On my journey to understand how to effectively implement project-based learning, I am slowly coming to one really important realization: there isn’t one effective way to implement project-based learning. The real difficulty in sharing how to do PBL with others is that it is both very instinctual and very personal.
Most PBL teachers will say that there is only so much advance planning you can do before the unit hits the ground with your students. PBL is about connecting real students to the real world, and while you can do some sketching ahead of time, the best projects are going to emerge as the students put their fingerprints on them. Most teachers will agree that having a well formed inquiry question and a wealth of curated resources is the best preparation you can do. But even more than the instinct involved is the fact that PBL requires passion on the side of the teacher. When the teacher is invested and excited, those emotions are catching in the classroom. And connecting back to the curation of resources, a teacher who is bored or uninspired by the topic will find it difficult to source the kinds of relevant resources required for an effective inquiry. So as my five-week journey into PBL begins, I have set one clear goal for myself: to find my own personal voice in PBL. Everything that lies in my past can inform my classroom. My passion for the arts, my career in film and advertising, my training in music, my love of building, an inherent desire to debate, a deep love of history – all these things will combine somehow to inform how my projects develop and unroll.
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Terri-AnnPersonal reflections on project-based learning. Archives
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