Last week I finished what is probably my most successful attempt to PBL this year. I asked my Earth Science students to plan a senior trip. The things that made this PBL successful were things I've learned from being around the Freshmen teachers: A real-life event that can hook the students' imaginations, supportive scaffolding like a rubric, periodic checkpoints, and clarity about the scope of the project. I used this PBL as a way to have students learn to use Google Earth and the many features available in that software. (Did you know that with Google Earth you can swim with sharks, find sunken ships, or use a flight simulator?) It was also my first attempt to use parents as graders. All in all, I was happy with the PBL. I think I can tweak it if I ever teach Earth Science again. I learned a lot, and so did the students. Some students learned they were more capable than they thought. Others learned that they need to work harder.
Since then I've embarked on another "PBL" and it's really flopping. The "hook" isn't very good. It wasn't well thought out. It's just a poor copy of the other PBL, and both I and the students realize it.
I feel better about it when I watch this video where Diane Laufenberg explains that we learn by making mistakes.
We definitely would not have had any success at all without learning from our mistakes.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary Anne! You "first wavers" have been very transparent about your learning curves and that helps me take risks!
DeleteI didn't understand until recently that one of the reasons PBL works for students is because it gives them a chance to make mistakes (without punishing them) and gives them the opportunity to make changes to correct them before the final product/presentation.
ReplyDeleteWe really learn best by making mistakes, getting feedback, and making appropriate changes. It's true for us and our students! I'm sure if you keep trying, reflecting, and making changes, you're gonna experience a very successful PBL! Don't be too hard on yourself, though, there's no such thing as a perfect PBL!