2+-+Pedagogical+Practices

Many teachers are concerned about effectively meeting standards in project-based, student-centered classrooms where students construct much of their own knowledge instead of receiving instruction from the teacher. Students are still expected to do well on standardized tests, such as WESTEST, and demonstrate mastery of the learning standards and objectives. Teacher accountability and time constraints are also major concerns.

During this activity, you will discuss your concerns and possible solutions for meeting standards in a student-centered classroom, as well as experience the creation and use of a wiki.

View **@Group Assignments**

Each participant is assigned to group of three or more (see the Group Assignments page). Each group is assigned one of the following questions to discuss:

 One member of the group has been arbitrarily identified as the recorder. The recorder will complete the following tasks (refer to the Home page and site Help for instructions and guidance):
 * 1) How can we ensure that students meet standards - and meet enough of them to make the effort worthwhile - in open-ended activities and projects?
 * 2) If students are in charge of their own learning, how will we be sure they learn what is important?
 * 3) How do we ensure accountability when students are working in groups?

 Each of you should **Edit** your group page and enter you concern(s) and suggested solutions for //all// the concerns. When you've finished, select the text you've entered and change the color to YOUR  color  (this allows the teacher to identify the contributions made by each student - one easy way to ensure accountability!)
 * 1)  Create a new page in the wiki with the title **GROUP (group number) Reflection on Meeting Standards**.
 * 2)  Paste the assigned question at the top of the page.
 * 3)  Below the question, insert a table with two columns and eight rows. Title the left column "Concerns" and the right column "Solutions".

Finally, review the other groups' pages and respond to their concerns by offering solutions to their lists (in black text).

//**NOTE:**// It is possible for two members of a group to try to edit the same page at the same time. Like so many other instances in life, he who saves last, WINS! If, when you attempt to edit a page, you receive a **Draft Recovered** popup box (like the one shown at left), it means someone else is editing the page. **Close the browser without responding** and try again in a few minutes.