Blog Post 5- Growing Soft Skills

This PBL class has been really beneficial to me as a teacher.  Each year is always different then the year before.  This group of fifth graders seems to be “that” group.   In years past, I have enjoyed allowing my students to work in groups or partners.  My students, this year, have had a hard time working with a partner or in a collaborative groups.   This year our school has focused on guided math, reading, and writing groups.  The students have to be in groups for each of these things. Through this class, I feel like soft skills in my classroom has evolved.  Class 1 gave me some strategies that I could implement into my classroom.  At the beginning of the year, the strategies that I learned were at the back of my mind.  Thankfully, class 2 rolled around and I was reminded of the strategies.  I was able to use things like the Gallery Walk and critical friends with my students and help them to realize the importance of communication and collaboration amongst their peers.  Through this year my students have evolved to better communication skills.  The students learned how to talk to each other instead of at each other.  Some of the students quickly picked up on the correct way to communicate very fast, while others are still working.  I think as my students learned the appropriate way to communicate, their collaboration skills improved.  The students were able to collaborate in partnerships and larger groups.  At this point of the school year, I can ask my students to get with a responsible partner to complete an assignment and they will choose partners that they can work with productively.  Now, that I am in class 3, I am truly thankful for the trip to JL Mann.  The group contracts have been a lifesaver for this PBL unit.  My students worked so hard to assign their jobs and then they held each other accountable.  I did not have to follow up behind my students.  They were able to do it all by themselves. Not only did my students “grow,” but they surely made me “glow.”