In addition to starting my first 3 week long PBL journey in my classroom, I'm also de-emphasizing grades by substituting feedback for marks on assignments/quizzes. My primary motivation for this shift is student motivation, engagement, and ownership of learning. Most of my inspiration for de-emphasizing grades has come from reading Joe Bower's blog. At the end of the unit, students will propose a grade they think they deserve and defend it using their project and other course work as evidence. So far, they've reacted surprisingly well to the shift in learning method, and after today they're well on their way creating rubrics for themselves and narrowing down their topic of interest.
I think the students are relatively interested in the project, and there's a spark of curiosity that I'm hoping I'll be able to stoke and not extinguish. My biggest fear is that I'll resist giving up control in the classroom on account of the curriculum. I'm struggling to see and find the balance between allowing them to follow their curiosity trail and making sure they learn the outcomes. The project offers so many opportunities for the curriculum to unpack naturally, I'm just not confident in my ability to guide students there without taking away too much of their autonomy. I feel that students having a sense of autonomy is extremely important for their motivation and engagement. Maybe I should alternate project days and "focused curriculum" days? Doesn't sound ideal...
-KK
I think the students are relatively interested in the project, and there's a spark of curiosity that I'm hoping I'll be able to stoke and not extinguish. My biggest fear is that I'll resist giving up control in the classroom on account of the curriculum. I'm struggling to see and find the balance between allowing them to follow their curiosity trail and making sure they learn the outcomes. The project offers so many opportunities for the curriculum to unpack naturally, I'm just not confident in my ability to guide students there without taking away too much of their autonomy. I feel that students having a sense of autonomy is extremely important for their motivation and engagement. Maybe I should alternate project days and "focused curriculum" days? Doesn't sound ideal...
-KK