Teacher Toolkit for Project-based Classrooms
A WebQuest for Teachers
Designed by Adam Garry, Co-nect, Inc.
Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion |
A project-based classroom is an active environment that may appear more chaotic than a more traditional classroom:
- Students often work in collaborative groups.
- Students have independent access to research materials and resources, like the library or the Internet.
- Students talk to each other and share information on an ongoing basis.
- Students have a certain level of independence that allows them to address open-ended problems and questions.
In order to be effective, however, an active classroom requires an underlying order. Classroom management and grouping strategies in a project-based classroom need to be flexible enough to support project work, but they also need to maintain the discipline necessary for an effective environment where all students can learn at a high level and are held accountable for their work.
The driving question for this WebQuest is "What classroom management and student grouping strategies are most effective in a project-based classroom?"
In this WebQuest, you are going to work in a team to assemble a toolkit of best-practice ideas to help teachers in your school effectively manage their classrooms during project-based learning activities.
Working in a team of four, each person in your team is going to take responsibility for one of the following:
- General classroom management strategies for project-based learning
- Strategies and suggestions for grouping students
- Effective use of the "Jigsaw" method of student grouping
- Strategies for creating a positive classroom environment during project-based learning
By the end of the WebQuest, your team will have created a toolkit of information that addresses each of these categories, and every member of your team should have learned at least one new strategy or idea to use in his or her own classroom.
- First, each participant should choose a topic (unless your facilitator chooses one for you). The topics are:
|
Person A General
classroom management strategies for project-based learning
|
Person B Strategies and suggestions for grouping students |
|
Person C Effective use of the "Jigsaw" method of student grouping |
Person D Strategies for creating a positive classroom environment during project-based learning activities |
- Each person in the group will become an expert on his or her topic. Skip now to the directions that are associated with your topic.
Person A
Working with members of other groups who have been assigned the same task, you will become an expert on classroom management strategies.
Using the Web resources listed below (click on the links to visit them), make a list of the 8 classroom management strategies that you feel would be most valuable in a project-based classroom.
The Teacher's Guide classroom management ideas
Strategies for Classroom Management
Multiple topics for classroom management
Positive reinforcement and encouragement
- Prepare your information to report to your group.
- Return to your group and scroll down to Step # 3 in the process section.
Person B
Working with members of other groups who have been assigned the same task, you will become an expert on student grouping strategies.
Using
the Web resources listed below (click on the links to visit them),
make a list of the 8 best strategies or ideas for creating student
groups or making student groups work effectively in a project-based
classroom.
What
makes cooperative groups work Cooperative
learning structures and techniques Reading
comprehension grouping strategies Person
C Working with
members of other groups who have been assigned the same task, you
will become an expert on the "Jigsaw" method of student
grouping. Using the Web
resources listed below (click on the links to visit them), prepare
notes for yourself so that you can teach the other members of your
group about "jigsawing." Especially
for teachers: Jigsaw Person
D
Working with
members of other groups who have been assigned the same task, you
will become an expert on creating a positive classroom environment.
Using the Web
resources listed below (click on the links to visit them), make
a list of the 8 Classroom
management and rule-making ideas Use
of classroom rules and procedures Strategies
for classroom management Setting
and maintaining realistic classroom rules
3. One person in your group will be chosen as team leader to coordinate the process of sharing information. Each group member should then spend 3-5 minutes sharing the information that he or she learned
4. The group must now evaluate the information that each member has brought back. The whole group is respsonisble for competing the following tasks:
- From the 8 classroom management strategies brought back, choose the 5 that would be most helpful in a project-based classroom.
- From the 8 student grouping ideas or strategies, choose the 5 that would be most effective in a project-based classroom.
- Ensure that every group member understands the "Jigsaw" method to the point where each group member could use it in his or her own classroom.
- From the 8 ideas or recommendations for creating classroom rules, choose the 5 that would be most helpful in a project-based classroom.
- Once your team is finished, you will be asked to share your information with the larger group. All of the information will then be collected and used to create the Teacher Toolkit.
- The final step is to evaluate the information that your team found. You will use the Evaluation Rubric below.
You now need to evaluate the quality of the information that your group was able to find. You will rate the information based on its
usefulness, relevance, and effectiveness in helping a teacher in a project-based classroom. Remember that your evaluation is not meant to judge the quality of your group or its members, but rather the quality of the information from the Web sites that you researched.
Minimal Quality 1 Moderate Quality 2 High Quality 3 Maximal Quality 4 Score
Conclusion
The Internet has a weath of information that teachers can use in their classrooms. By tapping into this "collective wisdom, teachers can save themselves time and increase the positive impact that they have on their students. To access more high-quality education sites, click on any of the links below or use a search engine like google.com or yahoo.com to look for WebQuests, lesson plans, and classroom management strategies.
