have been doing as part of our space study.”

An important impact of our growth as learners and teachers, we believe, is that our students have improved learning opportunities. We can now see everything through an inquiry project based lens, and how this is helping our students to do the same.  They are far more curious, inquisitive, problem solvers and have voice and choice in the method, activities and how they understand different aspects of curriculum.

Teaching should come from an inquiry stance. Explaining questions to our students, enlisting their help in finding answers, discussing what the teacher is learning and ask them what they are finding out. Throughout the inquiry process teachers find that they are more explicit when teaching and become better at taking a metacognitive stance themselves while modeling it to their students.

”...children are constantly evaluating their discoveries; researching for more facts and then reorganizing their knowledge to construct habitats for their animal; questioning; comparing and contrasting; seeing relationship. The beauty of this inquiry is that the thinking skills they are using daily will give them the sense of accomplishment that they will recognize always as part of real learning!”

“Analysis and evaluating are the only level they seem to be working at these days!”

Self/Student/Peer/Global Evaluation:  Human Body Project

http://www.thehumanbody.ecsd.net/impact%20on%20the%20world.htm

Front page of Medical Laboratory Observer magazine out of Florida: http://www.mlo-online.com/ - using drawing from gr. 2 student