Implications of Incorporating PBL

Implications of Incorporating PBL

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Teachers will face many challenges when incorporating PBL into their classroom teaching repertoire. Tradition is difficult to break, and people tend to want to cling onto what they are comfortable with and techniques that they know work. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Unless exposed to PBL, everyone from the top down, will go on thinking that current practices are working. After all, standardized tests show that students are meeting standards. But, are they meeting the needs of the sudents' future, the requirements necessary to be successful in the 21st Century world? Probably not!

Potential criticisms that I might receive from administrators, parents, and colleagues are:

• How can you be sure students will perform well on the tests?
• By basing my planning and design on the standards that I need to meet and constantly monitoring the students work through conferences and formative testing, I can ensure that the students are learning what they need to know. I will design some of the formative assessments and a summative assessment in a manner similar to what they will experience on a standardized test, so that they get traditional testing experience.
• You can't possibly meet standards like this.
• When I plan the PBL I base my design on my curricular goals. So, as long as I monitor, conference, and re-direct as we go, students will meet the standards by completing the goals of the project.
• All they do is play in her classroom.
• Children learn best through play, something that has been forgotten in the race to "pass the test"! When a project is designed based on real-life problems and situations and the students are able to do hands-on projects, they will be more connected and dedicated to the work. What looks like play to some is really deep learning based on exploration, experimentation, problem solving, designing, and creating. 
• She's just showing off.
• I'm trying to teach in a way that I feel will best suit the needs of my students. Why don't you join me. I'd love to have a partner.
• You're making the rest us look bad.
• It's not about "us", it's about what's best for the kids. Learning through PBLs are the best way to develop the skills necessary for the future environments that students are going to be working in.
• The way I teach is just fine.
• Is it? How do the kids do? Are you seeing more restlessness, movement, and distraction in your classes? It's not a reflection on your teaching, after all, you've always been a great teacher. Kids are different now. There's so much information that they have available to them now that book learning is just not fulfilling any more. Until we catch up as teachers, we're going to continue to see more and more "problem children".
• I don't have the time for that.
• I won't lie, planning for PBL is a ton of work. But, what if we worked on them as a grade level team. We could divide the work up. Like our other planning, it would become second nature and we would get better at it as we do it more and more.

Incorporating PBL into my repertoire for effective instructional strategies will prepare students for the 21st Century by reinforcing the skills that will be required by the students, which include critical thinking, communicating, collaborating, and creating.  "The term 21st century skills refers to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits that are believed—by educators, school reformers, college professors, employers, and others—to be critically important to success in today’s world, particularly in collegiate programs and contemporary careers and workplaces." (2) Reading, memorizing, and regurgitation information is no longer a sufficient set of skills for students. Students need to know how to take information and analyze it, interpret it, and create and present a final product. Incorporating PBL into my curriculum will help to build those skills and to lead the minds of students toward the 21st Century thinking process.

Work Cited:

1. Retrieved from http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2813/12079594693_aee01d902a.jpg. 
2. (2013). 21st Century Skills Definition - The Glossary of Education Reform. Retrieved June 6, 2016, from http://edglossary.org/21st-century-skills/.