PBL. LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT?

11/20/2008

Building 21st century skills necessary to succeed in today's competitive marketplace.

Collaboration, communication, critical thinking, leadership, responsibility, initiative, teamwork, multi-cultural awareness...
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

13 Comments

saleena shibly

11/20/2008 11:44:53 am

I like PBL because we get to work with our peers and we understand each other better sometimes than the teachers do. We can talk on the same level where teachers sometimes get carried away and are explaining things in a difficult way. The collaboration raises our level of thinking. Its great to have your friends explain things to you instead of always going to the teacher. It's really that we can have fun together and still learn at the same time.

Joy ~In A Box~ Cooper

11/20/2008 01:08:15 pm

I really enjoy PBL since it gives us a chance to interact with our peers in a mature light and puts us into day to day situations that happen in the workforce.

Not only does it give us preparation for what's soon to come, but it sets us higher than other people we'll be competing against in the future, and practically guarantees us a better shot at obtaining what we desire over our competitors (wow that sounded a bit mean X3).

But not only does it prepare us for the future, it better enhances our communication, teamwork, and leadership skills, while still letting us have fun.

Woot! ^_^ PBL for the win XD

~Joy in a Box~

Falisha Altares

11/20/2008 02:36:12 pm

Falisha Altares
Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:36:00
On PBL!

PBL is an amzing idea. It has helped students learn, focus their strengths to help and participate, learn responsibility and encourages creativity. We as students strive to do the best for our peers, as we don't wish to let them down.

however, i feel that we students are slightly overwhelmed. The students are collaborating, and working together, but why aren't the teachers. We understand it's hard. And that you have certain lesson plans that you have to follow, but we'd like to see it happen. Teachers are placing a lot of pressure on students through the project program by all having projects at the same time, same dead line time line, and same working days. The pressure is very stressful, but we do see the direction the school is trying to go in, and we DO encourage the PBL program.

adding to my previous feelings on the PBL program....

perhaps the students as a whole might love the PBL idea. they might encourage it. However there ARE quite a few out there that WILL share my feelings on this issue, even if they are too scared to talk about it and come forth. i like the pbl idea. it helps, however... i really do NOT like it at this point in time. PBL is a great theory in my book. and it might work for other schools, but right now its just not working.

i do not like the PBL right now.

i'm sorry but if the years continue like this, i say we leave it.

falisha

11/20/2008 02:40:58 pm

i'm writing alot and seem to be repeating myself too, sorry.

but i might be unoptimistic, however, i'd like to comment on Joy's post.

yes, we are learning new things, it might be preparing us for the future, however i feel its turning us into little robots, where the school is focusing on how good it is. how great this PBL theory is, and how much we need to be like these new other high schools. i want to be prepared for the future.....

i don't want to stop being a kid. and thats what this school makes me feel like. this school wants to turn out little robots where the key figure is giving us a better chance at life. great theory..... not what i like going through.

sorry if i am offensive in any way. i don't feel like being optimistic at the moment, and i would rather not like being singled out once this is posted and having a discussion about it.

Norma

11/22/2008 03:11:05 am

I would like to say that PBL is a great way of learning. Through PBL we are building great skills. So far it has helped me build some of the skills that I don't have experience with. for example, communication. I like the fact that we all work together and communicate. Although, this does work, there are times in which it just doesn't work. I really love it, but I would have to agree with Falisha on ceratin things.

It is true that PBL is making us feel a little stressed out. I have so much pressure upon me at this moment. there are projects, and assignments due all at the same day. Like Falisha and some of my other peers, I do encourage PBL. It's a great way to learn how to communicate and work together, but I suggest that we can go step by step.

What I basically mean is that since this is our first year here at ECTA, and it is also our first year experiencing PBL, we can do PBL slowly. We can do the same thing and work together, have group projects that will help us build the skills we will need for the future, but without so much pressure.

We have so many weeks in school, but not enough to still understand and handle PBL. If we go slowly and not have the students so overwhelmed we might be able to make PBL better.

If I say this it is because we all come from schools that not based on PBL. We all are used to the same lectures. Just having a powerpoint and writing notes, then taking a test. Personally, I really do not mind doing that since that is what I am used to. PBL is helping and will help me build a better way of learning, but I think that if we do not go slowly, later on students might be so overwhelmed that they might just want to quit PBL. The pressure upon us will be so heavy, that we might think that PBL is not working. We need more time to get used to this way of learning. I love it, but like everyone else said, we are just not used to it.

I am a very shy person and I usually like to work alone. that is what I did last year. I understand that with PBL that will not happen anymore and it's fine with me. I can communicate with others. working together so far has helped students build up their creativity skills. We are being more creative, but when there is so much pressure, like mentioned in class, creativity is low. When there is no interest in a poject, it is also low.

Teachers should try to find a way to help students to not be so overwhelmed with so many projects. The due dates can be changed, or we can all work together on one big project. I think that would be so much better. I am not going to lie and say that it takes me only like2-3 hours doing all of my homework. I usually stay until 12 a.m. doing homework, and it's not beacuse I leave it to the last minute. No, I actually star once I get home. I do all the homework they left me on that day, but it just so much that it takes me me forever to finish. It is not just homework I have to do, but projects I have to work on. the projects require so many things and your best effort, that the pressure is so big. We all try to do our best and think outside the box to make sure that we get a good grade.

This is the type of pressure I am talking about, and I know others would agree with me because some of my friends also stay up late just to do a good job, and to finish up many things. I know others are just not doing it because they feel so overwhelmed with so much work. I know that this is not a reason not to do anything, but I understand those that don't do it because of that reason. I am just saying that if this continues, PBL instead of helping us, it will end up leading us to fail because of the fact that we might just get tired of so much work.

I love it, but we might have to leave it later on. Sorry for writing a lot, but this is what I truly believe.

Jennifer

11/23/2008 04:43:44 am

Like always Norma you wrote like the longes report on PBL in history. LOL

No really, I am amazed that I truthfully have been 6 schools in my life and none of them taught (is that how you spell it) like teachers teach here. I like how some tacher incorporate fun into learning and we actually dont do like extremly boring stuff. anyways ive posted on pbl like a gazzilion times so let make it short. LOVE IT!

Sean C.

11/24/2008 07:56:14 am

Ill admit PBL its a great way for us to express ourselves and grow as individuals...But right now it is making our lives more stressful then easier.I thought that the idea of a PBL school was to make the kids seem more mature but let them become their own person not (quoting Falisha) "producing little robots." Thats not what this school was designed for. It was in my opinion designed to help us become better people in the long run. I have to agree with Falisha but in the same breath i also agree with Nikki. I agree with them both for one they make good arguements(just look at me and Falisha in 8th period>.>) But i also think that the PBL as a whole needs to be revamped or stopped until all of the kinks get worked out. Testing it at a brand new school with 99.9% of the kids not having any idea what PBL is or what it means really doesn't make much sense to me. I'll admit i don't have the greatest sense in the world but i have enough to see that PBL as a whole is NOT working. Id prefer to have the teachers ask the students what They want to do. The old quote goes"Young people are the leaders of tomorrow"(or something like that). So why not let the teachers take a step back and let the students grow as a whole. Not learning from textbooks but from real life situations. Textbooks can only teach a person so much...I would prefer to have real life experiences to teach me then a bunch of nonsense from a book.... That's my 2 cents on the subject

bRiDGETtE : D<3

11/24/2008 10:12:06 am

I think PBL would be a great and new opportunity for the students and teachers:D.It will prepare us for the workforce since teamwork is not always going to be easy.It takes time and lots of patience:].PBL can help us work with others and develop our 21st century skills!
GO MRS. SMEDLEY:]!<3

Jennifer

12/3/2008 02:19:06 am

Life on the Mountain
Titans, Good day! My name is Jennifer and I am a sophomore at our beloved academy, ECTA. I am also involved in the Marketing Program here which it taught by Mrs. Smedley. As a student here at ECTA, I have many goals as much as short term and long term. Some of my long term goals are getting my Masters Degree and my own business by the age of 28, and as a student here at ECTA I feel like this school gives me more than enough tools to accomplish that.
Life on the mountain is great; we have extremely educated teachers, a wonderful staff, and student who want to learn. I love my school in every way. One thing about it is that it is a Project Based Learning School. The first day I was introduced to PBL here on the mountain was not long ago by my program teacher Mrs. Smedley. She is a huge supporter of PBL along with many other teachers here at ECTA.
PBL has taught me many things such as different way of learning. It has encouraged me to do my best. Now we I present anything in front of the class I don’t get as scarred as I did in the beginning. PBL is such an effective way of learning as it is teaching. I highly recommend Project based Learning to any school or trachea, from a student’s point of view it is just the best. As a supporter of PBL, Mrs. Smedley always makes sure that our class is involved in PBL. “I think with PBL it is much easier for student to collaborate within each other” said by Blaze Blackburn. “PBL has helped me a lot, I don’t get as nervous as I used to when I was doing a presentation. PBL is such a great and fun way of learning” said by Thania Carillo.
Students here at ECTA are thrilled to have PBL as another choice and we all just want to give thanks to Mrs. Goetting for presenting PBL to us and all the teachers for supporting it!
Jennifer Ruiz, 10th Grade.

Karissa Russ

12/5/2008 07:14:30 am

I enjoy PBL a lot, I love working with everyone, meeting new people and i understand that we might not ant to work with the people we get placed to work with sometimes, but that also is preparing us for our future. we wont like some people we work with, nor may we not like a boss, manager, adviser, etc. but it happens, and it's all apart of our learning experience her at east tech. i really enjoy not working alone, and our creativity level here is not limited, nor is technology, we have everything we need at our finger tips we just have to take advantage of it.

i think SOME teachers do a amazing job with PBL, like you, Mrs. smedley. others I will not name. I understand that it may be hard to incorporate into certain subjects, but really if some teachers put effort into it like they should. because teachers hold it against us that we should try harder and stuff, we were picked special to come to our school, but yet so where they, and they don’t make the efforts we do.

i will agree with what some other people are saying about how it does get over whelming, and that’s because like i said before, some teachers don’t put any effort to ask and see what other teachers are doing, and there for us, your students are stuck doing 3-6 projects. with dead lines and due dates, and i know we all understand you guys have deadlines and things to. and no one is saying you guys don’t do a good job because all of you do. but, it is getting harder, as it should, but teachers wonder why kids grades are slipping.. and that’s why.

but PBL over all, is really good, wish there could be some better communication, and EVERYONE put good effort in instead of some kids not doing anything. but that’s the same everywhere, at any school. I enjoy PBL because it just makes us grow, like speaking in front of one another, and getting evaluated by peers. its building all of us, and most of us don’t realize it because we get so stressed out. we have amazing chances here on the mountain! and we are all trying to take advantage of them, and one of those being PBL.

Vanessa =)

12/18/2008 11:38:28 am

I agree, PBL is adding a little stress for us. I don't mind it at times, but like what Falisha said, we have too many projects given at the same time. I get confused on the due dates too. I'm not saying i can't handle it, but it's just that we have other homework to do too, (and we kinda have lives to live outside of school too =/ ).
Anyway, over all, i like the whole concept of working with others as a team, but let's not over do PBL that it eventually bores us.

ㅝㅑㅏㅗㅓㅏㅗㅓㅏ link

12/25/2008 10:52:05 am

ㅏㅘㅘ

anonymous

10/15/2009 07:19:17 am

we should have more choices in projects

PBL. LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT?

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