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Making Group Work Productive
Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher explain six ways to improve cooperative learning groups.
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Tell EL …
Tell about a personal or professional experience that gave you new insight into cultural diversity. Selected responses will be featured in the March 2015 Educational Leadership magazine.
October Is Connected Educator Month
ASCD is the official Educator Professional Development and Learning theme leader for Connected Educator Month. All month, ASCD will provide free and discounted resources on topics including school culture, peer-to-peer observations, and PLCs.
What Are the Elements of an Effective Project?
Gary Stager touches on eight teacher-guided elements of great project design.
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Talking and Listening in Class
The typical school day is abuzz with student and teacher talk—whole-class discussions, small-group and paired interactions, student presentations, teacher lectures, question-and-answer sessions, student-led debates—and, of course, countless social conversations. How can we use all this talk productively to promote rich content-area learning and to develop the speaking and listening skills that are vital to students’ future success?
Managing Messy Learning
Project-based learning (PBL) can be the platform for deep immersion in interesting problems or topics, but it can also be wildly unwieldy. With the mix of learners and the resource limitations in a typical classroom (namely time), what are the secret ingredients for designing meaningful and manageable project-based learning?
Minimize Frustration and Maximize Deep Learning
Often, a project seems like the answer to a prayer. Without careful planning, however, it can quickly lead to curses and frustration. Follow these practical tips to avoid PBL headaches.
Tips for Managing Project-Based Learning
Project-based learning can be tricky to navigate. These pointers will help you find a balance between scaffolding the learning process and getting out of the way so students can work independently.
Messy Learning, Clear Objectives
Students use the PBL model to plan a Civil War memorial. In the process they sharpen their reading and writing skills, reflect on history, and learn how to collaborate.
Managing the Process of PBL
Teachers help students manage the process of project-based learning by instituting regular checkpoints for feedback and providing opportunities for students to reflect on and internalize what works and what doesn't.
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Field Notes: PBL as Organized Chaos
Real-world problems don't come in neat packages. This project-based classroom ensures students not only know content but also know how to use it in situations they'll likely encounter in professional settings.
Leader Links: Free Mind-Mapping Tools
Create, collaborate, and share visuals that chart your team's brainstorming processes.
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