I was lucky enough to have my coaching cycle back up to my "What's Going On?" Social Action PBL observation directly (March 19th and 20th, respectively), so I got the benefit of immediate feedback on whether or not what we had talked about together in the coaching cycle made a difference. And, MY GOODNESS! Did it ever!
We began Day Two of our PBL unit on a very different foot than we'd left off on Day One. We spent a quality chunk of time talking about what were our fears in relation to group projects in the two classes I'd be doing the project with. From those fears, we were able to come up with a list of what kinds of things we would want to specifically include in our group contracts so that we could avoid reliving group project nightmares. The students were sooooooo open to this, and seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief as they heard their peers sharing some of their very own concerns. Some of the main ones were having someone in the group be a "steam roller" who paved over everyone else's ideas or working with people who were so checked out that one or two people carried the whole weight of the project.
With this all out in the open, students were able to meet up with their groups and have very different (and much more productive) conversations than we'd had the day before. As they began creating their group contracts, they were engaged, excited, and confident about their ability to make an impact on a problem in our community. They began creating their to-do lists, and most of them jumped right into the research phase.
One big problem we encountered during my observation was that, as students researched and got excited about making an impact, they started jumping the gun on what they were going to do and trying to start making a plan of action. (Example: one group learning about homelessness decided they were going to get tents for every homeless person.... which may not be what is most needed for someone facing homelessness. A group studying homelessness in another class said they were going to build 1 square meter houses! Both ideas were super thoughtful, but a little out of their league.....) We gathered as a group, and I gave them some examples of what happens when you jump the gun...namely that we become more of a hindrance than a help.
Our block wrapped up with students checking over their to-do lists and promising to get thinking about their Plans of Action before our next class.
All in all, it was a powerful second day of our unit, and I felt like my classes had come leaps and bounds in a short matter of time. It's amazing how far some thoughtful reflection on my part (with help from Dawn) can go to ensure that they all felt empowered and understood in their groups.
Hi Rachael,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed our coaching cycle at Starbucks and appreciated so very much your reflective practice and openness to possibilities that provided your students with parameters in the group contracts that avoided anticipated issues while still firmly putting the decisions and discussions in their hands. I enjoyed the observation and loved the collective energy and excitement for their group projects. It was clear students had ownership in their project goals and purpose. I know that students were in the idea generation phase of their project plan and many threw out ideas that were not feasible given the time frame and logistics of the project. One idea I had since we talked was the possibility of students using a collaborative vetting process such as the SMART goal acronym to determine if a goal/project idea is specific, measurable, achievable, etc... This vetting process done in a critical friends protocol could help students realize a goal may need to be refined in order to happen without us having to "squash their dream." It sounds like your discussion after this with the group was helpful to students as they worked to create their action plan as well. Sincerely, Dawn