What I thought of PBL
I'm not going to lie, when I initially thought of Project Based Learning, I envisioned an interactive way of teaching that is successful with gifted students. I thought it would be difficult to implement PBL with my students, because they already struggle so much with learning. I questioned if it would actually work with my kids and I worried about giving them more responsibility within their learning, because they are not making appropriate gains with direct instruction. Then I thought, if the traditional approach to teaching is not making connections for them, then what is the harm in trying something new? I entered the course hoping that maybe this would inform me in a different approach to teaching that would benefit even those that struggle.
What I Know Now
I have earned so much throughout this process to becoming PBL certified! I have failed at some things and seen success and growth at many. I loved learning about and implementing a variety of consensus protocols throughout my unit. The silent debate as well as the student lead rubric making stood out to me throughout my experience. I saw students invest into their learning and become passionate about their project because it was all about them and their future career goals. My students developed an understanding for the importance of acting, speaking and presenting themselves professionally in order to be considered as a quality candidate for a job. One area I would like to focus on is having community and stakeholder involvement. Many of my plans fell through and I was not able to get the community involved within my project. I also wish that I had more opportunity for presentation of materials beyond a whiteboard. Students are so used to a Promethean board or projector that I had to step through many things individually on student computers, rather than with the class on the board. It would have created alot more ease throughout the project to have Promethean board technology within the classroom. All in all I enjoyed my first experience with PBL and I look forward to continuing to attempt implementation of another unit and get feedback to improve within my teaching.
Hi Sarah Kate,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate so much your willingness to consider pbl as a possibility for your students. I know you experienced some challenges and some unexpected variables that impacted your unit such as increased class size and limited technology. In spite of those you grew and your students were successful and I attribute that Sarah Kate Higgins, not to pbl, but to you. You have and continue to be one of the most effective special education teachers because you believe in your students, but more that that, you do the hard work of planning and preparing and then reflecting and modifying your existing plans to meet your students' changing needs and building capacities. Not only are these characteristics of an effective teacher, they are also characteristics of effective project based learning as well. I am looking forward to seeing you implement pbl with your inclusion classes and the collaboration that will take place with you and Emily.
Sincerely,
Dawn
Love your thoughts!
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