Blog #1
This semester I have been working with the same third
grade teacher from last semester. Even
though the unit I wrote was for first grade, and I am working with that teacher
as well, the observation was done with Mrs. T. in third grade. She was in the process of a PBL unit with the
topic of the Revolutionary War.
Before the observation, we had worked together to create
a movie trailer on the Boston Tea Party.
The students acted out the main events from the Boston Tea Party and
then we pieced those together to create the trailer. The students really enjoyed creating the
tableaus that were parts of the trailer.
When Mrs. Mitchell came to do the observation, Mrs. T.
was having students conduct research on people or events from the Revolutionary
War. After they conducted the research,
they created artifacts to go into a Revolutionary War Museum. The observation showed a mini-lesson where
students were shown the rubric for the project and instructed about how they
were to work together to complete the project.
This lesson lasted approximately 10 minutes and then the rest of the
time, students were working on projects with partners.
It was evident in watching students work and talking to
them that while some students were on task and compiling information, others
were struggling to stay on task. Also,
some students were able to determine relevant and irrelevant information, while
others tried to write down everything about their person or event.
As I watched this class in the observation, I wondered
why some students are better able to work in a team productively while others
struggle to do this. I also wondered how
to best correct this behavior. If
students know the expectations and then choose not to meet them, then
what? What instruction needs to occur to
help these students continue to grow in these areas?
Overall, I was glad to see Mrs. T. continuing to use the
PBL model and I was proud of the work she has done in this area.
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed my time in Mrs. T's classroom with you and appreciated the choices she provided for students in their Rev. War pbl, the opportunities for them to work collaboratively, and the individual and small group feedback she provided to her students during their research work time. You asked some great questions about the varied levels of students' collaboration and why some students are able to comply with the expectations for collaborative work and others struggle. I believe a lot of it has to do with their previous experiences with collaboration but also I believe so much of collaboration involves effective communication. Our students who are stronger communicators tend to be able to collaborate more effectively. Teaching and practicing ways to offer ideas and then seek them, active listening, and compromise our mini-lessons at the top of my list in teaching collaboration after these last two years with our pbl cohorts.
Sincerely,
Dawn