What I Used to Think, but Now I Know...
Well friends, I have had the spectrum of students this year and they, along with you, have taught me A LOT about PBL. At the end of our summer class, I was sitting on GO, ready to have the best year ever because I had taken a 5 day PBL class (this has been a good year, but I always get a little in over my head with my excitement at the beginning of the year and by October I'm exhausted).
My first semester went well, but I had a lot of questions about assessment(s) and grading. Then, we visited JL Mann, and I learned that they actually give their PBL students the test that traditional classes take for each unit for various reason, but one was to prove to the students that they were actually getting the core information, but also learning so much more at the same time in the PBL classrooms. I believe the heavens opened up and I heard the angels singing the Hallelujah chorus at that moment. I thought, "Why not do PBL and give traditional tests at the same time?" I could not really try this out this year, but plan on doing that next year. Also, having one year and several PBL units under my belt, will help next year.
Finally, collaboration has been a thorn in my side all year. I thought I had problems first semester, but those kids were dream collaborators compared to my second semester crew. So, I've had to monitor and adjust my collaboration expectations due to the dynamics of this group of kids. But, you live and learn. I learned that (and some of you may not agree with me) having collaboration by sacrificing the little bit of peace I have in a class, is not worth it. I wanted them to understand they needed to learn to collaborate and work together because life will ask this of them more often than not. However, my sanity and theirs is more important that "teaching them this lesson." We still enjoyed PBL, but did so in a little more individual nature. And, I believe, that is okay.
I pray, through PBL, I helped my students discover the science concepts, but also their strengths and weaknesses when speaking in front of others, how to create an infographic, useful creative websites, how to create a video using MovieMaker, how to create a brochure using Publisher, how to write a persuasive business letter, how to find and contact their state government representatives, how to remain conscious of a helathy diet using MyPlate, and how to see past this afternoon (hopefully). Life is hard and complicated, but it can be awesome and rewarding when you look past yourself and current circumstances. This is what I really hope my students learned this year in my class.
I will completely agree with your that PBL should be more fluid than not. Meaning, how it is exaclty implemented will change a little from year to year and even teacher to teacher. Sometimes, teachers need to adjust exactly what happens in a classroom according to the academic maturity of the students. Just removing some of the collaboration does not mean it is no longer PBL. It has been great learning with you in PBL and looking forward to how we can bring it to DFC.
ReplyDeleteHi Crossley, I appreciate you taking time to reflect on what you've learned this year through our pbl cohort and also what your students have learned through your implementation. I think we all left the summer class excited about the possibilities pbl had for our students but also open and flexible to what our students needed. You shared how you knew first semester you wanted to improve assessment and the visit to J.L. Mann really helped you to implement both a traditional summative assessment and a rubric that evaluated the projects and the process. I, too found that helpful. You shared how all year you grew in your support of students' collaboration skills and how second semester you realized that this specific group benefited from options to work individually. I believe that this is okay. If nothing else, pbl is student centered. We have to meet them where they are and provide support and guidance for the soft skills and the 21st century skills we are wanting them to grow. I appreciate what you've learned and more importantly how you've used it as a catalyst for student growth.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Dawn
I had similar issues with collaboration. I ended up having a little less collaboration in my second PBL unit because my students struggled so much in the beginning of the year. I decided that one component of the product would allow students to work together, while another component of the product allowed students to work independently. It worked out really well!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I've done with mine is I don't really point out the fact that what I'm doing is different than a lot of their other classes (they can usually tell, regardless). Introducing assignments then turning them loose, then bringing them together for public critique/assessment is something I just get them used to from the start, and they come to expect it. It's all about being organic; if something doesn't fit right away to use a PBL style lesson, I wouldn't necessarily force it. It takes so much work and creativity to make a good one, I feel like forcing lessons you have to cover to fit a PBL mold is not going to be beneficial to you because it'll be harder to be creative, and it'll feel more like work. Revisit the lessons next semester/year/etc., and try to work on them then, when you've had time to think about them. I know for me personally, my second and third iterations of PBL lessons were much, much better than my initial ones, especially with the ones I had never done before.
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