Ken Robinson said the education system is trying to reform itself, but that you cannot reform a broken system. In essence, we cannot use the practices of the past to be in the present or future. We have to develop a new paradigm to teaching. I think we can look at Charlotte Mason,a former educator who was well beyond her time in the way she viewed education, for guidance. Charlotte Mason has several quotes which reveal her thoughts on the education of children, which would adhere to Ken Robinson's views on children, their learning, and their dreams.
1. "Children are not vessals to be filled, but spirits to be kindled."
2. "Look on education as something between the child's soul and God. Modern education tends to look on it as something between the child's brain and a standardized test."
3. "Let children feed on the good, the excellent, the great. Don't get in the way with little lectures, facts, and guided tours."
4. "What a child digs for becomes his own possession."
Charlotte Mason was all about student lead learning. Education should kindle a child's spirit and desire to learn more. She was not about teaching to a test. PBL encompasses the philosophy of Charlotte Mason and Ken Robinson's concerns about revolutionizing our education system.
I have always agreed with PBL as a means to teach. I have never used all of the elements of PBL; however, I have used many of the elements for students to engage in the process of learning. I prefer not to be the sage on the stage, but want to be the guide on the side. I have had students use literature circles and the socratic method to teach history and varioius projects giving students choices in the projects in math. I like using jigsaws to have students become an "expert" on a topic. Therefore PBL fits well into my educational philosophy. I think that PBL will enhance what I already do in the classroom.
The biggest challenge that I have in using PBL is the time restraint to cover the curriculum which is judged solely on one test at the end of the year. Hence, a PBL project must try to address several standards make sure that the time utilized to its full potential.
Hi Christi,
ReplyDeleteAfter you spent some time today after class sharing with me about Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education and how it aligned with the tenets of project based learning, I had to do some research to learn more about her. One of the strategies that she advocated for and liked to implement was a "living book", which is a text that provides the student with information but is written in a compelling narrative form that makes the learning "come alive" for students. This definitely sounds like pbl to me. Thank you for introducing her to me.
You identified time restraints as area you wanted to target for growth. As you begin work on your unit plan today, keep these two areas in mind as you work to create your driving question, your culminating product(s), your need to knows, and most of all, the scaffolding and support your students will need to be successful.
Sincerely