·
What
do I want to accomplish with my students this year?
·
As a
qualified and competent professional, what do I believe is best for them?
Since I operate
my classroom with a PBL model and philosophy, I then think through my PBL
practice:
·
Why
do I practice the PBL model?
·
What
are the elements of PBL that make it valuable for my students?
As I dive into the
semester, I have the opportunity to shed some light on my projects and make
sure I’m staying true to the model. I look at it as if I have a microscope on
the project or as if I’m doing a project dissection. I think through the key
elements of a project and evaluate whether or not my projects embody those. It
helps me to do a review of those elements and ask a few questions about each
one in relation to my projects:
·
Driving
Questions- If I’m doing PBL well, then each project needs to have an essential
question, which helps guide students through the project and gives them a
purpose for completing it. Here are some questions to ask:
o
Do I
have a clear driving question for each project?
o
Is
the driving question challenging?
o
Is
the driving question engaging?
o
Is
the driving question authentic and addressing a real problem?
·
Standards-
I have to hit my core standards and skills, and therefore my projects must be designed
around my standards.
o
Have
I clearly defined the standards and skills that I am going to address in each
project?
o
Have
I appropriately grouped standards and skills together so I can teach them in
each project?
o
Will
my end products allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of the content
standards and skills?
·
Essential/Employability
Skills-With each project, I want to reiterate and give students opportunities
to develop the employability skills (21st century skills) they need
for future careers.
o
Am I
giving students opportunities to develop collaboration skills through grouping?
o
Are
my projects offering students voice and choice and the ability to be creative?
o
Are
my students learning work ethic and agency by pacing themselves and meeting
deadlines in my projects?
o
Do
my projects require critical thinking and problem solving?
o
Do
my students have the opportunity to develop communication skills?
·
Community
Partners: I want to make sure my students are engaging with the community and
interacting with adults in professions related to their projects.
o
Does
each project enable students to have some form of an adult interaction?
o
Are
my students learning about real problems in the local, national, and
international community?
o
Are
my students engaging with people who are in professions related to the content
they are studying?
·
Benchmarks/Scaffolding:
I also want to make sure I’m giving my students plenty of support throughout
the project.
o
Have
I created benchmarks for each of my end products?
o
Am I
scaffolding each of my benchmarks to help students meet them?
o
Am I
giving students ample time and in class support to meet benchmarks?
o
Am I
doing formative assessments that allow students to improve their products/work?
·
Rubrics-
Each end product should have a rubric that allows my students to see how they
are being assessed and allows me to communicate expectations for the project.
o
Have
I created rubrics for my end products that include the specific standards and
skills I need to assess?
o
Are
my rubrics student-friendly?
o
Do I
regularly reference and have students use the rubric throughout the project?
o
Am I
using my rubrics to clearly communicate my expectations to students?
As I map out the
semester and work through my projects, I want to ensure that I’m doing PBL with
fidelity. If I do it well, then not only will I be able to meet my standards,
but also my objectives for my students. Honestly, at the end of the day if I do
PBL well then other school-wide objectives and district initiatives are also
met. It’s a win-win for everyone.
