You need to set time aside for discussion because students need to take ownership of what they created and express that to others. Setting aside time, gives students the opportunity to think about things they might not have done otherwise, like what they learned, what they liked learning about, what they didn't like, and what they want to learn in projects ahead. This is the time to ask your students what did the project mean to you or how was our project important to you? Don’t be discouraged if the answer isn’t life changing, its just the fact that you gave the students time to reflect on it.
2. Discussion on the reasons students need to reflect and elaborate.
Taking time to reflect helps students feel good about their accomplishments. You want to plan your reflection questions so that your students leave the project loving it instead of hating it. You want to ask meaningful questions that matter most. This way you can prompt and prob your students to elaborate. Be sure to ask your students where they want to go in future projects, they're answer might be far more ambitious than you might think.
3. Discussion on how schools build tradition and identity.
In this section I wasn’t really sure what the title meant until I read it, but I can say for some of my schools I can relate to the sports teams and for another was the music and theatre programs. I didn’t realize this but its definitely a tradition and what the schools are known for. I can also bring an example from my life about a tradition I couldn’t wait to do once I was in that grade, was fifth grade camp. My elementary school was known for a great fifth grade camping trip every year. I agree with what this chapter says about involving the community, and how they come to expect to be involve in your classroom and outside activities.
4. Discussion on the importance of celebrating a project.
There are so many different ways you can celebrate your students work and finished projects. For example, you can put on an event, create a blog or hold a party. You want to most importantly celebrate learning and building your schools identity as a ground zero for PBL. You can display your students work in the classroom, this way the students take pride in seeing it everyday and know they accomplished that. I liked what the chapter said about a year-in-review retrospective to celebrate learning. I think this a great idea, where students take a look back at what they spent a whole school year doing.
5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
In our project we have a fundraiser at the end of our project and I think that after the students present, that it will definitely be a celebration. I had never thought about the importance of celebrating students in the ways given in the chapters. I think we will put more time into having the students reflect on their work. I think this is going to be a very helpful tool in the future.
I really like how you compare this to your topic. I never thought about how important it is to celebrate your students. But, it really is. They feel a great sense of accomplishment when they are done. When people are enjoying what they are doing, they get to show off their work and feel good about it!
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