PBAs Activity 1 & Final Post
I apologize as here I am on the last day of the week with my one post again! Work and life just seems to be getting in the way.
Activity #1.
I enjoyed many of the PBAs in MET and feel that I’ve learned a great deal more than I would have had I written tests to prove my knowledge. For ETEC 512 I used a concept map to make stronger connections with each theory and I also learned to make concept maps, in ETEC 531 I made a YouTube video that not only made me think about the subject matter but I also to use iMovie and YouTube, and ETEC 565 taught me not only how to create an effective instructional design but also the technical side. I think these experiences were invaluable and I enjoyed them much more than I would have studying a test and I feel like I’ll have that information with me much longer than tested information.
The ultimate PBA in MET is the ePortfolio I’m making in ETEC 590. First we study the importance of ePs or PBAs and with that information in mind we explore each and every PBA we ever did in MET. It is so helpful in making connections, rethinking, relearning, and reflecting. I have NEVER experienced a better use of a PBA in school before and I feel that this project assisted in my learning process better than a thesis would have.
Final Post
I have to confess that I don’t use PBAs in my classroom very often. The one drawback of these projects are you need time and consistency. With a classroom where students are only with you for a few weeks for 4 hours each week and are constantly changing it becomes a administrative nightmare to continue any project that lasts more than 3 weeks. With adults who view their school as something optional, homework is not an effective method either. However, I have done a few webquests as a PBA that were short and sweet and I have used a blog but never had my students have their own. I LOVE the idea of journals and seems like they would be something easy to implement so I might try those.
PBAs are something that totally makes sense to me as a teacher, the only drawback I find is they take some thought and a lot of planning to implement them.
Posted in: Week 10: Product-Based Assessments
schiong 11:49 am on November 13, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi,
I also like concept map.
Unfortunately, there are times I feel that it is “subjective” (.. I am sure there is a more appropriate word (than “subjective”) to describe… )
What if the student sees relationship between node A and B , and we (teacher) didn’t (and vice-versa)?
I do not use any specific PBA tools in my class. I have tried blog in the past. Unfortunately, I discovered that some students would just ask their friends to do it. The discovery was by accident. We have a Lab room open to any students. We have a Lab technician who handles the hardware. On that day, he was very busy. So, I decided to give him some assistance in the Lab room. When I enter the Lab room to fix the printer connection, it was then I discovered that some of my students are asking someone else to do their blog.