I should name my PBL "The ever-expanding project". There are so many things I'd like to add and tweak, but I had to draw the line somewhere. So here ya go!!!

I'm interested in getting feedback about this project. I have the classroom and dialog in my head so it's hard to see if there are holes in the presentation of the idea.

I struggled with this PBL when trying to follow the proposed flow of development. When I started with the Goals and Objectives there were roadblocks that the technology didn't allow me to express the way I wanted. The project really started to flow when I started with the finished product in my mind, put it into GoogleSites webpages and worked backwards. I bounced back and forth between the objectives and final product until I was satisfied. I hope you enjoy it.

[(previous work) I have chosen to focus on habitats and birds to teach these topics. It's coming along slowly, but hopefully building steam.]

I have changed my topic a bit. My final project is being designed for 3rd grade science classes. Much of the TEKS revolves around life cycles, ecosystems, and beginners biology. My new direction gives me better access to the 3rd grade content.

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Strategy: RAFT


Description: RAFT is a writing strategy that has students “entering into” the subject. RAFT is an acronym for the terms role, audience, format, and topic. RAFT involves having students write on a topic from a different viewpoint, to an audience connected with the subject, and in a form
different from a standard essay or report.


Purpose: The purpose of RAFT is to engage students’ imagination and creativity in a writing experience that moves them toward thoughtful and precise writing and toward an understanding of what has been taught. Although the writing that they do is not a traditional essay, it still requires students to process information and ideas that the teacher wanted them to learn. With RAFT, rather than simply transferring the information they have researched or learned into a descriptive essay, students work with it to develop a creative yet factual account of that information.


Application: RAFT is used to have students write about and process what they have learned in a factual yet creative manner. The RAFT paper can be assigned as a formal paper (including notes, a rough draft, peer conferencing, etc.), or as a short writing exercise to provide closure for a lesson. For example, in a unit that contains Civil War battles, students could choose and research a battle and then write an essay on it. But in the RAFT paper, they might choose to write as a soldier who fought in the battle they research and write the paper as a diary entry.

Creately

Our Creately application

Time Management in PBL Planning

As we get older we start to genuinely understand that the most important and fleeting non-renewable resource is time. As we guide our students through our PBLs it is of the utmost importance that we keep them on track by making use of their time in the most productive manner. To do this, a Timeline Chart should be created as an essential component in our PBLs.

Commonly human nature tends towards procrastination. The importance of a task increases as the available time to complete the task decreases. Logically, if we divide the task into subtasks with individual "deadlines", importance is placed on each step. This leads to an exponential cumulative increase in the importance of the task as a whole.

However, one of the basic principles in the use of PBLs is to allow the students to explore their information sources. Students may find usable information immediately, but most often the exploration of information sources will be on-going. In many cases the amount of information available on said topic might be a point of interest itself.

Not only will the availability of information be a limiting factor, but also students' tools for research and application will most likely be finite. A school's repertoire of equipment, e.g. computers, digital cameras, projectors, books, printers, copiers... may be stretched between classrooms and access could be difficult to fit into a rigid timeline chart.

Before the initiation of a PBL, an inventory of the students' available information tools can be taken. These days many students have digital cameras, text message collaboration, and e-mail on their cell phones; parental approval pending, this could be invaluable in adding to a classes resources. Many families have access the internet at home, and all students have access to at least the school library as well as free public libraries.

Within a classroom, there will be a range of student "study habits" and involvement in the classroom as well as at home. When dividing a class into groups to work on a PBL it is important to take both cognitive initiative and availability of physical information tools into account.

3 Intelligence Theories via Global Ecosystems

The modern definition of intelligence has come a long way from the IQ (Intelligence Quotient) that can be statically measured. Three commonly referred to theories of intelligence observation are named after their authors of Gardner, Perkins, and Sternberg.

In any classroom or PBL these theories and their components can and should be behind their design and function. For example of this check out 3 Intelligence Theories via Global Ecosystems.

For a more detailed breakdown of these 3 theories, click on the link in the post below.

Intelligence Theories beyond the IQ Test

The word "intelligent" is thrown around in everyday speech, but the actual concept is much mis-understood. In not so distant past, IQ Tests were utilized in developing a students future education. Classification of students according to their potential (their IQ) has shown to be inconsistent with their overall success in higher education and the workplace. These inconsistencies prompted much research into the term "intelligence". Three prominent theories that are considered by the growing field of education are summarized in Howard, Sternberg, & Perkins.

Strategies and Tools

In our quest to provide better education, teachers and education researchers develop teaching strategies that not only can cover specific curriculum, but also reinforce the learning immediately to help the students retain their new information and skills. One very basic, therefore very flexible strategy is call AGO: Aim, Goal, and Objectives. Slate Box is an easy and very flexible tool that could be used for collaboration and development of AGO and just about any other teaching strategy as well. Teachers that want to incorporate flow diagrams, visual and interactive outlines, and step-by-step thought process could use this tool across many disciplines.