717+PBL+Reflections

This class began with the burning question, "What is MY kuleana at this point in time?" I thought that my teaching style might change a lot as a result of this class, and in some ways I was correct. It stressed me out at first, to think about how much I would have to change things. I envisioned a huge shift in what I was doing--and that may still happen. But what I've learned over the past three weeks is that I can implement small changes at a time and actually make a tremendous difference to my students. By incorporating one or more of the "6 A's" into my current curriculum, I can move towards making work more meaningful and authentic for students as well as myself.
 * La Hope**
 * Po'alima Iune 29**

The shift towards PBL is a big one. After taking this course, I feel like I know the possibilities that are out there, and I also know that we have to work within the realm of what we have available to us. Three weeks after wondering what my responsibility is at this point in time, I think that I've seen that it's the same as it's always been--to provide my students with a foundation of Hawaiian literature that will set the framework for how they look at other literatures as well as the world. There is now an added component, and that is to figure out ways to make the work more meaningful by incorporating elements such as adult connections and active exploration.

I'm also thinking that I have a responsibility to my colleagues to share some of the big "aha" moments that I've come across. For me, the tuning protocols were huge, and I'd like to take them back to my school and use them with my co-workers. I am also interested in examining other kinds of protocols, especially those for student discussion. This class has shown me how useful they can be, and I'm convinced that, even though the structures may seem forced or strange at first, they actually are very helpful in generating thoughtful discussions, which is something I am always struggling to achieve with my students


 * La 12**
 * Po'alua Iune 26**

I like the exercise we did on assessment today; I've learned that it helps to build things with others. I always struggle with making rubrics, because what is difficult for me are the ranges between the "5" and "1"; it's easy for me to articulate what is really good and really bad, but it's harder to do the spaces in between.

The time in class was very useful today; I feel like I got a lot done, and as I'm going through the process of filling in the Project Form, I'm starting to see how this project will develop. I'm realizing that this project is going to have to be heavily research-based so that students have a platform from which to write. As I blog, I'm thinking that it might be good to go on a field trip at the start of the year and model the project for the kids, making a connection to the place we go.

In the past, I've taken students to Punalu'u, which is rich in history. If I can whet the students' interest in the place by telling them stories about its history, then we will have already answered the essential question of, "How can knowing the history of a place inspire people to love and honor it?" If I frame this well, then the field trip will already inspire them to learn more about the places they love. Hmm...something to think about...


 * La 11**
 * Po'akahi Iune 25**

Thinking about the using protocols readings that I looked at a few days ago--want to throw this out there while I'm thinking about it. Perhaps my action-research paper will focus on teacher protocols. We don't have official time to collaborate during the school day, but there are plenty of opportunities that we can create for ourselves. I'm thinking of finding a group who wants to work together and introduce the use of protocols for them...

That is all. Just a thought about what my Big Paper might be on.

So, maybe it's actually a lot.


 * La 10**
 * Po'alima Iune 22**

What did I used to think about PBL?

I used to think that Project Based Learning was learning centered around projects that students did. One of the charter schools that I was involved with 10 years ago is heavily focused on PBL, but based on what I’ve observed, it seemed like in doing PBL it was very difficult to also provide students with basic reading, writing, math, etc. skills that they needed in order to be successful. Students who were drawn to this school were very often already struggling learners. The curriculum seemed daunting, given that all the students were doing different things. I’d applied for a position at that school ten years ago, but I’m really glad that they didn’t hire me—I have a feeling that if they had, it might have put me off teaching forever.

I didn’t have much exposure to formal definitions of PBL, and I certainly didn’t seriously consider how I could implement it into my classroom. It wasn’t even really on my radar. I thought that projects with useful and authentic pieces were certainly good for students, and I developed some of them for my classes, but I never really identified the learning in my mind as PBL, and I’m not sure that many of them would meet the definition that we’ve been developing.

After two weeks in this class, I feel like I have a clear(er?) understanding of what PBL is. I like the presentation with Elizabeth G. yesterday, particularly the way that she identified how the projects she was involved in met or didn’t meet the criteria for PBL. For myself, I feel like I am not at the point where I can totally base my curriculum around PBL. However, I do see myself moving in that direction and incorporating more of the elements of PBL into my curriculum.

What am I still wrestling with? I still need…to think about / figure out how direct instruction and skills work into PBL. I also need to think more about the process and figure out how, for me, I can give students choice and voice in the process.


 * La 9**
 * Po'aha Iune 21**

"Projects are not failures if they are not PBL." I like that. I liked also the way that the presenter today did a lot of reflection about whether or not the projects she shared could be considered PBL. It’s good for me to be reminded of the “checklist” of things that “make” a project actually a PBL. Of cousre, this also circles back to my question of last week—What makes this more than a project? What actually makes THIS PBL?

I’m feeling pretty good about the children’s story project that I’ve been thinking about, and I’m feeling confident that it can be considered PBL. However, I’m a bit concerned because I feel like I have a lot of work to do on it in the next few days.

This is for you, Raleigh.
 * La 8**
 * Po'akolu Iune 20**

A record of my day: 1. I did not false crack Darren today. Mostly because he made me laugh a lot. I deserve a gold star.

2. The TED talk we saw was interesting, and could also be applied on a more philosophical, "meaning of life" level. I wonder if the speaker gets there eventually? When he said, "//We see things not as they are but as **we** are,"// I immediately thought of the drama going on in the lives of several close friends. I could see this quote opening up all kinds of interesting discussions with ninth graders on the meaning of life. Maybe I'll drop this line when I'm giving deep advice to certain angst-written teenagers I know. On a more teacherly level, though, this is a reminder that the trick to getting things right and making life good for kids is to "see things as the students see them so that we can understand where to begin." The difficulty, as Darren pointed out, is remembering or figuring out how kids see things. I've sometimes thought that I'd be a really good pre-algebra or algebra 1 teacher because I struggled a lot with those concepts--I think I know how the kids see them.

Other quotes from today: Complexity is best rendered by simple demonstrations starting with simplicity and moving towards complexity. Starting with complexity leads to confusion.

3. Thanks for the time to work; my goal is to bust out my paper before I go home.


 * La 6**
 * Po'akahi Iune 18**

Thinking Inside the Box What sorts of projects could emerge from this if this was an entry level project?

From my group’s discussion today:
 * Research projects and essays about family members
 * Writing prompts for short stories; ways to teach allusion and inference and assumptions we form; discuss personal perception and how it effects
 * Have students think about how they would archive their lives versus how some one else might archive their lives—connected to identity and self-perception
 * Provides opportunities for problem solving and building inquiry that can then be applied to the maths and sciences
 * What might go in your box?
 * Figure out relationships between objects—writing, art—how are they connected to each other?
 * Have students put their things in an unlabeled box—have students trade them and then describe the anonymous owner from an unbiased, objective point of view

I love the premise of this activity, and it was really neat for me to see artifacts from Dr. Reppun’s life. The Reppun family is “famous” in our community, and to see the passion and intelligence in Dr. Reppun’s writing was inspiring. It so beautiful that his letters are being shared with others and that students get to “meet” him through the project that Josh Reppun has created.


 * La 4**
 * Po'aha Iune 14**

I have been struggling with the questions “Is Inquiry / Problem Based learning ALWAYS the best way? Is there ever a time when PBL is not the best way to achieve a goal or to operate a classroom?”

I really believe that there are some nuts and bolts things that kids need to know, and as a descendant of an oral culture (as many of us are), I believe that memory is important. There are just some things that kids NEED to know. After the //Inquiry Circles in Action// reading (55-56, 65) and our group discussion, I think I’ve found a few ideas that’ll help me proceed.
 * 1) According to the reading, “conventional projects often fall short…[because] //they haven’t been framed and operated as true inquiries”// (65). To me, this means that the **framing** of a project is key. If I can convince my students that the large-scale project we are working on is important and meaningful, then all of the things that enable us to complete the project well automatically become meaningful as well because they are the tools that we will use to achieve our goal. For example, if it is important to create a written record of the stories of our grandparents, then knowing how to write a coherent sentence and use vibrant language become important because, without these tools, we can not record our family’s history in a way that is impactful.
 * 2) Many thanks to Tiffany, who pointed out that one thing she and her colleagues have learned is that when dealing with Inquiry Based Learning, there’s a big space to teach kids “stuff.” Often times, in order to ask good questions, kids need a foundation of prior knowledge in order to know what to ask questions about. This makes me feel better because I know that there is a need for kids to know “stuff.” I’m trying to figure out how the “stuff” fits philosophically and practically into a PBL model.

While I don't know that I believe that PBL is always the best way, I do believe that it is valuable and important. I’m trying to figure out what my life next year is going to look like as I incorporate what I am learning into my curriculum.


 * La 3 Reflection**
 * Po'akolu Iune 13**

I really enjoyed the protocol that we did today, and I am thoroughly enjoying the way that different discussion strategies and PBL planning are being modeled through the class. It has been truly inspirational to talk story with other teachers and hear what they are thinking about PBL in their classrooms.

My personal challenge is to open myself up to possibilities. In my mind, I have an idea of what I’d like to develop via this class, but I also acknowledge that by putting my ideas out there as Raleigh did today, I am opening myself up to a million more ideas that I might actually like and want to implement. While this seems like a wonderful thing, it is also a challenging thing because it means that many more ideas to sift through, sort, organize, accept, reject, develop, etc.

Another challenge that I see for myself is shifting my thinking so that planning is more student-driven. I am so used to a model where I come to class with plans of how things will go, I am the one who decides what students need to learn before they leave me, and I am the one who is, in essence, “driving.” On the other hand, though, I also see myself as one who throws problems and assignments out to students and then, when they ask me how to accomplish the task, tell them, “I don’t know. What do you think? Figure it out.” In that sense, I really do feel I put students in charge of their own learning, but I am usually the one who is determining what their final product needs to be.

I say I’m not a control freak, but I actually am. Okay, I’ll just say it. I AM a control freak. And I guess that’s my biggest challenge—how do I give up control? For now, I’m trusting that somewhere out there is a process that will work for me the control freak while at the same time allowing my students to take control of their own learning.


 * La 2 Reflection**
 * Po'alua Iune 12**

What is school for?

The purpose of school is to keep the economy of our nation up and running. School provides not only a system through which the working population may be trained and prepared for jobs in the future, but it also provides the invaluable benefit of weekday childcare for the working parent. Without school, the nation would come to an economic standstill with future workers not being prepared and current workers trying to figure out a way to keep their children from running amok.

Really, when looking at some of the ways that schools are run, an argument can be made for the thinking above. In darker moments, I can see Gatto offering the above as one way that the current system operates.

The problem, of course, is designing a school that is going to be meaningful to all learners. I thought that the article “School on a Hill” was interesting in the way that people from various backgrounds came together to talk about a vision of what an ideal school would look like—and they failed to come to a consensus. There were many things that they agreed on, but to me, there was no clear nuts and bolts vision at the end.

The challenge I am facing in this class is to think about how things are for me in my school and classroom, imagine the possibilities that exist, and then prepare for the realities that I will face. It’s a frustrating and delicate balance, and I am wishing that I really had time to sit and think about what I will face and how I will change things that I have the power to control when the school year starts.


 * La 1 Reflection**
 * Po'akahi Iune 11, 2012**

Is there one Burning Question and how can we address it in this course?

There are several “Burning Questions” that I’ve been thinking about, particularly after reading Ron Berger’s articles. First, “What is MY kuleana at this point in time?” Berger’s articles were very inspiring, but the work he does also sounds exhausting. As I juggle all of the things that I feel I’m supposed to be doing in life right now (family, doula services, ku’i in the school and community, sustainability, writing, being present and supportive for friends and colleagues, working on masters coursework, not to mention teaching my students well on two different campuses), I’m wondering how much I will truly incorporate PBL into my classroom and how much the costs might outweigh the benefits.

I guess one goal I have for this class is to figure out how I can fulfill all of the responsibilities that I feel obligated to, taking care of them to the best of my ability. To that end, I’d really like to find ways to tweak / add to / redirect much of the work that I already do in order to make it more meaningful and to cover many of the bases that are covered via PBL.

One thing that I’ve been thinking about for several years is the need for more children’s stories that perpetuate the traditional mo’olelo of Hawai’i. I went to Ka’ena Point in the spring and saw not only fishermen and families with young children but also piles of trash, burned pallets with four inch nails littering the sand, dirt washing into the ocean because of offroading, and desecration of sacred sites and burial grounds. So many precious places in Hawai’i are not being taken care of because people have forgotten the history that the places hold. I’m thinking I’d like to create a project that requires students to do research on a place and then write a children’s story that will not only share the history of the place but inspire others to honor and care for the place…I’d like to think of a way that I can integrate Hawaiian literary devices, art work, truly good writing, research, and maybe interviews as well as personal reflections. I’d also like for the project to be applicable to both my 9th and 12th graders.