Prompt: Write about one of your biggest accomplishments in your teaching that no one knows about (or may not care).
Well, writing about your biggest accomplishment is not as easy as it seems. I'm not sure its because I don't think that I've accomplished anything significant, or because I'm just extremely tired right now. Alright, I think I've got it ...
The biggest accomplishment that I've made thus far in my teaching endeavors would be taking the GIANT leap into implementing PBL in the classroom. I've been doing research about PBL for the past 6 to 8 months thinking that it would be completely doable in my classroom. I've tried to facilitate a collaborative environment, and have been somewhat successful. But, I was looking for new challenges for the new school year. So today, our class began the very first PBL unit for World Geography at our school, and possibly the first PBL of the entire school.
The unit we're covering pertains to culture and human geography, so the scenario has the students playing the part of marketing specialists hired by a private investor. The scenario sets up by considering a world where the NFL is geographically realigned and considering adding a new team to each division. Therefore, the student have to predict the possible realignment and create a multimedia portfolio for a particular city hoping to gain a NFL team. The students will apply the various themes usually discussed in lecture notes to this project (government, economics, pop culture, urbanization, etc...). The students will be working in teams of 3 or 4 as "marketing consultants" for this private investor; therefore, they must provide correspondence with additional investors, consider marketing techniques, while planning out possible stadium locations in urban areas. I have two different class preps, so I have given my Pre-AP students a little less structure in the methods of format (they will be able to use a variety of resources to create their multimedia portfolio), and my traditional ed students have a bit more structure (and teacher-aid).
As a class, we discussed the importance of each student actively participating and contributing to the portfolio design. Since our classes are flipped, the students will read specific resources that I believe will contribute to their portfolios and then apply the information in class. Therefore, almost the entire project will be done in the classroom, so I can see exactly who's contributing and who's slacking off. I will be able to hold my students more accountable through team conferencing, and allow them the opportunity to ask for guidance or clarification. Tomorrow we're going to discuss how to set realistic goals and create timelines so the students will have an opportunity to plan out what they want to achieve, not what I tell them they need to achieve. It's amazing knowing that I'm taking a HUGE risk so early in the school year with these kids. But, without risk, there is no reward.
Now, you're probably wondering: seriously, how in the heck is this her biggest accomplishment? Well, the reason I selected this very event is because once I introduced the scenario to the students, every single student turned to their team and started talking about possible cities to consider, marketing techniques, and what their particular skill sets were going to contribute to the design. EVERY SINGLE STUDENT! Every class was talking and collaborating until the final bell rang, and each class had to scramble to put their things away to get to the next class. Never in my four years of teaching (which I know isn't a very long time) have I seen students this excited about my class. As they were walking out of the door they were still talking possible project designs, and we haven't even started researching. I ran into a couple of students in the hall, and they asked if they could create their own mascots and fan merchandise; one of the football coaches told me that he had a female student come up and ask about the number of NFL teams in each conference. These kids are actually excited about learning, and truthfully, shouldn't it always be like that for them?
I'm so excited about what my students will create in the next couple of weeks, and I know that this was one decision that I was glad I made at the start of the year. I can finally say that I've accomplished a single day where every single student wanted to take a hold of their education and learning process. It was sweet music to my ears, and I'm looking forward to the symphonies that await this school year!
-A
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