Question
2:
Over
the years I have made a gradual shift from “desserts” to “main courses” within
my classroom. This has not been an easy
transition, but it has been so rewarding for me and my students. I have seen students experience success
within our PBL units who would normally not have the same outcome with a paper/pencil
activity. This for me is all the
motivation I need to continue to dive deeper into PBL and ensure that my students
have as many opportunities as possible.
In reflecting on my past PBL units, I have already made notes of ways to
improve my units as well as jots down ideas for some future projects.
Question
4:
I
am very fortunate to work in a STEM school where PBL is not only embraced but
it is encouraged. We have had professional
development opportunities such as substitutes brought in to cover classes while
teachers had half day planning, and a supportive PTO that has special funds
allocated for STEM related lessons/activities.
While my school leadership is 100% supportive of PBL sometimes my colleagues
can be less enthused. I work with an
AWESOME team and we each use our strengths within our collaborative planning
time to plan and prepare for our lessons. However, some of my team members have
the philosophy “if it’s not broken don’t fix it”. This is a concern as I foresee us adding new
PBL units this year in other subject areas. I feel that while there may be some
resistance at first, they will quickly be reassured that this is the best direction
for students. Due to student’s enthusiasm to learn and demonstration of in-depth
content knowledge they have seen in our previous units, PBL units will bring
great value to the classroom.
I love the idea of having the support of the entire school and even having substitutes brought in for teachers to participate in professional development.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of having the support of the entire school and even having substitutes brought in for teachers to participate in professional development.
ReplyDeleteHi Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteOne of the qualities I appreciate and respect the most in you is your willingness to learn and to apply new strategies. Throughout my work these last four years in our district with literacy you have been a proactive part of each learning opportunity and I continue to enjoy learning and leading with you. I also appreciate your honest understanding of your where your colleagues are with pbl and your willingness to continue to support their growth while also not letting any resistance hold you or your students back from progressing forward. In our discussions this morning with Teelah I believe that the biggest persuasive factor with pbl is going to be your effective implementation of it. Your kids are excited about learning because you are! They will be effective at pbl because you are doing the hard part of thoughtful planning and implementation.