EDTECH 542: Week 6 Reflections

One of the greatest challenges for an instructor in a PBL unit is to adapt to the role of facilitator.

Will my role in the teaching/learning process change?

I think my role will change slightly during the project. There are times when I am a teacher in my class and times when I am a facilitator. During this project I will need to step back from the teacher role more and embrace the role of a facilitator. This change to a more student centered class is not only challenging for the teacher, but can be challenging for the students as well.

What are the skills of effective facilitation?

• Prepare and Plan Process
• Listening
• Asking open ended questions
• Address misconceptions
• Promote discussion
• Guide discussion
• Handle conflict
• Motivate
• Establish expectations

Will the students develop the competencies and skills needed to be successful?

Students can be initially very challenged by the facilitation type structure of PBL. Throughout the project they are forced to learn how to ask questions, problem solve, critically think, and work collaboratively. It is important to have an effective facilitator for these competencies and skills to develop. The facilitator provides the structure, planning, and support for these skills to be developed throughout the project which then will lead to student success.

What changes will you need to make in order to become an effective facilitator in your PBL unit?

I usually try to facilitate learning activities that are very student centered. One of the challenges of this inquiry based instruction is letting students struggle and being ok with students struggling. A lot of times when students are struggling at a task, it is my first response to help them out, but it is important to allow them to struggle and only facilitate the problem solving process. I think that is an aspect of facilitation that is really hard for teachers and myself and it definitely changes the teaching and learning process to a more student centered classroom.