Learning how to navigate iBooks was challenging at first, but luckily I had patient classmates and a super patient teacher. Being out of school for 6 years and then coming back into it and seeing the advance in technology was a bit daunting at first! I enjoyed the approach to learning; however, I didn’t like having to work in groups the entire time. I feel like I would have learned a considerable amount more had the group portion accounted for a smaller portion of the task. The teacher in me learned that not all collaborative work is helpful for every student. Smaller group work is the way I will go in my classroom. Although, I know we need to learn to work together, working together for such a long period of time to try to achieve a cohesive product is difficult and straining. I like the fact that we were not “talked at” like pretty much all of the history courses I have ever taken have played out. Project based learning is an excellent approach in that sense. I think finding the balance in group work and individual work is key when implementing project based learning in the classroom. Giving students time to collaborate with their classmates on their individual tasks to bounce ideas off of one another or reflect on each other’s approach to the assignment or have students work together to compile the final products may be the route I will take, versus having them all work together to put together one assignment.
I love the point you made about not being talked at like most history classes. And I also agree that the “bouncing off ideas” part is the best part of project-based learning! You can really learn a lot about your students by watching how they interact and communicate with each other.
I also find groupwork straining, particularly in a compressed class where we’re all spending a lot of time together as it is. I like the idea of putting together a 300-page iBook in three weeks, and it’s fun to see what we produced, but I also think the last few days of editing took a toll on the class dynamic. In a project like this, where essentially the entire class is one group working on a single product, any stresses that may develop within individual groups get transferred to the class as a whole during the editing process. I’m a little sorry to be leaving right now, before we’ve all had a chance to decompress.
I also enjoyed not being “Talked At”. I do not want to be a Charlie Brown teacher, I want my students to learn by doing. That has always been the best way for me to learn and I think that I will teach best by coordinating activities that facilitate learning and exploration.
Thank you LB I also enjoyed escaping the “talked at” classroom approach. I also struggled with the amount of group work and think finding the balance in group work and individual work is key.