Kim Trott Blog Post 5

Kimberly Trott Blog Post 5 What I Used to Think/But Now I Know

                When I first heard about Project Based Learning, it was through a meeting at our school in which other teachers were explaining Project Based Learning to fellow teachers through departmental meetings.  It seemed very abstract and more of like, “I do that in my class now.”  At that time, I did many projects in my class but in actuality, they are nothing like what I have found out that PBL projects entail.  Normally in my honors class, I assign the topic, or give them the option to pick between a couple of topics, and then the students go home and make sure their rubric requirements were met.  I did the same for my CP courses but we did the project in class.

                What I know now is that I still have a long way to go.  I have learned that student choice and voice is critical at all stages of the project implementation.  I am working on trying to turn over what I deliver as instruction to the students.  Meaning that I do not have to tell them every single thing they need to know in class.  That through the investigation and project development they should walk away with a sense that they have done their part and are able to take a test without me having to give them everything needed to receive a high grade; that a lot of the burden is on them now to actually read and develop quality work that helps them understand the material.  I also have learned that having a real world project, which is authentic, and has a real audience, is important in order for the project to be relevant in the real world.  Finally, I still need to work on real world soft skills with my students.  I hope to create a one-page chart over the holidays for my desk that reminds me of key features of PBL that I need to work on with my student just as part of the normal routine day.  That from day one of class we need to be working on the skills that makes PBL successful.  

Savannah Griffith Blog Post 5

What I use to think about PBL..

When I first was told I would be taking the class I was nervous. I really had no idea what Problem Based Learning was or how I could use this in my art room. I also knew I would be going through ADEPT, taking the gifted and talented course, read to succeed and coaching cheerleading for the first time. That was and still is a lot on my plate but I am so thankful I chose to still take the class. I thought that it would be too hard and challenging. I also thought that art could not possibly get any better! Boy was I wrong!


What I now know!

I have learned so much this semester in PBL its hard to put into words. I really enjoyed implementing my lesson and seeing the excitement in my students. I now understand that PBL is much more than just a lesson plan like I thought it was this summer. I was able to create a problem scenario and my students were able to create a solution. I absolutely love how different each final product was. I also now know that art is full of problem based learning everyday. I now understand what protocols are and how effect that can be for all lessons. I was basically doing that anyways and did not even know it. I also LOVED genius hour! My students took such care and time on their projects. They also were so creative! I cannot wait to implement a new unit and genius hour next semester!

Sarah Kate Chatel - Blog Post 3

I love my job! Being a special education teacher has made me shift my approach with every student, not only the ones who struggle. As a special education teacher I must constantly evaluate student’s present levels, analyze where they are currently, formulate personalized goals and continuously progress monitor their understanding. Through this process, I make goal setting and overall awareness a priority with my students. As teachers, we are every student’s s and it is my top priority to empower students to become their own advocates and develop them into having a growth mindset. A huge part of teaching students who have a disability is to be self-aware and how to pursue the developments of their weaknesses. I strive to conference with my students every Friday, in order to identify weaknesses and develop a game plan for improvement. Working with students that come from poverty, I see the need to develop a growth mindset within students. They must be driven to learn more, become better and go further than they ever thought possible. I believe that every student possesses strengths and weaknesses and is capable of being successful. I aim to meet student’s individual needs and develop a growth mindset amongst all students in order for them to overcome their difficulties in learning and life. 

Sarah Kate Chatel/ Higgins Blog 5

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.

Emily Waddill Course 2 Blog 5

As a result of my first every PBL unit of study myself and my students have learned a great deal. I have learned that sometimes technology isn’t always your friend, but you make the best out of what you have. We had a lot of issues with saving our files, so we had to spend a lot of time on redoing something that wasn’t saved properly the first time. The students were more engaged in this project because it had meaning and relevancy to them. So, in the future I want to teach lessons that connect in some way to their lives.

Once students got the hang of using the excel program, they enjoyed typing in the equations to solve their math problems. Of course they needed to know how to do the problems themselves, but the program really helped a lot. Their group budgets were not as in depth as I had originally planned for and we didn’t have time to format the spreadsheet but they had a chance to view each other’s projects and rate each other. They are very honest with each other on how the projects went, so having a talk about constructive criticism would be good for next time. I also found that things I had planned on only taking one day in my unit plan ended up taking longer. So, in the future more working time will be provided to students. I am looking forward to my next PBL unit in the spring and am excited to see what students create.

Robert Smith's Blog Post 5

What I Used to Think About PBL and What I Know Now

PBL is an exciting curricular distribution method that is effective when well planned. While I do not feel it is applicable in every classroom all of the time, I learned that it can be applicable to most classrooms part of the time. Below I listed a few of the anecdotes I discovered about my thinking throughout this process.

I used to think…	Now I think / know…
PBL was difficult to begin.	I can do it confidently, with a little Googling.
PBL was time consuming.	PBL is time consuming.
PBL was a major undertaking.	PBL is a major undertaking, but it is doable.
Students should try to work at the same pace.	Students learn at their own rate and need to be able to do so.
Projects should have similar looking results.	Projects should be much more than that.
PBL was a little overwhelming.	PBL is very overwhelming.
PBL was only about doing projects.	PBL can be made into the complete curriculum.
PBL was students working independently researching a project.	PBL needs to be collaborative.
I wanted to teach through projects all of the time.	Middle school mathematics is extremely difficult to be project-based all of the time.

Taylor Thomas - Course 2: Blog Post 5

What have students learned as evidence by data analysis? Through our PBL learning experience this semester, students learned what Colony Collapse Disorder is, possible theories for CCD, how CCD effects the economy and our food source, stated a claim for the most likely cause of CCD and how they can help with the issue. Based on the analysis of student work, their level of mastery was 93%.

What have you learned? I learned that my CP students needed more guidance than anticipated. I learned that students are proficient in researching and creating products of their findings. I also learned that some students were aware of CCD, but most had never heard of it. Most importantly, I learned more about my students as learners, their work ethic and how they interact in a group setting.  

What worked? The timeframe and timeline for this investigation yielded positive outcomes. The way I organized activities and learning experiences worked well. For the most part, students worked efficiently in their groups. Providing choice in various aspects of this investigation also worked nicely for my students.

What didn’t work? Staking a claim and supporting with evidence did not go so great at first with one of my classes. When I realized students were not successful in supporting a claim with evidence, I gave them examples of how to begin their claim and make it their own. After some guidance, students were successful.

How will this new learning be evident in your next PBL unit? I plan to incorporate a more organized Project Agenda Board in my next PBL unit to provide students with guidelines, checkpoints and expectations. I will thoughtfully pre-assess students and conduct a class discussion on need to knows to hopefully avoid minor setbacks such writing an effective claim and supporting it with evidence. J