By: Sheri | In: PBL |
The most important thing I learned on the first day of this four-day IMSA Design Institute is that the facilitator (teacher) is key to the success of implementing a meaningful PBL experience in the classroom. PBL is really about moving students to take ownership of their learning which for the teacher means moving from a didactic approach to teaching into a more facilitative role. With teachers being held accountable for high stakes test scores, PBL will not be an easy sell to any teacher. Traditional teaching covers the tested items while PBL adds depth to the curriculum giving students opportunities to exercise and develop the 21st century skills needed to be successfull in their future careers. Let’s face it, employers will not be giving them the right answer, telling them how many pages should be in their report, giving them step by step instructions to solving a problem–they will expect their employees to use their own skills to generate solutions and address job responsibilities–literacy skills, critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, synthesizing skills, evaluating and creating skills, etc.
PBL experiences require role changes for the teacher and the student. Are we ready for this change?
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