Mike Kaechele

Tag: pbl

  • Objects as Entry Event

    We started our first project this week. Our entry event went very well. Rather than explain it I will show it to you and let you see if you can figure it out for yourself. The students were given these instructions:

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    Here are the objects in the center of the room.

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    We also played “Panama” by Van Halen while they checked out the items. Next students made guesses about what each thing symbolized. Many of them were stumped. When a student made a correct guess we threw them a popsicle.  After letting them guess for a few minutes we shared a slideshow of primary source resources with them. See how you many you can guess before checking out the answers in the comments.

    Students figured out everything except for the concrete paver. This activity was a great start for our project. Students were engaged in the inquiry and very motivated to figure out what everything stood for. We followed this up with revealing our Driving Question: ” ‘Murica…cuz MD?” Students now had to figure out what that meant.

    The next day the first thing that happened was two students came up to me to guess what the concrete paver stood for. Good attempts but still not correct. One of them said, “I thought about it all night.” That was music to my ears. I highly recommend using objects related to a project as an entry event. It is great way to start inquiry, build curiosity, and creates conversations between students.

    How could you use objects as an entry event for a project?

    PS: Make a guess and check the answers in the comments.

  • PBL Workshop > Keynote

    I had the opportunity to lead a three day workshop with a colleague at a middle school this week. It was waaaaaaaaay better than doing a keynote speech at a conference.
    Actually I’ve never done a keynote so I can’t honestly say that, but it was way better than all of the presentations that I have done at my school for PD or at conferences.

    Photo Credit: Kalexanderson via Compfight cc
    Photo Credit: Kalexanderson via Compfight cc

    The honest truth is that one hour sessions at a conference bring about very little, if any change in educator’s practice after attending. Sometimes they are an emotional pick-me-up which is needed but rarely do they lead to substantive change. The three day workshop format of this PD allowed for us to get deep into the PBL framework AND give teachers work time to actually develop their first project.

    Highlights for me included watching teachers transformed from fear and anxiety on the first day to excitement about implementing a PBL project by the end. Many teachers were struggling in an honest way with the challenges of giving up control of curriculum and content in their classroom. As they learned the complete process and how to gradually release students into it they became more comfortable.

    The other thing that was fascinating to be a part of was watching the principal give permission to his staff to make decisions. He was a true example of servant leadership. After an intense but healthy debate on grading practices, the principal asked people to move to two sides of the room based on what they supported. To everyone’s surprise, all of the teachers went to the same side of the room in consensus. It was a powerful, unifying moment for this staff.

    All in all we had a great week that I and the teachers enjoyed. I know that this school is on a great path of changing from traditional classrooms to a PBL framework. It was exciting to have a part in making a real difference in a school, rather than being a drive-by keynote. I definitely hope to have more opportunities to lead workshops in the future!