After completing the readings for this unit, I think there are some obvious similarities between the models that are used. All four of the models in this unit incorporate a collaborative component. Students learn how to communicate and work with one another in some way, shape, or form. In the cooperative learning, PBL, and Guided Design Process models students are working in groups and define roles for each other. The division of work and holding each other accountable is a task that I feel all students need to be successful in the 21st Century. Although these models are similar, they also have a few differences as well. In Guided Design Practice, students work in groups to teach themselves and the teacher then guides students through open-ended style questions. In the PBL model students are required to solve the open-ended problems on their own but they are able to come up with more than one correct answer. The role of the teacher in the PBL model is to be more of a facilitator and ask probing questions that will force students to think deeper on a topic. The Cooperative Learning, students work together by assigning each other specific jobs to do. Students are also held accountable for the work of others. By doing this, the students aren’t just accountable for themselves but they must be concerned about their peers as well. By using this model, students learn how to accept differences of opinions and ideas and become more responsible. To me, the one outcast of the group from our readings is on Situated Cognition and Cognitive Apprenticeships. This model I think can be incorporated in all of the other previously mentioned models because it applies to real-life application. Students understand how math problems can be used in the real-world which is another skill important for the 21st Century, and one that is incorporated into these other modules.
My initial reaction to these modules was “Hmm, why don’t we do this more?” These models I think are used partially in many classrooms today but are missing pieces here or there. I feel a lot of teachers might combine different ideas from different models. As I continued reading week-by-week and looking over the available resources, I realized that even though these are great, they would also be hard to do for EVERY subject all day long in an elementary classroom. Ideal world, right? I wish I could incorporate all of these but the process of developing all of these ideas would be extremely time consuming. Even though the work would be time consuming, I think it would be better to start somewhere instead of nowhere. Maybe if I started small and worked my way up, I wouldn’t take so long at creating these ideas. These models are important because they teach students important skills that will help them be successful in the 21st Century. I am a teacher; I am supposed to prepare my students not hinder them. Using these models would be helpful in school because I think they would help build a classroom community. Students would learn how to work, and respect, one another and just talk even if they have varying opinions. Speaking from experience, this is something my students need a great deal of work on. Maybe including more and more of this work in my class would lessen the arguments and ugly word choices some of my students use with one another.
After making one of these models and seeing how it goes for this class, I think I would try this with my classes. My students currently do Webquests and research information on their own but sometimes they also work in groups on projects where they have specific roles as well. My students also already work on partner talk during reading so I feel like I have a little bit of a base foundation that I could work with to try one of these models with. Overall, I am not sure if I favor one model over another but I would probably integrate a few of them together. At the fifth grade level, some of my kids may get overwhelmed with the possibility of having more than one right answer choice, so I would probably have to give them a set question/answer model.
Creating a model on the Internet has become extremely easy due to all the readily available tools. Personally, I feel Blogs, Google docs, Moodles, Weebly and Skype are probably some of the most useful tools for collaboration on the web. Students could also use Voicethread, Prezzi, or a Screencast of some sort. Overall, there are endless possibilities that can be used for these models on the web.
