18. WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
- Students can enjoy coming to school
- Students love to be challenged
- Teachers enjoy their jobs more when students are happy
- A learning environment can be setup based on trust,
respect, and responsibility
- Students like to be treated like young adults, not babies
- Students will work harder when they know there will be
some sort of accountability (more than a grade) at the
end of it all
19. ONE SIZE FITS ALL?
- Not all students respond well to this type of teaching
- Some enjoy more traditional styles of learning
- Some don’t learn the content well through projects /hands-
on activities
- Traditional assessments are oftentimes necessary
- Just like a teaching strategy of lecturing over and over again
gets boring, so does the PBL
20. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR ME AS A TEACHER
- This experience has made me such a better teacher –
having another teaching in the classroom with me ups
the accountability!
- My teaching philosophy has changed drastically for the
better!
- I used to be the strict, miserable teacher that ruled with
an iron fist, now I’m existing in a classroom full of mutual
respect and happiness!
Editor's Notes
Students have input on the classroom rules and make their peers adhere to them.
Current students learning about Islam from Imam Chaudry (left) and painting the The Last Supper (right)
What is culture? projects. We believe it’s important for students to know where they come from and how to respect other cultures.
Dropout Prevention Day with Marines! A lot of students are interested in the military as an option after graduation. Marines told them to stay in school and make good grades because they’re not looking for students who don’t graduate.
Lunatic Asylum in Weston, WV. We believe it’s important to study history through experiential learning.
Meeting Senator Manchin in Washington, D.C.
Gettysburg, PA – Why not go to these places when they’re so close?
Gettysburg, PA: Photo op.
Colonizing America: Fact vs. Fiction - Student disproving the Hollywood version of Blackbeard
Hands-on activities keep our students engaged and learning. These salt maps were difficult to make; they learned more problem solving skills than map skills on this one!
