Blog Post #11

We can learn a lot about teaching and learning from the teachers in the videos, and if you were not sure whether to use project based learning in your classroom these videos will help reassure you. The first video I watched with Mr. Brian Crosby Back to the Future I found very interesting. He took a class in which a majority of the students did not even know what country they lived in ,and got them to interact with people all over the world.  The students were so engaged in their projects and did such a good job that other kids from all over the world wanted their teacher to let them do the activity also. The students also learned to change lives and be sensitive to others. Mr. Crosby made it possible for a student who was sick with leukemia to come to class on Skype. The whole class participated in making her feel welcome when she was already going through so much. In the video with Mr.Mark Church,Making Thinking Visible  he asked the students to write down what they think human origins is all about. He also allowed them to discuss it with some of their classmates. Once finish they had to present to the class then he displayed their work on the board. In this one assignment he was able to get them to use their critical thinking skills, collaborate with other classmates, and present their work. This style of teaching is much more engaging than the teacher just standing up in front of the class lecturing. In the Sam Pane 4th Grade video he taught the students the importance of internet safety. I think when you teach lessons based off of project based learning it is important to teach the students about internet safety. Mr. Pane's approach to teach this was very engaging and it got the students attention. I think what we can learn from this is that you can get important information through to children when you make it meaningful to them.All the videos pretty much stressed the same idea of giving the students a challenge and giving them the responsibility to solve it. Then they had the opportunity to share their work with others all over the world and receive positive feedback. Not only are they able to share their work with others but they also learn to solve real world problems on their own.