What I Used to Think...
There is no way Project-Based Learning can be used in an orchestral setting. It will take way too much time away from performing on instruments. I won't be able to directly connect it to anything we are doing in class, especially in a beginner classroom where my focus is on learning how to hold, take care of, and play an instrument for the majority of the first year. The students won't want to do it because they aren't playing their instruments. It will be so much work for me and will bog down my planning because it's so new to me.
But Now I Know...
Project-Based Learning can be fairly seamlessly incorporated in to my curriculum, even with beginner orchestra students. I am now able to cover the non-performance based standards, such as composition and making connections to culture and other content areas, much more thoroughly than I was before, and in a way that is meaningful and memorable to my students. Though it did take time away from playing, it forced me to become more efficient in my teaching and time management. The students took ownership of their learning. It was a rough start, and honestly there are a lot of things I will change for my next unit, but I really did enjoy the process. I know now that the weekly schedule did not work for my classes. When we condensed it down to several days or partial class period of work in a row, the work was much more efficient and I spent less time reviewing and redirecting. I was able to identify several weaknesses in my own teaching and instruction, such as reflection, effective assessments outside of performing, and personal time management and organization. My next project will not be focused around a concert performance either. It was too much of a time crunch once we got down to focusing on performances and PBL projects.
I am looking forward to developing a cross-curricular PBL for next semester!
Hi Kelsey,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your honesty and transparency with your response to the "What I Used to Think" part of this post. I know that many teachers feel that pbl is not applicable to a related arts setting due to the limited time teachers have with each group of students and the performance focus of the skills taught in class. I am so glad to see from the planning and diving in we spent in the summer to the implementation of the first pbl experience you saw how project based learning can be incorporated into your curriculum without sacrificing important practice time or compromising the performance component. I loved reading that the non-performance standards and components are incorporated more thoroughly due to the research and inquiry based learning structure of effective pbl and that the sustained time spent in this necessitated that you refine classroom management and teaching. I know this wasn't easy in the early stages of this unit but I am so thankful that it was a beneficial learning experience for both you and your students and you saw ways to make it work such as revising your schedule to incorporate continued time devoted to the pbl. I also appreciate the way you embraced the ways this experienced honed many of your own practices such as reflection, use of assessments,a nd time management. I am glad that your next pbl will not be one that has a concert component to it. I think one a year is great for pbl but they are also effective as separate components in a year long curriculum as well. I am looking forward to seeing what the spring brings. Sincerely, Dawn