Tina Sanders What I Used To Think But Now I Know Blog Post

I used to think PBL was just about the culminating products. Now I Know that PBL is about the sustained inquiry at the beginning, during and at the end of the PBL itself. I learned that it is not about a stellar beginning and a few stellar moments along the way, but it is the authentic inquiry that drives the learning.  Students are engaged throughout the entire process. For example, for my “Magnet Mania” PBL, I wanted to begin with an amateur magician because I thought that was the only way to get my students engaged in the learning. When all I really needed to do was let them loose with the magnets so they could explore what attracts or repels. The looks on their faces told the story. They loved pulling things toward them using the more powerful magnets. It didn’t take a “Magic Show” to get them interested. Now, I do believe that Mrs. Magnet was effective and got them excited about what was coming next.

In the “Puttering Around the Pond” unit I felt I was much more effective throughout the whole unit. I found 25 short animal videos that allowed students to see the animals in their natural habitat with an element of the food chain/life cycle included. Using the mini-videos for research purposes each day really got them engaged and kept them engaged. After the first week of consistent research practice, students came in every day after asking which animal we were learning about today. I also used a drawing website called art-hub for kids to help students draw the animal in a simple, relaxed format. The man works with his kids to draw in an easy, step by step manner. When students need me to, I just paused the video until they caught up with the class. There were drawings for almost every animal I tried to find at the pond. This made it where students felt comfortable drawing because he made it so simple. Between the research videos and the drawings, I am not sure which one made the difference. But, the student’s books came to life.

I Used To Think That only upper grade students could really implement all aspects of the PBL Now I Know That, students of all ages can learn using the PBL model. My students were more engaged than I have ever seen them before. It is all due to the way I approached PBL. Yes, it is great when your entire school has buy in. But, in the age of standardized testing, student “unaccountability” and pressures on the classroom teachers to do-it-all, that is a pipe dream I am afraid. Everyone has their own idea of the perfect way to teach. None of that matters as long as authentic learning is taking place. In my opinion, the perfect way to facilitate that learning is PBL. I am excited to see where this journey takes me next year. Thank you Dawn for making this journey possible for me.