BLOG #2 CHRISTI COOMES REFLECTION ON PBL THE
VACATION PROJECT
The vacation project went well for my last
block class. Since they had created a rubric for the first PBL they were
much more efficient in constructing the grading rubric for this one.
Also, they used the rubric to determine if they were meeting the
requirements of the project. The first
time they did not refer to the rubric to see if they were meeting the
standards.
The vacation project presentations were
presented as a gallery walk. The students really enjoyed presenting this
way. They had several opportunities to
perfect their presentation, as they had to present it at least three times.
Also, they enjoyed this type of presentation because it was a low stress
environment (only presenting to six people at a time).
Giving the students calculation sheets on
which to work and a booklet to place the material in was very beneficial.
In the first project, I did not provide calculation sheets and the
students did not know how to construct them for themselves.
There were so difficulties in this PBL. My
second block class started the project. Even with constant supervision
and guidance, they were not productive.
They spent their time talking and not completing the assignments.
I had to stop the project. I think
they got the message. I am now working
on a tin man project which involves constructing a tin man out of recycled
material and calculating the surface area. They will receive the exact
amount of foil needed based on their calculations to cover their tin man. The middle block is now working to diligently
to complete this project.
If I had to do this again. I would
discuss the difference in cultural facts and other types of facts. The
facts they gave me about the country were not about culture, such as the
population of the city or country.
Overall I was pleased with the project.
Christi Coomes
PS I had accidently deleted this, but was able to retrieve
it. However, I could not get rid of the
line through the middle.
Hi Christi,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that the vacation project presentations were successful. The student artifacts you brought to our last class for your presentation and that I saw in my first observation this spring were evidence of successful implementation. Thank you for sharing the hard parts too. The reality of pbl implementation means that many times we will need to provide scaffolding and support to students in ways we didn't anticipate. The beauty of it is we can meet their needs in the middle as they arise because of the structure of pbl giving students consistent work time.
Thank you!
Dawn