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Activity 7: Dealing with fears and potential problems

Make table: 30 mins
Reading: 1 hr
Complete table and send mail: 30 mins
Read e-mail and add to table: 30 mins
Read article and add to table: 1 hr

3 hrs 30 mins



 

What are some of the challenges raised by adopting a PBL approach, and how can these been overcome?

 

You will be entering Phase 3 of the Learning Circle in this, the 6th week of your module. In this phase you will identify what data you want to gather from Learning Circle partners and send questions/instructions to them about how to gather that data for you. It is the responsibility of each class in a learning circle to collaborate with the other classes in the learning circle. You ask them to gather data for your class and in turn your class gathers data for each of them.

 

When you start to use PBL in your lessons, there can be many challenges that arise, especially if you are the only one trying to be innovative in this way. Also, because you may not be used to it, you may fear the consequences of adopting PBL. 

This activity aims to look at some of the challenges of PBL, and to look at ways of dealing with the challenges and fears that you may have. You are encouraged to reflect on all the things you think could go wrong, and share your thoughts with the group. In this way, the online group can be supportive and help each other with taking a difficult, but important, step. 

Activity

Planning

  1. From what you have learned about PBL so far, and from your own and others' answers to the reflection questions in Activity 2, what do you think would be the major problems facing you in your school and in your classes as you start to implement the project you started devising in Activity 2.

    Use this template document for Challenges and Solutions to record the challenges and solutions that you have encountered so far. Save it in your home folder as Challenges and Solution.

  2. Read this summary article Potential Challenges in PBL, then add to your table 4 more potential problems raised in the article that are relevant to your project. Save your document in your home folder.

  3. Participate in an online group discussion (using the subject heading "Overcoming Challenges of PBL") in which you share some ideas about how to overcome these challenges.
     
  4. Read the controbutions from the group, and suggest solutions to the potential challenges raised by other group members. When you receive useful suggestions from group members, add them to your table.

  5. Read this summary article Tips for Teachers Starting PBL, and fill in whatever solutions you can find on your table.

  6. Go back to your Learning Circle Project Planning document, and make changes where necessary to accommodate the solutions that you have found.

  7. Use your e-diary to make closing comments about this activity.
 


NEXT

Once you have completed this activity, click here to move on to Activity 8: Co-operation.

 
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