When finding "the Big Idea" for a project, there are various things a teacher should consider. First of all, reviewing the standards for the specific subject(s) will help to meet those objectives for the curriculum. It is a good idea to also meet with other teachers to discuss these standards and come up with bigger ideas from them. Good questions to ask yourself when making a project is, "who cares about this?" and "who does it touch?". The big idea should focus on if the project is relevant in real life and helps to engage students in an authentic way. If the activities you plan on doing occur in the real world, it will be more affective than if it didn't. This will also lead to overlaps in different disciplines, which ultimately will increase understanding.
Since we live in the 21st century, we should be teaching students skills that are used in the real world. Teaching them skills that are needed in today's world will prepare them for success in the 21st century. Skills, such as analyzing, evaluating, creating, and applying, will help develop higher-order thinking in students. Under the enGauge 21st Century Skills model, Digital-Age Literacy, Inventive Thinking, Effective Communication, and High Productivity are the core skills to thrive in our world.
When it comes to the 21st Century literacies, various definitions can be considered to help reach an understanding of what it really means. Understanding, interpreting, creating, identifying, and communicating are all abilities that are associated with literacy. To achieve these skills, printing and writing materials should be used. Above all, learning to be independent, aware, and productive citizens is what literacy really entails.
There are 8 essential learning functions that will help students to succeed in a project. The first one is Ubiquity. The purpose of it is to learning inside and outside the classroom whenever possible. Such tools that can assist in this function are mobile phones, MP3 players, GPS's, and Web-based applications. The second function that is essential in learning is deep learning. This means that students should develop their own ideas instead of relying on other peoples' opinion. This calls for higher-order thinking and investigating through engagement. The third function, making things visible and discussable, results in showing rather than telling, conceptualizing with mind maps, seeing things too big/small/fast/slow for the naked eye, using digital artifacts to look at history, and graphical representation and modeling. By making ideas visible for others to see, more people can react and respond to it to further understanding. The fourth function deals with expression ourselves, sharing ideas, and building communities. A perfect resource for achieving this is the Internet. It allows students to communicate with people from all over to share their own personal ideas. Under the fifth function, collaboration is the focus. This means working with others, such as friends, family, the community, and people from all over the world, to learn and teach from one another. The sixth function involves research. This is a very critical function because it allows students to find answers on their own to help solve problems or answer questions. Project management is the seventh function. This deals with managing time, sources, work, and feedback. By organizing every aspect of the project, it will help to keep the end idea in mind and cause less stress and problems on the way. The last essential learning function is reflection and iteration. This means to look back at your work to reconsider some things you would might want to change or reshape an idea in a different way. This will lead to a deeper learning overall.
The ideas in this chapter relate to my own project in various ways. First of all, it is important to try and include the 21st century skills within our project as well as the 21st century literacies. By allowing students to engage fully in a project through literacy components such as reading, writing, listening, communicating, and critical thinking, they should gain a deeper understanding when the project is complete. We will also be using various essential learning functions, such as collaboration when we work with students from across the globe. Students will also have to work together to form ideas and problem solve which is also essential in project based learning.
I couldn't agree more that we need to be teaching our students skills that are used in the real world. This is a necessity if they are to succeed in the 21st-century. Teachers today have to find a way for their students to achieve deeper learning experiences. Project based learning is a fantastic way to achieve this if done correctly. I also agree that 21st century literacy is equally important to succeed in today's world. I am excited to work on our project and figure out how to implement the 8 essential learning functions that will help our students achieve higher learning and reach their goals during project based learning.
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