LifePractice PBL
Let's connect!
  • Welcome
    • About Us
    • LP Philosophy
  • Tips & Solutions
  • The Book!
  • PBL Recipe Cards
    • An Overview
    • Sample PBL Cards
  • Learn PBL!
    • Hire us to come to your school
    • Licensed trainers only
  • Let's Talk

Bringing the Outside In: experts in your classroom

10/12/2011

1 Comment

 
cross-posted from www.GingerLewman.com

The students in grades 5-8 gathered in the lunchroom as the teacher tested the Skype connection with Christopher Orwoll, the CEO of theKansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. Students were quietly gathering their food, choosing tables, and clutching their already-prepared questions in hand. This was the first-ever working lunch for many of the younger students and it was exciting! 

Soon, several students were lined up, asking questions they had carefully crafted to gain the most essential information that would help them move their parts of the project forward. Mr. Orwoll was standing in front of the actual Apollo 13 capsule and was even moving the camera on his end to various angles and shots so the students could better see the Apollo 13 capsule and other actual space artifacts. Students asked about specific dimensions and functions of various items, as others snapped photos of the video conferencing event, while even others, listening intently, were quietly munching sandwiches and carrot sticks, intermittently scribbling notes for their team between nibbles and sips. 

After the almost hour-long video conference, the younger students marveled that they had been looking at the actual Apollo 13, while older veteran students remembered back to other projects and other experts they had talked with during video conferences. While Mr. Orwoll’s information about the Apollo 13 was extremely helpful, it had become almost commonplace for the veteran students to be able to talk with experts in the field. For now, they were ready to run outside, stretching their legs and refreshing their brains for a few minutes before heading back to work on their model and artifacts with the newfound information. 


While preparing for your LifePractice PBL project, teachers find it easier to call on other teachers who would be a useful supplement to learning. However, in the course of preparing for a project or even during the project, you will likely find yourself asking questions you don’t know the answers to. Or you might find that your students are asking questions that are really smart questions that deserve answers, but despite their best work and your help, you just don’t have the right answers for them. So should you drop those questions and concentrate on only the ones that you and your colleagues can address? 

Of course not. 


In addition to in-house educator experts, strongly consider who else in your local and online communities (Professional Learning Networks), such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Plurk, might be able to serve as a content or skill expert beyond the school-based context. As you need these experts, call on them to assist the students with the learning. 

Likewise, you might decide call upon outside expertise during the preparation of the project. Using experts during The Prep phase helps to ensure that high-quality, rigorous learning is being embedded at each step of the expectations. These specialists may be available to come to your room to share their knowledge with you and your students, or you may need to connect with them via email, phone conference, or video conference, like these students did with Mr. Orwoll of the Kansas Cosmosphere. If a personal meeting is not available, consider using a video conferencing tool, such as Skype, when possible. The combination of visual and auditory connection allows for learners of all ages to have an experience that is very similar to the f2f relationship. In fact, with a little practice, it can become as natural as opening up a virtual “window” on your wall to talk with someone who is just on the other side.


Suggestions for working with non-education experts

As you're gathering names for your “library of experts” that your students are able to call upon for their projects, it is good to remember that many experts will often lead with information, doling it out to students in very large and highly detailed portions. It is your job to help the expert understand the levels of learning and skill in your classroom. Also, this is the prime time to let them know that "empowerment through inquiry" is at the core of the work for your students. Some experts might have a tendency to lecture at students and those will need your assistance with sharing information in portions that are appropriate for your students' ability levels.

While experts should expect to be asked for information and can volunteer some additional information beyond what students have directly asked, the best way for him/her to interact with the students is to ask questions which might cause the student to do deeper research and learning. Sometimes a student may go off to research, only to come back a while later needing to ask that same question of the expert. That's OK as long as the student has truly tried to find the information on her own.

Overall, be cautious; not all experts will be comfortable with the inquiry technique. As the teacher, it’s your job to prepare the visiting expert for this type of learning format. Visit with them ahead of time about the project and your expectations. Provide sample questions, if possible, and in the case of student-contacted experts, let him/her know you’ll be ready to intervene if needed, for any reason. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to ensure that students are gaining high quality, information that leads to deeper engagement of learning, while continuing to foster quality connections with the community. You will need to take the necessary steps to make that connection a lasting and positive interaction for both your visitor and your students.

And don't forget the thank you note afterward!

1 Comment

Common Question, UnCommon Frustration, Easy Solution

10/11/2011

0 Comments

 
cross-posted from www.GingerLewman.org

"If they're not all doing the same work, how do you know they will all be ready for the tests?"

I’ve been asked this question more than once when talking with a group of teachers about Project Based Learning. Usually I get so worked up, that I’m nearly unable to stammer out a coherent thought, and that seals the deal in that teacher’s mind that PBL doesn’t do anything to support learning. 

I know this is simply not true, but I needed to work on a more insightful response that  addresses the question directly, gently, and effectively. I needed an answer that will actually help the teacher understand that the tests are not the end-all of learning in the world, regardless of what others might be telling them. I needed an answer that leaves the questioner better for having asked the question.

So today, I worked on my answer, 140 characters at a time. And it goes a little something like this:

Well, we like to work from the understanding that not all students are the same. Nor do they have the same needs. Instead of working from the premise that all students need is to simply pass the test, we feel that all students need to practice thinking; that they need to see themselves as an active part of the learning process; that they need to know that they're stronger by actively finding others who have strengths and interests beyond their own and working to better themselves, as well as helping out others with their own strengths.

These skills are ones that will carry them into the world of lifelong learning. These skills are the ones that will help students become learners and get excited about learning. And kids get excited about projects. Well more excited than doing test prep.

Think about a time your students were actually and truly alive in your class. Picture it. What was the lesson that was going on? Regardless of the content, I'm guessing it was active. That it required the student to be active. That it wasn't the norm. And while I'm sure it was quality learning, it was also about more than just getting the right answers for the test.

So if we can get that sort of life out of them, while making sure they're working on projects that are rooted firmly in the standards we know they need, where can we go with them? Will they remember the classes and lessons where they worked, finding the answers to questions on the study guide?  Or will they remember the classes and lessons that were exciting, and where they were fully alive and active? 

Which will they remember? And won't remembering this information, rooted in solid standards and learning, trigger better results on those tests?

So your task as the facilitator of a PBL project is to be sure that each student is getting what s/he needs out of the project. It's not about each student getting the same. It's about knowing your kids, and helping them to know themselves and each other. The tests take care of themselves for most kids after that.

Sure, there will always be stragglers, but that's why we have intervention time and we give them special attention to help move them forward as well, even if it means in addition to our PBL projects. 

That’s why project based learning works and that’s how we can ask students to learn differently and still do alright on those tests.  

So the next time I’m asked, you’ll know where we’re going. 


0 Comments
    Picture

    Archives

    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    May 2013
    February 2013
    March 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011

    Categories

    All
    Experts
    Learning By Doing
    Media
    Pbl
    Realities
    Research
    Stories
    Tips & Tricks
    Tips & Tricks

    Picture
    @GingerLewman on Twitter Click the picture to go to my own website.

    Author,
    Ginger Lewman

    Just a few thoughts surrounding the idea of LifePractice PBL.

    RSS Feed

Picture

                                   1500 E 11th St Ste #200, Hutchinson, Kansas, USA 67501; Phone: 620-663-9566; Fax: 620-663-5734