I was scheduled for my PBL
implementation observation for Friday afternoon. At RES, all 5th grade teachers
teach science the last 45 minutes of the day.
Even if we have integrated content throughout the day, this is our time
for hands on investigations (if possible).
I was scheduled to have Dawn observe me at 1:20 Friday afternoon. Not only was this a Friday afternoon, but it
was St. Patrick’s Day. My students were
overly excited to see who all had worn green so they could hand out their fair
share of pinches.
Therefore,
I was basically holding my breath all day hoping the students would be on their
best behavior and show all they knew.
During the visit, my students were to research the ocean floor in group
then move around from group to group to learn about a specific part of the
ocean floor. Prior to the lesson we had
spent a few minutes looking at diagrams of the ocean floor. I even let the students make models using
playdoh. Some were close while others
were EPIC FAIL. The day of the
observation, I had the students sketch the ocean floor diagram on their paper
in pencil. As the students travelled
from group to group, they were to add to their diagrams. Each time they learned details of a specific
part of the ocean floor, they wer expected to modify their diagram using a
color and then label it on their diagram.
Each timie they mae a change, they changed colors. This not only allowed me to see if the
students understood the concept and assess them. It also allowed the students to self-assess
their own work.
This
activity was fun and engaging for my students.
They were able to work in their collaborative groups to learn content
that would be beneficial to their PBL product.
The students did well during my observation. I know that it was because they all were
engaged in what they were doing and I was standing in front of them giving
information.
This was such a great idea and you could see the students new learning in one quick glance. This would also let you know who was working, listening, and collaborating in one quick informal assessment.
ReplyDeleteHi Teelah,
ReplyDeleteI know it can be stressful when you have someone come in to observe and I appreciate you opening up your classroom to me. Like you, I thought your students were engaged and were able to apply what they were learning from their research and I attribute that to some effective pre-planning on your part in choosing accessible and standards based websites for them to visit to learn specific information about the ocean form landforms and in the way you intentionally structured your groups that allowed for movement and communication.
Sincerely,
Dawn
I think your post shows how great PBL actually is, and you as a teacher. At 1:20 on a 'holiday' Friday, your students were engaged with their learning. They were able to understand the assignment and self-assess! Great job!
ReplyDelete