A presentation given as part of the NFLRC's Fundamentals of PBLL Online Institute in February 2018.

1. El valor de las historias
(The Value of Stories)
Florencia Westenskow
Brigham Young University
Spanish 101 Instructor

2. TEXTBOOK: Unidos Classroom Manual
TEXTBOOK & TEST

3. PRODUCT SQUARE 1
PURPOSE
The meaningful purpose of this investigation is to create a brochure or website to aid
international students as they adjust to life in Utah.
PROBLEM, QUESTION, CHALLENGE AUTHENTIC, REAL WORLD PURPOSE
How can we help international students adjust
to life in Utah?
Coming to the US from another country is
hard and often requires an adjustment.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS PRODUCT & PUBLIC AUDIENCE
Spanish-speaking international students at
BYU & BYU International Student Office.
A brochure or website for Spanish-speaking
international students at BYU.
Why do learners care?
This project is an opportunity for students to get to know Spanish-speaking international
students and to learn about their culture.

4. FEEDBACK FROM COLLEAGUES
IMAGE: FREE-PHOTOS
• Lack of sustained inquiry
• Why learners care

5. PRODUCT SQUARE 2
PURPOSE
The meaningful purpose of this investigation is to facilitate development of unity and
compassion in the community through inspiring stories.
PROBLEM, QUESTION, CHALLENGE AUTHENTIC, REAL WORLD PURPOSE
How can stories change the world? The purpose of this investigation is to facilitate
the development of unity and compassion in the
community.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS PRODUCT & PUBLIC AUDIENCE
Local TV and radio stations, local art museums
and Hispanic community center.
Social media campaign (Webpage, Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, etc.) for the local Spanish-
speaking community.
Why do learners care?
Stories are a way of sharing wisdom, courage and hope. By focusing on the similarities, stories can
be a powerful tool in combating the divisiveness that exists in our country. Through the sharing of
powerful stories, students will be able to facilitate the development of unity and compassion in the
community.

6. FEEDBACK FROM NFLRC
IMAGE: GOUMBIK
• Sharpen the purpose
• Lack of focus on public
product

7. FINAL PRODUCT SQUARE
PURPOSE
The meaningful purpose of this investigation is to create a social media campaign to inspire
others to overcome challenges.
PROBLEM, QUESTION, CHALLENGE AUTHENTIC, REAL WORLD PURPOSE
How can stories inspire others to overcome their
own personal challenges?
The purpose is to share powerful stories that will
inspire others to overcome the challenges they
may be facing.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS PRODUCT & PUBLIC AUDIENCE
Centro Hispano of Utah. BYU Mutlicultural
Center. BYU Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese.
Social media campaign. The stories will be
posted on a website and disseminated through
social media by various community partners.
The local Spanish-speaking community.
Why do learners care?
Everyone loves a good story, particularly stories that help us to see the world in new ways or inspire
us to do something we didn’t think that we could do before. When life gets difficult, people tend to
turn their focus inward. This project provides an opportunity for students to interact with people from
different cultures and to learn from the stories of how others faced difficult circumstances.

8. SPANISH 101-1ST SEMESTER
IMAGES: Florencia Westenskow

9. THE PROJECT
INTERPRETIVE:
Students explored examples of inspiring stories in the target language.
INTERPERSONAL:
Students interviewed native speakers in the target language to collect their
inspiring stories.
Students interviewed advanced students to better understand what the
native speakers had said.
PRESENTATIONAL:
Students wrote the stories told by native speakers.

10. IMAGES: Florencia Westenskow

11. IMAGES: Florencia Westenskow
BOOK: FREDERICK BY LIONNI

12. TED TALK: CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
ACTIVITIES IN SPANISH-TED TALK

13. La historia
de Sonia
Sotomayor
IMAGE: Collection of the Supreme
Court of the United States, Steve
Petteway source [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

14. READING
IMAGES: Florencia Westenskow

15. EXAMPLES OF STORIES
IMAGES: Florencia Westenskow

16. INTERVIEW PREPARATION
IMAGE: STARTUPSTOCKPHOTOS
1. Learn how to ask questions.
2. Learn how to listen to a story.
3. Learn how to pick out details from a story.

17. INTERVIEWS
IMAGE: STOCKSNAP

18. LISTEN TO INTERVIEWS
IMAGE: PEXELS

19. INTERPRETING INTERVIEWS WITH HELP
IMAGE: FREE-PHOTOS
Resources
Linguee
Spanish Dictionary

20. PREPARE FOR EXPERT HELP
IMAGE: Florencia Westenskow

21. PREPARING TO WRITE
IMAGES: Florencia Westenskow

22. PEER EDITS
IMAGES: Florencia Westenskow

23. IMAGES: Florencia Westenskow
PEER EDITS

24. FINAL PRODUCT
https://lashistorias.wixsite.com/mysite
IMAGE: Florencia Westenskow

25. COMMUNITY PARTNERS
IMAGE: Florencia Westenskow

26. LINK
STEP-BY-STEP
1. INTRODUCTION
-Read “Frederick”
-Listen to “The Danger of a Single Story”
2. INTERACT WITH EXAMPLES
-Read about Sonia Sotomayor
-View other examples
-Identify elements of inspiring stories
3. PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW
4. STUDENTS HOLD INTERVIEWS OUTSIDE OF CLASS
5. REFLECTION, LISTEN TO INTERVIEWS & PREPARE FOR
OUTSIDE HELP
6. INTERPRET INTERVIEWS WITH OTHER BYU STUDENTS
7. PREPARE TO WRITE
8. STUDENTS WRITE STORY FROM INTERVIEW
9. EDIT AND REVISE WITH PEERS
10. TEACHER EDITS
11. FINAL PRODUCT & REFLECTION
More details in PBLL Repository
http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/pebbles/
prototype/doc/203/

27. El valor de las historias
(The Value of Stories)
Florencia Westenskow
Brigham Young University
Spanish 101 Instructor
florenciawestenskow@gmail.com