How Does Out of the Gate Work?
At the heart of Out of the Gate is learning how to design high quality projects during the PBL 101 workshop. Check out participants from Grand Valley State University and University of Mary with Dickinson State University engaging in key activities during their PBL 101 workshops in fall 2018.
PBL 101
What: In this workshop participants design a project to implement.
Who: Faculty, Student Teachers, Cooperating Teachers
When: Summer/Fall; after the Project Slice, before the start of the student teaching experience
Length: 3 consecutive days
Description: Participants engage with the driving question: How can we prepare to successfully implement our first PBL unit? In answering this question, they unpack key facets of high quality project based design and teaching including emphasis on assessment, scaffolding, and management.
Participants engage in a structured and facilitated process of designing a project to align with key standards and success skills. Using formative feedback from peers and BIE National Faculty offered throughout the workshop, participants develop and revise the key documents they need to launch the project in their classrooms--entry event, calendar and rubric.
Day 1: Unpacking the BIE's Gold Standard Design Elements
Participants engage in a jigsaw & carousel activity to build their understanding of the key elements of Gold Standard PBL design elements. Below you see groups sharing with each other their representation of the design element they were assigned to research.
Day 2: Critique and Revision
While the ideas are still percolating and nothing is set yet, we ask participants to give each other feedback on their current sketch of a project. Each participant completes an outline of their project and posts it on the walls around room. Everyone else uses sticky notes to offer "I likes" and "I wonders" for the authors to reflect on and use to revise and further hone their project idea.
Ongoing: Collaborative Work Time
Throughout the 3 days student teachers and cooperating teachers talk, think, and collaborate to design the project that they will implemented during student teaching. Faculty redesign key units in their courses using PBL as their instructional approach.
Ongoing: FUN!
Icebreakers can be be fun, build culture, AND be instructive. Like when these groups at Grand Valley State made tableaux vivant of strategies for inspiring high quality student work.
Day 3: Reflection
A Gold Standard project includes reflection throughout the project as well as asking students to consider their learning and experiences at the end. Out of the Gate participants engage in a chalk talk protocol where participants silently process their own experiences and interact with others thinking on the offered prompt in writing.
