What I used
to think, but now I know….
During the
summer, I was really ambitious… as I often am during the summer when I have all
the time in the world to plan and dream about the upcoming year. I was very
excited for this project, and I did not anticipate all of the challenges that
would arise. The biggest of those challenges was definitely time, and I know
that everybody else probably felt constrained by time as well.
My project
started off fairly well. I enjoyed incorporating the various protocols we
learned and practiced during our summer course. Students were interested in
their research, and they were working fairly well together. Then, our daily
schedule started to get interrupted by field days, guest speakers, garden
events, etc. I felt like my project got put on the back burner. Before I knew
it, it was time to go to Barrier Island. We got back, and it was almost time
for testing. That was something I definitely didn’t plan for during the summer.
I was starting to feel the pressure because I knew that I needed to move on to
the next science unit so we could finish it before Christmas break. At that
point in time, students had finished their research on ocean shorelines and
movements. They had designed and constructed their shorelines, and they had
created an erosion simulation. However, they had not yet gotten to devise a
plan to prevent erosion. This was the major engineering design plan that I had
weaved into my unit, but I just did not have enough time to implement it!
I used to
think that STEM had to involve an
engineering design activity, but now I know that’s not always the case. Ever
since our school became STEM focused, I have felt like I need to include an
engineering design project in every unit I teach. However, I know now that I
can meet STEM standards in other ways. I love engineering projects. I think
they can encourage creativity and collaboration; however, I have decided not to
incorporate an engineering project unless it is manageable and meaningful (thinking
back, I don’t think mine would have been incredibly meaningful).
Overall, I
know that my students have grown as a result of this unit. In analyzing their shoreline
designs, I saw much more detailed plans than I had during our previous project.
They also did well on the final assessment of the science content knowledge
(scores were mainly As and Bs). We are in the middle of our 1920s PBL unit
right now, and my students are doing a great job with their research so far. I
am looking forward to continuing my implementation of PBL this year.
The teachers dream is alive and well with PBL. I know the feeling. We have these great and wonderful plans and most of it works itself out as in your case. Then, school happens: unexpected meetings, students out, and the fire drills. Facing challenges is not necessarily unique to education, but how we have to face and overcome them is. You did just that!
ReplyDeleteHi Brittany,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your reflection and the ways you worked to modify and adjust your existing pbl plan to meet the needs of your students and the schedules and time constraints that are part of every school's fall schedule. At the end of your reflection, you shared how you know students have grown as a result of the unit. You explained how you analyzed the shoreline designs and have seen how students have grown in their attention to detail and their execution of their plan and how that had increased since their previous project.
You also explained how students' summative test score data showed student understanding of the science content.
For the majority of the blog post, you reflected on what you learned through the implementation of your pbl plan and how project based learning doesn't always have to include a design/engineering challenge. It can and many times these provide students with opportunities to design and build in very meaningful, hands-on ways. Students can also learn through inquiry with and without a design process in a project based learning unit. I am glad that this class has provided you with lots of options. I am looking forward to your next pbl unit!