I have been doing a version of PBL through PLTW classes here at DFC for five years. For the most part, students love PBL and what they are capable of doing with this process. After doing PBL in Biomed and Engineering, I was making some changes to my Physical Science classes as well - but without formal training. Now that this training is complete, I can already see an increase in my ability to plan and implement PBL units. I am looking forward to PBL next year in all of my classes.
The one issue that I continue to battle with is student autonomy. Some students are not liking the idea of having to do the work on their own and want me to stand in front of the class and "teach." This is especially true the further I get into my classes. It's almost as if they are tired of the PBL and just want to be told what to do. I will continue to work on this when I enter the classroom next year.
I have the same issue with student autonomy. PBL works really well for intrinsically motivated students, but not so much for others. I set the expectations on day one that they're going to be teaching themselves, to a certain extent, but some still don't get that and struggle to keep up with a semi-self-paced curriculum. Grades aren't always enough to get them to work; sometimes they don't care about grades. However, that's probably an indicator of a more deep-seated problem.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually seeing that my gifted students have more issues with student autonomy in my PBL. They are so accustomed to the traditional style of teaching (and they are good at it) that any change in that routine upsets the balance they have created. More work means more abstract thinking. Most abstract thinking means more competition. It's interesting to see how that dynamic is changing.
ReplyDeleteJonathan, I can definitely relate to your comment about gifted students. I haven't seen that as much in my class, but I could definitely see how kids who are typically so good at traditional learning might get frustrated with having to "think outside the box" on a PBL-style project. But, it's great that you are challenging them like that!
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of this, and my fifth graders struggle with autonomy as well. I struggle with giving so much to them sometimes because they are all on such different levels, and it's tricky to know what they are actually capable of doing on their own and which students need a great deal of help. They are certainly not used to so much freedom! I'm excited to see how your school within a school goes at DFC!
ReplyDeleteHi Scott,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed meeting with you last week at DFC to discuss the pbl school within a school options for students. I appreciate how students will be given a choice to take a pbl structured course or a traditional one and I also appreciate the thought you and your team as well as Dr. Smith has given this cross disciplinary approach. You shared how the biggest struggle that has arisen with your pbl implementation through this cohort is student agency/autonomy and that many students would rather have a direct instruction model. I am wondering if this is because the pbl approach is new for them and they may not have experienced project based learning previously. I know that from our visit to Mann and from our coursework we've learned how students' have to build capacity for soft skills like autonomy/agency and collaboration and communication. I am wondering if a balanced approach to pbl would be helpful where we provide opportunities to build student agency and other skills that they currently are gaining while also giving support for the content that we know they need. So this could look like in the unit with students having opportunities to dive in followed by us watching to see what they need and where they need support and then a session where we discuss what worked/what didn't/ and provide them with guidance and content?
Sincerely,
Dawn