I really wish that I had encountered this chapter over the summer before creating my PBL. The idea of a starter project and starting small would alleviate the stress I currently feel as I am coming up on implementing my project. Starting with a PBL at the very beginning of the semester instead of waiting until the end would also work better because my students would be learning the process from the beginning instead of halfway through the semester. The students need to have an opportunity to learn the process before taking on a bigger process, and I feel I don't have time to teach the process in a way that's going to leave them with a good taste in their mouth about PBL and becoming independent learners. I'd considered switching my PBL to a different class period (which meant a different level and curriculum), but I do not have a 3-4 week chunk of time to do a PBL with them, so I'm back to my original class and wishing I could go back in time to begin the semester with this PBL instead of the middle-to-end of the semester with this PBL. Teaching it from the very beginning of the semester would allow them to build on what they learn and create a more meaningful experience than a one-and-done project. I'm not giving them an opportunity to learn from their mistakes to make it better the next time around.
I also wish we had PBL instruction posters we could put up in the classroom--"Do Three--Ask Me," "Buzz" instructions, "SCAMPER" and so forth. I believe this would help the students understand what to do.
Hi Julianna,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your thoughts from reflecting on chapter 4. Starting with a small pbl unit is helpful and implementing smaller inquiry projects that help build capacity for students with collaboration and with the creativity and critical thinking that come with pbl would be helpful to scaffold support for student work. While we discussed this in the summer, we spent the majority of our time creating our unit. I am considering flipping the genius hour project to do at the beginning of the fall semester so teachers have the opportunity to create these opportunities for students in advance of their big pbl. We spoke via email and then in person this week about possibilities to adjust your unit plans in order to meet your students' needs. *Consider the poster machine for creating the pbl posters you mentioned in your blog.
Sincerely,
Dawn