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Intentionally working on community and school culture within a pbl.  The Algebra 1/Scientific Principles class saw that initially students struggled with the expectations of the class.  The teachers said they actually surveyed the students to find out what was working and what wasn’t and then worked with the students to address areas of concern in order to positively change the culture.  The class we observed today was productive and positive and on task.  We also really liked how there was no wasted time in a superficial bellringer.  Instead students came right in without teacher direction and got to work on their laptops.  The warm up was timed and students had to submit before the answers were reviewed.

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I really liked how part of the New Tech culture at Mann teaches staff and students to assume positive intentions when giving and receiving feedback.

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I like this website that students used in the algebra I pbl that students can use to design their own tshirt as part of their product.

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We are interested in seeing the group contracts you use here.  Can you email us a copy to Dawn and she can forward them to us?  mitchelld@spart6.org

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I really like how the English 4 teacher taught using an Ed Puzzle that provided students with lots of possibilities for learning characterization.
https://edpuzzle.com/join/rolirer

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Could Mr. Ginn please share his graphic novel unit with us?  Can you email us a copy to Dawn and she can forward them?  mitchelld@spart6.org

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Oh my goodness!  Seeing highschool students create a graphic novel to educate their reader on atomic interactions was impressive.  I would love to use both collaborative groups and graphic novels to integrate creativity with content in the elementary level.

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Loved seeing in English 4 how two students worked together to create an etiquette book going from the Victorian era to present day time frame to help educate and inform tourists visiting our country.

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I like how the biology teacher listed ongoing student need to knows in the Reedy River pbl as the unit progressed so students and the teacher knew the content and the processes students would need to address and have support with.

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I like the organization of the Biology student notebook and how the teacher numbered and titled the entries on the back white board so students had an organized model for taking and keeping their notes.

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Launch in English/History with Student  Informed Instruction

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Launch in English/History with Student  Informed Instruction

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I really liked how the English/History double class provided students with the opportunity to preview a list of all the essential content knowledge they would need to learn in the unit to apply in their pbl and then gave them time to discuss in their groups how they would like to learn the material. Each group then shared their top three choices with the teachers who then listened and then went with the majority. This provided students with at least three different pathways.

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Can you please send us the document that outlined the essential learning for the unit that students previewed and then worked together to discuss their top three preferences for how they wanted to learn the content. Can you please forward this to mitchelld@spart6.org and she will forward it to us?

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I am really excited to work with our reading coach to create and team teach specific PBL units for different grade levels next year. I loved the community AND productivity that we saw in these classes, and I'm eager to find ways to make that work in an elementary setting too!

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I loved that the teachers were very real about how much work it takes to establish norms and create a community in a PBL class. It's very hard for teachers to understand that changes like this take time and effort--and that we don't have to be intimidated by it. No one has magical powers to make it happen; you just have to be willing to take some risks, experience (and learn from) setbacks, and put in the effort to make it work for your students.

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I saw a great art project that could TOTALLY be modified for elementary students!

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I would love to see the Algebra I PBL. It also applies to 8th grade math, and I teach both classes!

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Love the group contracts used in Algebra I!

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I loved the response when I asked a Spanish I student where they would video their PBL next week: he said, "we'll just go to the think tank." Then he described to me what the think tank is. Of all the really amazing resources in the New Tech area, I really like the think tank most of all.

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The students were beyond polite and friendly. They were confident, engaged, and positive about learning. The atmosphere is inspiring! This is no doubt a reflection of all the work that goes into the PBL preparation and perseverance.

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I liked the idea of telling the students what needs to be accomplished in a unit, and asking them how they would like to go about reaching the goals of mastery for the unit. I would like to use this concept to improve student buy-in.

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I would like to follow up with the Spanish PBLideas. For beginning level Spanish I find it hard to develop PBLs that incorporate all of the components of PBL whilst focusing on use of the target language. I was impressed by the Spanish teacher's methods.

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I love the way the PBL building was constructed with common areas in the middle, faculty space, windows to look into all classrooms, and movable walls that can be moved for larger classes/team-teaching.

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The team teaching is awesome! And I love the culture that has been cultivated by the staff & students. Getting everyone on board with an approach that is far from traditional always has its challenges, but the JL Mann crew seems to be very good at it!  Assume everyone has good intentions when giving/receiving feedback is something I'm going to implement with my staff.

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I truly believe in the PBL approach, so I'm always promoting it to everyone! One of the most common questions people ask me is "How do students who've been exposed to PBL perform on THE SAT & ACT for college. I would love to get more info. about this so I can give an accurate answer.

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I loved seeing how the students felt like they were truly involved in their own learning.  They had control over many aspects of how or what they were doing, and have many opportunities for feedback and reflection.

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Seeing how well students interacted with one another makes me think that I need to do more collaboration and feedback on the peer level.  A suggestion or praise coming from me may be heard by a student, but from a peer, it may be taken to heart.  I'd like to work with and train my students on appropriate feedback when it comes to playing and observing performances.

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As far as performing arts go, doing a full on PBL project can be more challenging. Have there been many cross-curricular applications at J.L. Mann from which I could pull inspiration and ideas? I know art is an easy concept to pair, but instrumental music classes tend to be more difficult.