South Dakota Innovation Labs Summer PD 2012
It was our final professional development day with all of the wonderful teachers who came together to work on Problem Based Learning ideas at Platte-Geddes Elementary School. We ended this week with the opportunity to see a variety of PBL plans from educators representing Marty Indian School, Gregory, Platte-Geddes, Burke, Wessington Springs, Colome, Ethan, South Central, Whitelake, and Wolsey-Wessington. I began the week sharing with everyone that I enjoy working with educators to brainstorm problems and ideas that our students can get into. But, the end of the week is always inspiring for me! We heard about teams that will work with their students to build a virtual museum, and others who will examine their own town through a lens of garbology, and even more who wanted to redevelop their community with the students as an active voice within the process. I am always of course inspired by the folks that use the week to design a whole year's worth of PBL curriculum and the teachers who design their first quarter or semester with a grasp on how we align our standards through problems, projects, and products. But, mostly I am inspired by the educators who wrestle with the process and come away with a deeper appreciation and understanding of our craft and how we must continually evolve to meet the needs of our students and the world they are entering into. And, my favorite part is that this can and should look different, so in one place it looks like teachers and students building a better cow, and in another place its students with plastic baggies attached to themselves monitoring their individual production of waste, and in another place it looks like a a teacher and students redesigning their classroom to represent Westward expansion creating model trains...and boats of course. But, the end goal of all of that is the same isn't it? To help raise a generation of critical thinkers that not only have a true sense of where they come from but also a whole "toolbox" of tools that help take them wherever the future leads. A great, fun week with many many many thanks to Mary, Slim, Mari , Casey, Joel, Jill, Sam, Dr. Schopp, Dan and his team, and of course Donna (for the amazing meals!)!
It was our final professional development day with all of the wonderful teachers who came together to work on Problem Based Learning ideas at Platte-Geddes Elementary School. We ended this week with the opportunity to see a variety of PBL plans from educators representing Marty Indian School, Gregory, Platte-Geddes, Burke, Wessington Springs, Colome, Ethan, South Central, Whitelake, and Wolsey-Wessington. I began the week sharing with everyone that I enjoy working with educators to brainstorm problems and ideas that our students can get into. But, the end of the week is always inspiring for me! We heard about teams that will work with their students to build a virtual museum, and others who will examine their own town through a lens of garbology, and even more who wanted to redevelop their community with the students as an active voice within the process. I am always of course inspired by the folks that use the week to design a whole year's worth of PBL curriculum and the teachers who design their first quarter or semester with a grasp on how we align our standards through problems, projects, and products. But, mostly I am inspired by the educators who wrestle with the process and come away with a deeper appreciation and understanding of our craft and how we must continually evolve to meet the needs of our students and the world they are entering into. And, my favorite part is that this can and should look different, so in one place it looks like teachers and students building a better cow, and in another place its students with plastic baggies attached to themselves monitoring their individual production of waste, and in another place it looks like a a teacher and students redesigning their classroom to represent Westward expansion creating model trains...and boats of course. But, the end goal of all of that is the same isn't it? To help raise a generation of critical thinkers that not only have a true sense of where they come from but also a whole "toolbox" of tools that help take them wherever the future leads. A great, fun week with many many many thanks to Mary, Slim, Mari , Casey, Joel, Jill, Sam, Dr. Schopp, Dan and his team, and of course Donna (for the amazing meals!)!
No comments:
Post a Comment