Rachael Le Mee, Post #5: Impromptu PBL Workshop?!?! :)

Confession time: I somehow had COMPLETELY forgotten about leading a PBL workshop. Until Dawn emailed us on April 9th. Frantic, and in full panic mode, I emailed her back asking if I could reach out to the teachers new to my school this year that weren't PBL-trained and see if they had any interest in learning more about PBL from someone "fresh off the boat." She approved the idea, and I led my mini-workshop for four "New to Fisher" sixth grade teachers yesterday. 

While it wasn't a huge turnout, I was thankful to see that 25% of the new teachers (we had 16 last year) were curious about what this PBL magic was that I had been talking about. (And I'm not going to lie, I also think that the teachers that came were all 6th grade teachers because they felt a teensy bit obligated because we're 6th grade colleagues together and wanted to be supportive... but, hey, I'll take it!) :) 

For my workshop, I actually pulled together a variety of things from our cohort and also utilized a Google Slides I'd made for the first PBL course I had taken online in the Spring of 2018. 

Here's the Google Slides mentioned above that I started off the workshop with, because it's more "foundational" stuff like the philosophy of PBL, the elements of PBL, etc.

Then, I passed out copies of my unit outlines (Pieces of Me, Journal Prototype, and What's Going On?), and we informally talked through my big takeaways of what I've learned this year as I implemented PBL. The trials and tribulations (anti-groupwork vibe, time constraints and sex ed jacking up my whole first semester, finding ways to get an authentic audience without having my own space...) and the contagious pure joy that I've seen on students' faces as their families or peers funnel through the door into my various classroom spaces to learn about what students have created and learned. I shared about how, using what I gleaned from last semester, I decided that the best way to do PBL for me was by beginning with individual projects, then moving to partner projects, and easing into group projects. (Note: This is certainly not gospel and may not be true with other content areas, but worked great for character education and for my students this semester!) I shared pictures of student work samples, and shared a couple of the group contract videos Dawn had recorded during my observation to show what the beginning stages often look like.... The thing I stressed most of all was to just. get. started. I encouraged them to pick one unit for next year, and begin with the end in mind. What did they want students to know, and how could they get there in an authentic way? I gave them a copy of the eight design elements, and shared this link from Buck Institute with them so they could see tons of great PBL project ideas.  

I truly hope that these four left inspired, and that they will give PBL a shot next year! :)