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In my last post, I reflected on a conversation that clarified PBL . When we crafted the Driving Question or Essential Question , the teachers became comfortable with their PBL. What is an Essential Question? The purpose of an essential question is to connect relevance of the main concept or big idea back to the learner. It focuses the learner on what's important. Essential questions are: Thought-provoking, higher level thinking questions, and complicated with more than one answer. Open-ended, interesting, engaging, and focused on the key concepts. What are Driving Questions? I view them as essential questions that drive the PBL, containing the purpose for learning it and the project in one question. I honestly use "Essential Question" as a synonym for " Driving Question " depending on my audience. To set driving questions aside from essential questions, I ask: What real audience could benefit from the solution or answer to the question? How ca...

I had the privilege of working with five different groups of educators on PBL this past summer. There were conversations in each of the trainings that I cherished. One of those conversation occurred with our elementary teachers. As small groups were brainstorming their PBL topic, I heard a conversation about focusing on counting money. As the conversation progressed, several key questions came up. How do you convert a theme to PBL? The teachers started their conversation by choosing a standard that needed time and depth, and couldn't be learned through a one or two day lesson. Then a few of them started talking about learning activities they could do, while others were grappling with converting it into a complex and open-ended driving question. Glogster These conversations helped them realize learning activities were fabulous differentiated instructional activities, but those activities did not make it PBL on its own. What made it PBL? PBL was a meaningful chal...

In what ways have "personal safety" and "citizenship" changed? How do we respond to those changes? Expectations of conduct When I was growing up, there were expectations my parents had of me for my personal safety and development: Ask permission before going somewhere. Don't talk to strangers. -- (With the exception of my parents/entrusted adult being aware of the conversation.) Ask for help when I need it. Be polite and use good manners. Help others when I can, and add to their lives. These are the same expectations I have of my own children for their interactions in our physical community and our digital communities. What resources are available to us?  Tap into resources to start the conversations and learning. Our district has curriculum from iSafe . Edublogs is an amazing resource for teachers. Not only will they educate us about Internet safety, but they also provide an authentic context for applying it in the real world. See their...

Talk about it all you want, and we'll talk about it. Use it, model it, demonstrate it, and we'll give it a try. It won't happen all at once, but it will happen. Effective Leaders understand Monkey See, Monkey Do Some rights reserved by Stuck in Customs Do you want the focus to shift from a teacher centered classroom to a student centered classroom? Then focus your staff developments by actually doing what you want to see in the classroom. If a student centered classroom is innovative, engaging, relevant, and motivating, then model it in your "classroom" which is your staff development. Offer options for them to pick and choose from: Give them a choice board or a menu to pick and choose their professional development trainings. Try FedEx-ing it : Work collaboratively on a PBL or a student-centered lesson. At the end of the training, you must "deliver it" and bring it back to the whole group.  Flip your Professional Development by gi...

It's scary to take your first steps into PBL. What if it doesn't work? What if I don't know what to do next? The first steps often are the scariest; however, most of us who try it are sold by the success. Preconceived Scare-Factors about PBL In the past year, I've heard the following three preconceived notions about PBL: I have heard people describe their PBL as having choice boards or menus for student choice; but in actuality, what I hear them describing is differentiated instruction (DI). Sure, DI is in PBL, but that does not make it PBL.   PBL Benefits PBL is good for all learners. When PBL is done correctly, it engages the students in their learning. They are motivated by an authentic purpose that peeks their curiosity. Learning is differentiated through product, process, possibly content, choice, etc. Various learning styles are met, and student strengths are nourished. Teachers can work with small groups, and can meet individual needs. PBL ...

I had some great comments from my last post about student portfolios, Diigo, and blogs. This post is a continuation of that conversation. Traditional Portfolios When I think back to my beginning years in the classroom, I remember my student portfolios were in manilla file folders. Later, they became gorgeous construction paper books. On both accounts, they were linear, and you would view it from left to right, one page after another. Currently, the two sites that stand out in my mind to collect student work in a linear manner are LiveBinders and Google Sites . Those are great options, and I'm sure there are a plethora I haven't even considered. However, I am not always a linear thinker. I like having multiple options. Diigo Portfolios In Diigo , students could bookmark and collaborate regarding their resources, notes, etc. The teacher could view per assignment or per individual. Here's a little video made in Screenr that shows my thinking: Tips for Manage...

I've had several people ask me about how to start blogs and portfolios with their students next year, and what's the best approach. Purpose of Student Portfolio? Portfolios  are collections of student work/artifacts that represent the process and progress of their learning. Typically the stronger artifacts document reflection and feedback. Some of the artifacts in the portfolio are then selected to present to others, such as at a parent-teacher conference. Collecting, reflecting, and selecting to share with others is what makes portfolios extremely valuable. I like the visual that Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano created to show the three steps of curating a digital portfolio. Creative Commons: Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano/Langwitches What Could a Digital Portfolio Look Like? I appreciate Implementing ePortfolios? Questions to Consider , and have used it to funnel my thinking for what the digital portfolio could look like. I'm at a comfort level now where I don't ...