Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Projects & Deeper Thinking

In my classroom, I can use projects to allow students the opportunity to investigate and explore to find their own answers. Students will be able to research, gather information, and create models/ presentations. The classroom is more student-centered. Students are able to relate to the material especially if the project relates to real-life situations. I believe students will retain more information if they are able to investigate and discover answers to questions on their own. When students are given an open-ended focus question and project to complete, they are able to be more creative and flexible with their thoughts and investigations.

2 comments:

  1. Your classroom sounds like the kind of classroom that I try to have. I struggled with having it be student-centered because the students don't take responsibility for their work and learning. I totally agree about students being able to relate to the material better if the project relates to real-life situations. Sometimes I don't think students believe me that they will one day have a particular situation happen to them. Maybe I need to create more open-ended focus questions and projects.

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  2. Hey Megan! I know how hard you work every day to motivate your little first graders to succeed. I've witnessed however, that you are often unable to achieve your goals for instructions with your students due to the number of children with behavior problems and self control issues who interfere with effective learning in your classroom. I pray for you often that you continue to find inner strength and fortitude to "hang in there" because believe it or NOT---you're certainly making a positive difference in the lives of your first graders!

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