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Interviewproblem-Basedlearningactivity11 3

Erica Shaw, a social science teacher, uses problem-based learning (PBL) as a fundamental teaching technique. She assigns two major projects per year that use PBL and have a public presentation component. For one such project, her US history class investigated the rise of the US as a world power by creating informational videos. Shaw sees the major strengths of PBL as developing skills valued by employers like collaboration, problem solving, and teamwork. It allows students to take ownership over their learning by pursuing topics of interest and developing their own research questions. Potential drawbacks include it being intimidating for experienced teachers accustomed to other methods. It also requires flexibility to deal with plans not working out as

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70 views3 pages

Interviewproblem-Basedlearningactivity11 3

Erica Shaw, a social science teacher, uses problem-based learning (PBL) as a fundamental teaching technique. She assigns two major projects per year that use PBL and have a public presentation component. For one such project, her US history class investigated the rise of the US as a world power by creating informational videos. Shaw sees the major strengths of PBL as developing skills valued by employers like collaboration, problem solving, and teamwork. It allows students to take ownership over their learning by pursuing topics of interest and developing their own research questions. Potential drawbacks include it being intimidating for experienced teachers accustomed to other methods. It also requires flexibility to deal with plans not working out as

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AmelieSherry

Dr.Pearson
TEC610
June25,2016

Activity11.3:ProblemBasedLearning
TeacherInterview
:EricaShaw,SocialScienceTeacheratMt.DiabloHighSchool

Purpose:
Formanyyears,educatorshavepromotedandfosteredinquiryanddiscovery
approachestolearning.SinceDeweystime,teachershavebeenadmonishedtospendlesstime
teachinglowlevelbasicinformationtostudentsandmoretimedevelopingcriticalthinkingskills
andhelpingstudentsconstructtheirownknowledge.Someobserversdonotbelievemuch
progresshasbeenmadeovertheyears.Thisactivitywillgiveyouanopportunitytoinvestigate
beliefsheldbyexperiencedteachersaboutinquiryoriented,problembasedinstruction.
1. Inwhatsituationsinyourteachingdoyouuseteachingmethodsthatmightbe
classifiedasinquiryorientedteachingorproblembasedinstruction?

ProblemBasedLearning(PBL)areafundamentalpillarinEricaShawsteaching
techniques.Thoughsheusesavarietyofteachingstylesthroughouttheyearbasedon
whatthestudentsneedandtoaccommodatetheplethoraofdifferentlearning/intelligence
stylesPBLisamongherfavoritemethodstouse.Sheassignstwobigprojectsperyear
thatarebasedinPBLwithapublicexpressionwhichcaneitherconsistofaculminating
celebration,competitions,presentationstotheclass,etc.Thesefinalprojectsincorporate
multimediaand/orinteractivedesign.ForassessingPBL,shehadherUShistoryclass
investigatetheriseoftheU.S.asaworldpowerandpreparea
JohnGreen:CrashCourse
stylevideofor1113minutes.Theyeachdidtheirownresearchandcameupwith
researchquestions.Theyspentaweekresearchingtodevelopaquestiontobasetheir
projectaround,andthenthenextweektheclassevaluatedanddialogueabouteach
questions.Onetipshesuggestedwastoensureeachgrouphasonepersonwithaquality
cameraphoneordevicetofilmallwith.

2. Whatdoyouseeasthemajorstrengthsofthistypeofteaching:

ApublicschoolinSanFranciscoaskedthebusinessesinthecitywhatskillstheyare
lookingforinpeopleenteringtheworkforce.Theylistedsoftskills,suchas
communication,collaboration,creativeproblemsolving,technologicalfluency,
resourcefulness,teamwork.Innoneofthedescriptionsdidcompanieslistskillssuchas
factmemorization,andspecificcontentexamplesthatpostindustrializationschooling
developsinindividuals.TheelementsofPBLaccompaniedbytechnologicaluse
preparestudentsforadulthoodinthe21stcenturyworldtheyareentering.PBLoffersthe
timeandspacestudentsneedtodrivetheirownstudies,takingownershipovertheir
learning.Studentssettoneforwhattheywanttolearnbydoingtheirownresearch,
pickingideasthatareofinteresttothem,developingthoughtfulquestionsandindepth
inquiryappropriatetothetopic.Thisprocessgivesstudentsavoicebyallowingthem
choiceinfocus,thenafterwardtheabilitytoshareoutwhattheydiscovered.Mrs.Shaw
recognizednoticeableimprovementsintheacademicprocess.Shestated,whenyougive
[studentsthe]opportunitytolearnwhattheywanttolearn,theyaremoreengaged.
1

Activity11.3InterviewingTeachersaboutTheirUseofProblemBasedLearning

Conversationsweredeeperandricher.Itwasallbasedontheirownideas.Thepowerof
learningwasremarkable.

3. Whatdoyouseeasthemajordrawbacksofthistypeofteaching?

PBLcanbescaryanddauntingforteachers,especiallythosewhohavebeenineducation
formanyyearsandaccustomedtocertainmodes.Additionally,therearethephysical
constraintsoftheschoolsday,time,andoverallschedule.PBLisanexploratory,
creativeprocessthatcanbestifledbycertainhourbarriers.Anotherproblemiscriticism
fromtheadministration,parents,andpossiblystudentsforviewingtheteacherasless
active.Informationdoesnotbelongsolelytotheteacher(shereferencedaTedtalkby
DianeLaufenberg).Instead,PBLallowsteacherstheroletoguidestudentsinhowtouse
andaccesstheinformationoutthere.Theyprovidethestructure,tools,accomodations,
scaffoldsnecessarytostudythesources(i.e.suggestusinghistory.orgasaresearch
enginetoreplacewikipedia).Nevertheless,teacherswillbeblamedforhavingchaoticor
seeminglyunproductiveclassroomsbasedontheappearance.Thereismoreupfrontwork
forplanninginvolvedinPBL.Ontheflipside,thereismoreflexibilityrequiredforwhen
thoseplansdonotdevelopasexpected.

4. SomepeoplebelievethatAmericanschoolsspendtoomuchtimeteachingbasic
informationandnotenoughtimepromotinghigherlevelthinkingandproblem
solving.Whatdoyouthink?

Mrs.Shawagreeswiththisstatement.Shearguesthatschoolshavebeencreatingpeople
thatnolongerexistnorareneededbasedonasystemdevelopedoutoftheindustrial
times.Inotherwords,wearecreatingfactorypeoplefornofactoryjobs.Studentsneedto
learnhowtofaceproblems,worktogether,thinkofpossibilitiesforsolutions,be
creative,andengageindeepinquiry,allofwhichareindicatorsofhigherlevelthinking.
Onceagain,companiesthroughouttheworldwantpeoplewithsoftskillsratherthan
havingacornucopiaofspecific,historicalfacts.

5. Ifyouwanttospendmoretimeonproblembasedlearninginyourclassroom,are
therebarriersthatpreventyoufromdoingso?Ifso,whatarethey?

EricaShawisgivenmuchfreedominherschooltobecreativewithherstudents.She
doesnotencounterobstaclesthatpreventherfromutilizingPBLintheclassroom.She
choosestodoaportionofthecurriculumusingPBLinordertomeetthediverseneedsof
herstudentpopulation,manyofwhichcomefromimmigrantfamiliesoflowincome.

Activity11.3InterviewingTeachersaboutTheirUseofProblemBasedLearning

6. AdditionalReflection:

Whenaskedforonepieceofadvicefornewteachers,EricaShawrespondedbysaying
classroommanagement.Sheexpandedupontheideaofwhatrelationshipwithstudents
means.Manypeoplethinkitmeansbeinglikedbystudents,butshedescribeditasbeing
mutualrespectandtrustbetweenteachersandstudents.Shesuggestedtostartmorestrict
andstayconsistent.Studentsmaynotliketeachersatfirst,buttheywillcometorespect
them,trustthem,andthenperhapsdevelopanappreciationforthem.Anothermainpoint
shemadewastoteachstudentstolearnhowtousetechnologyinareal,authenticway.
Forexample,whenadultsareresearchingorstudyingonthecomputer,therewillbe
periodicmomentswhenthepersonwilltextsomeone,browsetheweb,onlineshop,
checksocialmedia,etc.andthenreturntothetaskathand.Studentswilldothesameso
itisnothelpfultomicromanageandpunishthemwhentheytakebriefmoments(1
minutehereandthere)tochecksomethingelseonline.Themostimportantthingistobe
honestabouttheuseoftechnologyandgivethemaspaceinschooltopracticewhatan
appropriate,healthyuseofitlookslike.

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