Tina Sander's Final Blog Post 5

Tina Sanders Reflection of PBL Magnet Mania Unit: Upon completion of your first pbl project, include your culminating summative data in your plan and analyze growth from baseline to culminating product. What did your students learn? How did they grow?  Students were eager to demonstrate their learning in regards to magnets, magnetic force, opposite poles, etc.   There was not enough time for them to show growth in regards to writing at this time. 

Do these data impact my Learning Goal(s)?  Yes, they definitely did not have the skills to perform the required tasks in reading and/or writing. If I do this again at this time of year, I will adjust my plan.

Include this as a component in your revised pbl unit plan for this semester.  This can also be used as part of your last Blog Post 5 – What I Used To Think / But Now I Know reflection.  After designing, implementing, and reflecting on your first pbl practice consider what your students have learned as evidenced by your data analysis above, and also what you’ve learned as a result of this implementation. What worked?/What didn’t?/How will this new learning be evidenced in your next pbl unit plan?

What Worked Student Engagement was high & I was able to convince my grade level to engage in the unit with me. So, our entire grade level performed the magnet unit together. I was concerned that the magnetic slime might not work, so I purchased some premade magnetic slime to have on hand.  The cylinder magnets were extremely strong and pulled the magnetic slime toward them.

What Didn’t Work? I had difficulty getting other stakeholders to come help us with the unit. So, the magician did not happen. The Magnetic Slime formula did not work very well. The ingredients were purchased and mixed according to the recipe. It did not congeal correctly. While the cylinder magnets were strong in regard to attracting the magnetic filings, they were also brittle and broke very easily. In my next unit, I will ensure that all stakeholders are at my disposal long prior to the preplanning, planning, and implementing of any portion of the unit.

What I Used To Think / But Now I Know

I used to think that PBL and IB were more alike than they are.  While I knew that IB and PBL both involved a thorough pre-planning, I didn’t think about the fact that I would be doing the PBL planning completely alone.  Now I know that I need to plan way ahead and allow myself time to research and gather all materials to make it happen.