Design Process - the beginning.

I think the design process is really aimed at creating interesting and creative classrooms and we know from research that this is best done through a collaborative approach. Creating small groups based on similar interests will spark student curiosity and giving them a project that they can really relate to and delve into. Initially I had thought that this project would be done individually but going through the process I think small groups will allow students to be more creative with each other and "bounce" ideas off each other. It will also allow for the collection of more materials for the final project between group members if required. This change in though has quite surprised me as I thought individual works would be more appropriate before beginning and reading my peer feedback.

The peer feedback process has also surprised me! I began the process with a negative preconceived idea of how the process would fail...... My group members have open, honest and helpful. I think that working in groups online still generates a number of issues with reliability, completing tasks on time (I have failed at this over the last couple of weeks and know that feeling of letting my peers down) and sharing of work loads. However, in a classroom environment where all these facets can be monitored, managed and facilitated it should work well. Students will learn how to give constructive feedback. That is, being positive all the time is not going to help learning and negativity should also be left out. With the inclusion of ideas to support learning and praise for ideas which are well conceived.