Adaptation to the Role as Facilitator

Adaptation Takes a Community

As an educator, my role will definitely change when embarking upon a PBL unit. Instead of being up in front of the class lecturing and presenting material, I'm going to have to step back and lead students toward their own discoveries. Even though "traditional teaching" will still be necessary in order to present some concepts, I will need to keep this style of teaching to the minimum and focus on letting go of the reins a bit and empowering students to take charge of their own learning. Part of this process will involve helping students to be more independent in their learning and to not look to the teacher for all the answers. Extensive regrouping of techniques and practices will be involved on the part of the teacher and the students.

According to an article in Edutopia titled "5 PBL Practices for Redefining the Teacher's Role", there are five practices that the teacher needs to consider when teaching in a PBL environment. (1)

The above 5 practices, thorough planning of a unit, providing organization, clear goals, and resources, will lead students toward success and reaching the intended goals. Using essential questions that are based on real life problems will increase learning because students will be more invested in their learning. The use of models, videos, and real examples in teaching the unit's concepts will help guide students toward their own ideas and learning. Conferencing throughout the PBL, through individuals or groups, will assist teachers in revising before it's too late. By allowing students to change and revise as they go helps to ensure success. By evaluating themselves and peers, students will develop a sense of independence and control of their learning. Self-evaluation will take practice and training on the student's part, in order to gain the skills necessary to give constructive input to peers and to objectively evaluate themselves. I adapted a form from the Edutopia article (1) mentioned above, that I felt would be helpful to use with my PBL, Backyard Nature. Success in a PBL is largely dependent on the pre-planning and organization on the part of the teacher.

Will the students develop the competencies and skills needed to be successful?  That's the question of the day! Any "new method" will raise questions and the teacher will have to answer to administration, parents, and community members. Students will develop the skills that they need to be successful in their 21st Century world.  I really like this visual, taken from the Zulama Cloud blog. (2)

The skills displayed in this image will be developed in a well planned, designed, and monitored PBL. Through constant monitoring and conferencing, teachers will ensure that the curricular goals are being met. But, the question is, will this model prepare students for the standardized tests. When students become used to developing, designing, and collaborating, will they still be able to function in a multiple choice testing environment. Those are questions that can't be answered until a school dives in and begins to prepare students for the 21st Century. Are administrators willing to take the risk and support the teachers, and is the government ready to release their control on how schools operate by trusting teachers to do their job and getting rid of the one-size-fits-all standardized tests? So, I do believe that students will develop the skills necessary to be successful in their future endeavors, but teachers require the support to feel comfortable "jumping in" and making the change in their teaching methods.

Numerous changes will have to be made in my current teaching methods in order to incorporate PBL into my classroom. Since I am the Technology Integrator, first and foremost I will have to find teachers to partner with. A positive aspect to this is that we would team teach, lending two sets of eyes and hands to the entire process. My current schedule would have to be changed so that I am not on the Unified Arts (UA) schedule and am free to schedule my own time, allowing me to be where I am needed, when I am needed by a class. Currently I am confined to a schedule dictated by my 1st - 4th grade UA classes, making it very difficult to schedule open times with 5th - 8th grade. I would have to "let go" of some of the control and allow students to be more independent in their discovery and learning. I don't think that this would be difficult for me because I like to have students discover things on their own. I would need to totally change my planning and preparation methods and the first year of using PBLs would be similar to being a first year teacher again. Although I change and update my curriculum every year, PBLs require a totally different approach. Planning and preparation are within my control, but other things, such as scheduling and administration support are our of my hands. Gaining support at all levels, along with changing teaching and learning methods would be critical to the success of a PBL.

Work Cited

1. (2015). 5 PBL Best Practices for Redefining the Teacher's Role | Edutopia. Retrieved June 5, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-practices-redefining-teachers-role-josh-block.
2. The Four Cs of 21st Century Skills - Zulama. Retrieved June 5, 2016, from http://zulama.com/education-trends/four-cs-21st-century-skills/.