Julie and I developed a modified version of a high school PBL task we read about in one of our BIE resource books. We thought this would be a great way for teachers start with PBL through a school wide project. It's a low stakes project that serves as a vehicle for establishing routines and procedures, while building community at Unity Grove Elementary. In an effort to support teachers with this work, we designed a mini-project that modeled many of the activities they would engage their students in during the first 9 weeks.
Trying to do this mini project during the week of pre-planning was no easy feat. We were very concerned that having only 3 days (one hour sessions) for this work would cause teacher groups to lose project momentum. However, despite the project limitations, our faculty handled the project like a champ! We were so excited to see teachers attend the sessions completely focused, excited to learn, and wiling to participate despite the numerous items on their "to-do" list to prepare for the first weeks of school.
We kicked off the project by asking the faculty to shout out what they think of when they think of the staff at UGE. We created a word cloud using Wordpack as they gave adjectives:
Trying to do this mini project during the week of pre-planning was no easy feat. We were very concerned that having only 3 days (one hour sessions) for this work would cause teacher groups to lose project momentum. However, despite the project limitations, our faculty handled the project like a champ! We were so excited to see teachers attend the sessions completely focused, excited to learn, and wiling to participate despite the numerous items on their "to-do" list to prepare for the first weeks of school.
We kicked off the project by asking the faculty to shout out what they think of when they think of the staff at UGE. We created a word cloud using Wordpack as they gave adjectives:
It was so great to hear such positive things about our faculty and staff! We examined the list of words and determine what we could improve. Grade levels worked together to determine their team name for the project, create a banner, and then prepare to share their team name during the first PL session. We then followed plan outline for the week. Here are some images to recap the fabulous week:
Despite the limitations of a busy week preparing for the semester ahead, the faculty presentations were amazing! It was so refreshing to hear all of laughing, watch typically "shy" teachers present for their group, and see the level of creativity all of our teachers have to offer.
It was a great project, but the real work is still ahead. The experience was simply a snapshot of what PBL can look like in the classroom and more conversations are needed to determine where support is needed. We gave teachers a plan to start with, hoping it would help them feel more comfortable starting with PBL. During the second week of school, Julie and I will visit grade level planning meetings and classrooms to identify were we can support others. Stay tuned!
It was a great project, but the real work is still ahead. The experience was simply a snapshot of what PBL can look like in the classroom and more conversations are needed to determine where support is needed. We gave teachers a plan to start with, hoping it would help them feel more comfortable starting with PBL. During the second week of school, Julie and I will visit grade level planning meetings and classrooms to identify were we can support others. Stay tuned!