For my PBL workshop, I had the opportunity to present with our literacy coach and ESOL teacher at this year's SCIRA conference in February. We were very excited for this chance to spotlight some of the great student-driven, STEM, and PBL instruction taking place at our school. As a whole, our teachers do a fantastic job of integrating literacy with content to create inquiry-based experiences; we're strong in STEM and taking some great steps in designing/implementing full PBL units. Our teachers are also amazing when it comes to meeting the very diverse needs of our students. Mrs. Harris, our ESOL teacher, has made huge gains by bringing inquiry, student choice, and project-based experiences to her English language learners.
Our presentation was a showcase of some of our standout projects from each grade level. We shared an overview of how STEM and literacy are woven together in all classrooms--including ESOL--and then set up a gallery of videos from each grade level, explaining their particular projects.
It was exciting to have the chance to basically brag on our school for a state-wide audience, and their responses were very encouraging and validating. One teacher approached us afterward and said our session was "one of the most informative ones" she'd attended at the conference. It was a nice reminder that we are doing some great things at our school, and it's worth sharing with others. We had a couple of others reach out to us, and one school from our audience actually visited us at FES a few weeks later.
Presentation link: 2019 SCIRA Presentation
Ashley, I get what you are saying about integration of literacy and other subject areas. With standards being being added and more difficult each year, integration is key to getting it all in. I think what I miss most about our whole school being on board with inquiry as a whole is that we are all on the same page. This year, my principal decided that every teacher on a grade level had to teach the same subject at the same time and every subject had a specific time to be taught. This did not allow for subject integration. This flies against the basic principles of STEAM, PBL and IB.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I don't see integration as the be all end all of PBL. I just know that a great PBL project allows students to learn without limiting the project to one specific subject/skill. I am excited to see that people are seeing what an asset you are. Congratulations on presenting to such a wide audience.
Ashley, I enjoyed reading about the STEM/literacy workshop that you and Heather and Crissy Harris provided to teachers at the SCIRA conference. I wanted to find out about the possibility of you all sharing it with a group of teachers at AMES who are interested in integrating pbl with literacy in ways that are authentic and student centered. Once we have a chance to talk about next year's calendar I would love to see if we could make this happen either in a PLC during the day or in a short afterschool workshop. Sincerely, Dawn
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