Chapter 11 Reflection

5. Illustrate important considerations of effective labs and hands-on activities when guiding student learning with and about technology in the various subject matter areas.
I think teachers have to realize that these kind of projects require a lot of planning and organization to be effective for the students, especially for junior high students who need to have plenty of structure in their learning. They can't just give the students a piece of a paper and say, "Go learn about space." There needs to be a good amount of guidance and meaningful purpose. The latter will be especially important , because not everyone will like the subject content. For example: I'm not particularly motivated by math, so I think I would need more purpose to supplement my lack of enthusiasm. I think a specific purpose would help bolster enthusiasm, because it gives more meaning to the project.

The thing about labs, from what I remember in junior high, is often you have to do it in pairs or groups, because the school lacks equipment. I understand that this allows students to collaborate and work with each other, but how do I ensure that all students are participating equally in this process (make sure some kids aren't just taking advantage of the kids who are actually doing the work)?

As a teacher, I can see myself using labs as ways to let my students think more independently and creatively. For example: I think it would be cool if my students did a bi-weekly class newspaper. I remember my junior high had this neat newspaper format program. I could divide my class into groups and each group would take care of a section, learning to use that program as well as work on their writing skills, grammar skills, and team working skills.