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Clint,
Very good question. I do think it depends on the student. I've seen some elementary students do this successfully, where others are not able to explain what approach they are using at all.  Many elementary students know what they enjoy doing, but to be able to self-talk themselves through the learning process requires a much deeper level of thinking.  A lot of it also depends on how well we teach the different learning strategies and whether or not we are allowing students to describe them in their own words or if they are just spitting back what we've told them.

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Tym, I agree.  Whether or not we see students as image bearers impacts the whole learning process.  Great connection!

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Clint,
I think the answer to your first question really has to do with what the topic is and it depends on the individual student. I completely agree that most kids are way too scheduled today. This seems to be killing off creativity, imagination and even critical thinking skills. How can we teach students to think for themselves if we as adults are making it too easy for them not to think for themselves?

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Trisha, I agree that two are better than one, and I think your tie-in to formative and summative assessment is a great example.  And, it goes both ways , as you have suggested; it allows us as teachers to give students feedback and to assess and modify what we are doing.  We all have taught from "the seat of our pants" at one time or another, and those are often the best, most intuitive lessons!

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Julie, I agree with you completely on Graham saying that students are motivated by who they are as image bearers of God.  I also love the concept of 'shalom' as wholeness.  (I know this is from a later chapter, but I think it fits here too)  I think that Graham sees learning in this context of wholeness/togetherness as well.

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Clint, part of the answer to your question about "hitting" all our learners lies in differentiated instruction.  But aside from that, it is one of the elements of PBL that I so appreciate.  It is actually fairly easy to differentiate a project based on individual student needs; some students are capable of taking a given project to a much deeper level.  Great question!

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Julie, yes I would agree with you that the researchers would miss the spiritual aspect.  I would also say that as a difference, Graham would colour all of the different elements of learning with the light that the learner is an image bearer.  This changes everything about how we see the learner AND the process of learning.

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Julie
Do you find that in third grade students have an easy time making a choice on what to do or is it hard for them? I ask because I think in school we have a tendency to train them to listen follow directions and do what they are told. Maybe not just in school. How many kids do you see getting together to play a sport or something that is not planned by a parent? I think it is down from years ago. Everything is scheduled for kids these days. Sorry struck a nerve, I am done now.

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Julie
Do you think or when do you think students have the cognitive ability to monitor and change their approach to learning? That might be a little loaded since each student is unique. Generally speaking though.

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Clint-
I don't know if you can create one big lesson that fits to all the students. Instead, that is where I see small group instruction really coming into play and being a positive learning tool in itself. Try to focus your lessons on the majority for whole group but then use small group instruction to really individualize. Again, I teach little ones so I am not sure how much opportunity there is for that in the intermediate grades.

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Clint, absolutely two is better. We can work towards what our hearts want and in the meantime isn't it nice to know we are on track with feedback? I think so. :)

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Clint, this is a good question. I think a starting point is to give students choices in their learning when possible. Projects are a great way to do this. For instance, I had my third graders do a solar system project using very general guidelines. Each student had to come up with a representation of the solar system to scale. Some students came with paper mache models, osome used balls and string to explain the solar system, others made posters. Each used their experience to find a unique way to meet the learning goal.

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Tym, I see the classroom environment as being both a similarity and a difference. I think that Graham would focus on the spiritual aspect of the classroom first, with the others (intellectual, social, emotional, physical) stemming from that purpose. The researchers seem to miss the spiritual aspect.  Would you agree?

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Tym and Trisha,
We have all talked about environment influencing the experiences that our students have. How do we design lessons that hit everybody when they don't all have the same experiences? I teach in small town Iowa where everybody is very similar to each other compared to a city for instance. The kids still have different experiences. How can I design things to give everyone the same opportunity?

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Trisha,
So would you say two is better than one? Meaning that dealing with the heart and giving feedback would both be beneficial?

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The heart does seem to be the biggest difference.  While I don't think Graham would disagree that motivation drives what students do to learn, Graham would disagree on where the motivation comes from.  I also think that Graham would go a step further to say that students are internally driven by who they were created to be in the image of God--active and purposeful, creative, thinking, free.

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Good thoughts so far, everyone. I agree with you and would add one more.  The educational researchers said that students are to learn to monitor and adjust their approaches to learning.  This ties to the biblical view, as stated by Graham, as accepting something as truth, making a heart-level commitment to it, and acting on it.  Acting on newly acquired truth requires a shift in practice just as adjusting a learning approach does.

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A difference I see is that Graham speaks of the heart and how this drives everything we do in our learning process. In the other source, motivation (how motivated are the students for reaching their goal), and practice with feedback will help them attain their personal learning goals. I think this are a little different because while knowing what is in our heart and what makes us happy in our life seems to be, according to Graham, motivation enough. This effects our amount of engagement and our behavior. While the other source is dependent on feedback.

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I was thinking along the same lines as Clint and Tym. Both sources discussed their environment or nature they live in and how this is so important in helping them make their own choices and being responsible ultimately for their learning.

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I am following your lead on this, Clint.  The big difference between the two involves the concept of heart.  This extends into what is truth.  The educational researchers would go with truth being what is learned, while Graham points to the Holy Spirit as the only way to make a heart receptive to real truth

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Both Graham and the educational researchers state that teachers can make the classroom environment (physical space, climate, etc.) conducive to learning.

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Both of the sources talk about prior knowledge playing a role in our learning.  Graham points out that our past experiences lead to our beliefs. This will influence what information we decide to accept or reject.

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The first big difference I noticed was the fact that Graham brought up the heart.  The students don't care what you know till they know you care.  (OK cliche I know)  This is so true.  The other resource gives not mention of this.