C4T#3

Michael Gorman posted on March 16 a blog post called 30 NCAA Basketball lessons links...PBL series...Best classroom lessons never taught. He told a PBL story about how students were so eager to get to class. That week they were using the computer and printer to create a graphical worksheet about basketball teams. They formed groups and used google maps to locate each university where the teams played. They also researched the desired teams and compared their strengths and weaknesses. My comment: My names is Courtney Fields I am a student of EDM310 at the University Of South Alabama. I enjoyed reading your PBL story. I agree that project based learning will transform how students learn. Through collaboration and peer-to-peer learning the students are able to share what they know with each other. Basketball is a great way to engaged the students. They become eager to learn and share when it is something that strikes their interest. Thanks for sharing!

On March 30 Michael Gorman had a guest post written by Dayna Laur. This was an insightful post about the disconnect between students and school. She explains that her daughter, fourth grader, has started to complain about school and the upcoming standardized test. Although the standardized test are here to stay, Dayna explains different techniques to engage students to be excited to learn. She added several links to real world projects. She explains that more teachers should involve the community, parents and state boards to be an audience to real world learning. So many students do just enough to get them through. Dayna states that involving a diverse audience can increase the students interest and overall test scores. My comment: Dayna, I enjoyed reading this post because the reality is students are bellyaching about going to school. It seems as if they lose all excitement about school after the third grade. I agree, it is time to use real world experiences to turn up real authentic learning. Bringing in a variety of listeners is a great idea. It encourages the students to provide their best work. When the students receive positive feedback it impels them to raise the bar. Thank you for sharing these great thoughts and ideas. Michael Gorman's Blog