Week 6 Learning Log

Project-based Learning calls for a requisite shift in the role of teachers and students alike. With regards to myself as a classroom teacher, my role will fundamentally change. I have often heard it described as moving from being the "sage on the stage" to being a "guide on the side." In other words, rather than being the dispensary of information and wisdom, I will become a facilitator of learning, supporting my students as they explore content and engage in the inquiry process within a constructivist learning environment.

To become that facilitator, development of new skills is necessary. Skills which presuppose effective facilitation include, but are not limited to, asking intriguing open-ended questions; supporting risk-taking and exploration of new ideas; providing ample opportunities for discussion and reflection; listening to others and prompting their thinking; and designing the learning environment to allow for student-driven construction of knowledge.

As mentioned before, the roles of students will fundamentally change along with that of the teacher. Rather than simply mastering academic content at the lower levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, students in a PBL environment will be tasked with developing 21st century competencies as well. As the emphasis is transferred from getting the right answers to teacher-provided questions to finding solutions to student-identified problems, the room and expectations will be created for such skills to develop.

With regards to the changes that I will need to make in order to become an effective faciliator in my own PBL unit, I will need to discipline myself to plan more thoroughly ahead of time. Rather than proceeding lesson by lesson, I will need to take the time to capture a comprehensive view of the unit as a whole. Additionally, I will need to let go of the pride that often causes teachers to hold on to their role as a "sage on the stage" in order to make room for student-directed learning a meaning-making.