Project-Based And Social-Emotional Learning Analysis

Project Based Learning is a teaching method that allows students to gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. Through this approach students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Beautiful Stuff! is a book written by Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini that shares the journey of real teachers in a real school who were inspired by educators from Reggio Emilia, Italy. Cathy Topal spent two mornings a week in the preschool and kindergarten as a visual aid teacher. Lella Gandini consulted with teachers about aspects of the Reggio Emilia approach. The teachers in book Rite Harris and Debbie Grubbs observed and recorded what happens when the focus is on process rather than product in project- based learning. The book provides approaches on how to nurture the creativity of children, which is a key part in a child’s development. In my paper I will summarize the five chapters within the book, along with providing two researched based article on project based learning (PBL), and give insight into my beliefs of project work with children.

Finally, there is a point to be made for the partnerships that are created in this program, specifically in student/youth and educator/mentor interactions. Considering there is surely an opportunity for “mentors” to pass along their expertise and knowledge in this collaborative environment, it should not be understated how valuable such positions are. In this case, the mentor helps one or more project teams find a project vision if they do not already have one, and then to help them realize that vision, and guide them along the way. They should be expected to pass on their knowledge of proper tool usage and safety measures while helping to show the importance of “failure as a means to success” is nurtured.

The beginning of the chapter two included a section that discussed the dilemma of trying to introduce what is learned in the classroom in the work place. I recently just experience the difficultly of trying to utilize material I am currently learning in my EDPH 502 Individual Learning Differences course, at my fieldwork site. I tried to give feedback to my supervisor of how to improve the Puente program and was given a practical response of the program lacking the resources and a full time staff to monitor sections of the program can be improved at the moment. Collaboration was another topic in Chapter two that connected to me at my current employment as a Student Program Advisor for the USC Trio Educational Talent Search (ETS) Program. Ardoin (2014) mentions how an individual has to be patient when searching for a collaborative project. At the moment I am working on assignments that were given to me, but it was only a few months ago that I was asked to collaborate with other colleagues of mine on a project. The inclusion of being asked to assist with a group project allowed my opinion matter and

I appreciate when you say, “The teacher can aid the children in meeting and playing with each other by setting up projects and activities in small groups of children.” However, I think my approach would be a little different in the fact that I would want to foster their abilities to make decisions and not so much if forcing them into friendships they do not want. I believe that using a Social Emotional Learning model in my classroom will teach children to understand their emotions and form friendships/relationships that are best for their development. If you found a certain child does not get along with another would you want them to work together more often to create a friendship or stay apart to develop other healthy friendships?

The first objective that my service learning project can relate to is objective five. This is to analyze the historically and morally necessary forces of change that brought an end to slavery and segregation, as well as second-class citizenship for women and people of color (Course Objectives, 2015). Bringing the history of slavery and segregation to the forefront may be difficult at times, but it is important to know just how far America has come. Understanding and analyzing the events that abolished segregation also allows individuals to consider racial tensions that still arise in current society.

At Cano, the teachers heavily emphasized “Project Based Learning” in their classrooms. In theory, this method of teaching is supposed to help prepare students for the real world by forcing people to work with others and communicate with each other in order to get the project completed. However, in reality, most of the students didn’t care and would leave the project up to the one or two people who actually wanted a good grade. While they did nothing but play on their phones, the one or two people would be burdened with the task of completing the project by themselves. To counter this, teachers would tell their students that they would be graded on their own individual part of the project and wouldn’t have to worry about the other group members messing up their grade. What they failed to realize was that most people can’t do it by themselves. They need the rest of the group to help and do their part of the project in order to complete their own. Because of this, I spent many sleepless nights working on projects that should have been done by a team, not by one person. Cano did a horrible job at preparing me for high school. Very rarely did I ever get individual assignments or homework, so once I went to high school and saw how much work I needed to do, I wasn’t ready. At TSTC, most of the professors use individual assignments and hardly ever give group assignments. This way, I saw how I was doing as a

in-class teaching strategies that aim to build on individual strengths and interests, such as through project-based learning

In my class website, their icons are Superman and Batman. They are very big fans of these superheroes. We even got Social Norms on the board. "You don´t get what you want, you get what you work for. ¨ It is in our classroom on the wall close to the door. Success is not always about greatness, It´s about Consistent. Consistent HARD WORK gains success. Greatness will come. It is a quote. In Project Based Learning, you got to apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. And in Textbooks, you understand and remember. I like Project Based Learning more than Textbooks. All of the projects we were done were, Planter Boxes, Road Trip, Website, Newtons Cradle, Respect Skit, Pay it Forward, Footbridge Model, Government Mural, Biomes, Poetry, Native American Story, Cooking, Timeline of the United States, Flood Plan Newspaper Department well as a teacher. They both have a way of making Mountain Home Idaho a better place. On the May 19th, we will be having a big surprise party when the Mayor walks

This project also benefited me academically because it required me to work in groups. Group work

Carolina High School, a school with 100% of the population on Free and Reduced Lunch, is currently in year three of the implementation of the project-based learning model. According to English and Kitsantas (2013), “The student’s role in PBL is to take responsibility for their learning and make meaning of the knowledge and concepts they encounter” (p. 131). Additionally the teacher’s role is to facilitate this type of learning through structured activities that stimulate motivation and promote reflection as well as provide meaningful scaffolding, feedback, guidance, and prompts for thinking. Through observation data, it has been noted that when asked, the students cannot articulate the purpose of each activity they are completing within the

More than ever before, our country needs schools that will prepare today’s youth for the challenges and opportunities they face, youth who will become knowledgeable, responsible, and caring citizens and leaders for the future. An outstanding education prepares students to be strong in a wide range of academic disciplines. This essay focuses on Social Emotional Learning and how to implement and sustain it within schools so that students can achieve greater academic success.

2. Cooperative learning directed towards focusing on students’ team work while doing their project assignments.

Collaborative learning stems from the theory of Vygotsky’s conception of Zone of proximal development. The thought is that children learn best with “help and guidance” (Ormrod, 2012). In transitioning this zone to a collaborative learning experience, children work with their peers in broadening their learning experience, allowing small groups of students to work together to share knowledge, exchange ideas, problem solve, and more. These classroom environments help to create durable abilities in students and aid in producing a “smoother integration into adult society when the activities resemble real-world tasks” (Ormrod, 2012). As students work with peers and adults, they adopt some of the learning strategies demonstrated and develop more skills in problem solving. This scaffolding creates a trickle-down effect of knowledge construction. In collaborative learning, students are afforded a myriad of enriching opportunities to explore perspectives that may differ from their own. These activities serve to create a self-awareness in the student of their responsibilities to a group, requiring them to self-monitor their activity (Lee, Tsai, Chai, & Koh, 2014).

One thing I realized from doing this project was that I was motivated. For example, group work helped me to stay motivated and focused on the topic even when the topic sometimes confused me. This is because group work allowed me to interact and discuss the topic with group members instead of just reading articles. Moreover, it forced me to be responsible to others and, frequently then, to do more and better work on the project than I might have done when only responsible

It makes more the students be interested in the topic and motivated to learn. Nowadays, it is usually used by teachers in teaching their subject. 21st century learners are techy and computer literate, the passages of information is faster. The more you used technology and unique programs, the more they listen and participate