I'm excited about making my classroom an environment where the project is the "main course" of the curriculum. I have it so ingrained in my mind that I must tell my students the information before they can apply it, that it has really hindered projects I've implemented in previous years. Even today, while starting to create the plan for my PBL, I kept thinking about all the mini-lessons I would have to plan to teach my students what I thought they needed to know before starting the project. After talking and listening to the other teachers in the class today, I suddenly understood that it's OK to step back and let my students research and discover the information on their own. Looking back, I'm actually embarrassed at the some of the projects I've given in previous years. What I thought was a great way for students to show me what they've learned is, in reality, a restatement of the material that they were just given on a test a few days beforehand.
Since I am the lone representative from my school, I'm nervous about talking to my colleagues about adopting the PBL process. I know a lot of teachers will worry about the things we've discussed in class already - This will take too much time. How do I conduct a PBL and still cover all of the standards? Group projects never work! Etc.
The class has already alleviated those fears in me and I feel more empowered and confident to take the things I've learned into the classroom. I hope to share my successes and difficulties with my planning team at school. Hopefully through my experiences, my colleagues will be more open to trying project based learning themselves.
Today I struggled a little with understanding the difference between what I am creating right now, and projects I have done in the past. After talking with Dawn, it seems like the main difference is that they are learning WHILE doing, instead of before. Like you said, if a project is just "restating" information already learned, it's not PBL. Good luck sharing PBL with your school!
ReplyDeleteHi Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone with your aha moment today as we worked to shift from a linear model of planning prerequisite lessons for student understanding and towards a model where students begin applying as they are learning. This will continue to evolve as you work to create your pbl plan, specifically your course calendar.
I know it can be tricky to take back a new instructional strategy/structure to your colleagues. What I shared with Karen is the best advertisement isn't necessarily a meeting or a plan, but the evidence of your own students' success.