Blog 5 Kimberly Trott PBL Presentations and Reflections
My students just finished the PBL on Greece from last fall. Next week we will begin to implement the spring semester class PBL. Going through the Greece PBL again was so hard but helpful. I learned just a little bit more on what it takes to make sure the PBL is effective.
I spent more time on soft skills and discussion on team work. I also gave the students more time in class to research the material. Thirdly, I gave them less structure to see if they could handle more of the research. Overall the projects turned out similar to 1st semesters but a bit more creative. I'm not sure why but students took liberties this semester like adding extra images to the museum artifact and exhibit label project. I'm not sure if this is good or bad but it was confusing to grade so next year I will have to set strict rules on the one image limit. It's like they were looking at the rubric but thought it's OK to add all this extra stuff.
The hardest thing for me to deal with is the lack of drive some students have and some groups have. I always find disinterested students hard to deal with on many levels. One it makes you feel like you failed and secondly, it's hard to find a way to motivate them.
The second PBL gave me practice and now I can go in and finish up my spring PBL unit plan. I think the biggest stress with PBL I feel is that I always feel in a rush. They take so long to do and I feel guilty not getting to all of the units I normally do.
On the bright side I did have a student on the verge of tears Thursday because she couldn't find the answer she was looking for online. She told me she was typing in the research topic and couldn't find an answer to the question. I told her it isn't that simple. It then occurred to me that this is what a PBL question is supposed to do, frustrate students so that they can't just type in the research topic and get an answer that fully develops their project. That they must have done adequate research to see the bigger picture.
Kim,
ReplyDeleteLack of enthusiasm and engagement from students is a hard thing to deal with. As educators, we always want to find ways to bring excitement and direct involvement in whatever we teach them. Although it is disappointing, I tend to try to find the bright side of things. I focus on what they have accomplished whether in the unmotivated group and in the other groups. I look at the learning that has occurred and celebrate this. We have to remember, this process is new to them as well. This learning style definitely challenges the traditionally practice from before so it is a learning curve. I always reflect back during the process and even after, looking at those that lack engagement or drive. I think about how can I plan something different to reach them even sometimes just sitting down and having a conversation with them on their thoughts about the project and why they struggled. Perspective always helps. We can't be hard on ourselves because change doesn't happen over night.
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your reflection comparing your Ancient Greece pbl from this semester with the first semester's. I am glad that this group was more creative, even if it did make this harder to grade. You mentioned how combating student apathy is the biggest battle and I know that with spring break behind us this issue sometimes increases in frequency through the end of the year. I agree with Mandy that while it can be frustrating, many times celebrating the student success that we do see and proactively searching for ways with both individual students and with the collective class to motivate and encourage growth can be helpful as well.
Sincerely,
Dawn