Week 5 - Refocusing

I went down a path these past few weeks. It's a path that I'm excited about, and it's also a path that doesn't fully fit with the idea of Project Based Learning. Podcasting is definitely something I'm excited about exploring with my class next year; if I'm being true to the spirit of PBL though, I want to also think about ways of allowing more student choice. 

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a professional development session all about Project Based Learning. As the theme of the session was how to integrate PBL into the classroom, I went back to thinking about my original idea of exploring ways to do more of that style of learning in Healthy Living. The session gave some examples of ways to structure PBL following the "5 Es":
Engage

Explore

Explain

Elaborate

Evaluate

Part of our session involved going through the process of identifying essential questions, coming up with a challenge and a solution, and thinking about possible ways of sharing our learning. It was interesting to hear the different points of view that teachers were bringing to the table, and gave us the chance to think about what some of the difficulties would be in our own classrooms with this kind of learning. In addition to difficulties, I spent a lot of time thinking about how the culture of a classroom can make or break these types of experiences.

Coming back to Healthy Living, I went through the curriculum guide and my yearly plan and pulled out the six BIG IDEAS. These are the areas in which I can foresee students doing some PBL next year :

- Relationships (Bullying)

- Substance Abuse and Addiction

- Mental Health

- Sexual Health and Pregnancy

- Healthy Bodies

- Media & Internet

When I introduce these BIG IDEAS to my students next year, I am considering whether or not to also present them with the curriculum outcomes that go along with them. Do I do that before or after they generate their long lists of essential questions? Does doing so skew their questions? Maybe it would be best to have them make their long lists, and then narrow them down to short lists in consultation with the curriculum for grade 8... Lots to consider! I'm feeling good about my renewed focus on Project Based Learning, and also committed to exploring the possibilities of podcasting as well. Getting sidetracked is not an inherently negative things when it comes to pursuing a passion!

Week 4 - Deep Dive into Podcasting

I listen to a lot of podcasts while driving. Some are informative, some narrative, some just for fun. One of the things I love about this medium is its portability - you can listen to a podcast just about anywhere! In contrast to print media, or video, podcasts require only the ears of the audience to be effective.

Because of this portability, I am envisioning some opportunities for movement while introducing my students to the world of podcasting. We could take a walk in the park while listening to a short episode, and then discuss it when we get back to class. Exercise AND learning - what a great combination! The Walking Classroom is one program that exists specifically to provide content to teachers for walking and podcast-listening, which is part of my inspiration. Rather than using a provided curriculum, however, I would like to draw from a variety of podcasts (chosen by myself, or suggested by students) in order to explore many styles and themes.

Project Audio, which I had linked to in a previous post, has a lot of helpful information. Included in the article are suggestions for implementing podcasting in the classroom. I spent today reading through the article and making notes for future reference.

Something that really resonated with me was the importance of making the link between story-telling techniques and podcasts. I'm still debating what style of podcast to produce, and reading this article has me considering creating more than one podcast, in order to separate students who would prefer to create a narrative from those who are more interested in an interview style of podcasting. I will be weighing the pros and cons of those options over the next little while, in order to make a decision that will be sustainable for next year and beyond.

I've downloaded the Anchor app, but haven't yet had much of a chance to play around with it. I'm planning to record an introductory episode in the near future, to make sure I understand how the technology works. I'd like to have three or four episodes recorded by September, so that I have something for students to listen to before they start creating their own episodes. I often tell students that I don't ask them to do things I'm not willing to try myself, and this is no exception.

To stay organized, I've started a Google Doc with a list of resources and ideas for podcasting in the classroom. I'll keep adding to this document, in order to have all of my resources in one location. I'm feeling very inspired and excited about the possibilities for using podcasting as part of Project Based Learning in my classroom.