Blog #5-What I used to think, but now I know...

                I chose my Force and Motion content as the PBL for this class because it was one of the units that my grade level has struggled with.  We have found the content not to be the easiest for students to grasp.  Some of the concepts and vocabulary is a review for students, but the other is an extension to their knowledge.  At the beginning of this unit, I gave a 20 question pre-assessment.  I told the students to try their best and to answer to the best of their ability.  Some students left some questions blank because they were unsure of the answers.  After going over the pre-assessment, only 17% (4) of my students scored 70 or above. After going through the PBL and taking the post-assessment, 75% (18) of my students scored 70 or above.  I think that my students did very well with the science content overall considering that several students miss some of the content due to RTI reading intervention and Speech services.

                I think this PBL experience was a memorable one for my students.  At RES, our students are familiar with the PBL process because began to implement this into our curriculum.  This PBL was had more of an excitement for the students because the loved the amusement park idea.  Even my students who have never experienced a roller coaster were just as excited.  One thing, I think my students learned was collaboration.  My students were able to work together throughout the unit during science labs.  They also participated in meaningful conversations during the planning stages of the amusement park rides. Some of my students showed growth in their area of research.  This unit allowed them to research something they were interested in and they wanted to become experts for their groups.   The mini-lessons then became meaningful for them because they wanted to apply it to their project.  The final area of growth that they grew in was Force and Motion content.  The students were able to learn 5^th grade content and apply it to a final product.

 This class helped to improve my previous knowledge of PBL.  I was able to implement strategies that I had never heard of into my unit and other subject areas that I teach.  Next year when implementing this PBL, I will be sure to change a few things and most importantly add to the unit.  I would definitely change the pacing of the unit.  Due to the many unforeseen things in the year, my PBL unit lasted much longer than I anticipated.  I am going to look for ways to condense some parts without losing the core values of the PBL process.  I would like to make my PBL more cross-curricular.  After talking with teammates, we have discussed ways in which we can make this unit more integrated.  Another way this PBL unit could be enhanced is by public stakeholders.  I made the joke this summer for the students to visit places like Disney World or even Carowinds, which is more local.  After sitting with my team and doing a little more research we discovered that both placed offered an educational programs geared to force and motion content.  We also discovered that Carowinds offered Engineering Days as well as Education Days.  So, maybe this unit could be moved to the spring next year in order to accommodate those experiences.  I would like to also reach out to a mechanical engineer to speak to the students to provide a different learning experience.  After planning this PBL, I think I will think of projects much differently for my classroom.