I like the way this article compares PBL to a main course. PBL should be the main course of instruction. So many times we are taught to do dessert style projects and we feel like its best for our students even if that means its not. We will stand in front of our classroom and lecture our students then give them a project, even if it has choice. Then we are so proud of what we have done as teachers. But, how does that make our students feel? Are they just as proud? Or do they feel like they were forced to do the work? PBL should be the emphasis of the student learning and instruction. Students will feel like they have ownership in their learning as they work collaboratively or independently. They are receiving the bulk or the "main course" of the content.
I like the benefits of PBL for my students. I am a worried as a teacher about the time constraints that the classroom have. I will use PBL as the main course for many of my content areas most of the time. I do think that many of the "dessert" projects will be removed from my classroom. Currently, our school is STEM certified and our main focus is science. Colleagues and administration are very supportive of PBL. I think that I will be able to reach out to several people in the school, such as our reading coach or tech lab instructor, who will be willing to help make the change to PBL easier. Some of my colleagues have a hard time changing to "main course" projects because of their own personal fears of having to create something of their own. But once they see the outcome of using a PBL, they personal opinions will change.
You will help your colleagues to accept PBL when you do it and the results speak for you. You will also help because your colleagues will be able to borrow from you as a step up to PBL. In the TED Talk video we watched, the term "revolution" was used. Violent revolutions are very messy and have consequences that we would like to avoid. What I think that we are looking for is a different kind of revolution; not a "quiet" revolution but an orderly one.
ReplyDeleteI think any time there is a revolution, there is resistance. After the American Revolution was finished, not everyone in the "colonies" said, "Oh well, guess we're Americans now and I better get started on changing my beliefs about everything." Nope. Some might have done this, but some left our new nation, and some continued to try to keep things the way they had been. We (this cohort) are not responsible for every other teacher in our school/district. I have to remind myself of this as well. I have not failed if the teacher next door to me decides to dig in her heels and not try PBL.
ReplyDeleteHi Teelah,
ReplyDeleteI love that you had the "aha" moment this article promoted with understanding the difference between a unit that has a project at the end with project based learning that has sustained inquiry throughout. Restructuring dessert projects where students are working on applying their learning throughout is a great way to consider revising existing pbl plans. I, too am thankful that you are at Roebuck and have the support of your administration, parents, and colleagues. You are right, the shift of inquiry-based learning is a ongoing process and many times teachers need support for their own fears of failure and change to release more ownership and inquiry opportunities to their students. I believe that the best advertisement for this will be your effective implementation of main course pbls. I'm excited about the possibilities!