The 1:1 Classroom and PBL Puts Students First

This blog was written by Mrs. Becky Glenn, an English Teacher at Jesse C. Carson High School. Mrs. Glenn serves as a Professional Learning Community Leader, Department Chair, and Varsity Cheerleading Coach.

We are eight weeks into a school year that has been filled with change and excitement.  The most obvious change in our school is the addition of 1:1 technology; putting a MacBook in every student’s hands has completely changed my classroom!  This technology easily allows for the paperless classroom, flipped learning, and data-driven instruction.  All of these things are exciting from an instructional standpoint, but even more exciting are the possibilities for student exploration.

In my class, going 1:1 has broadened our horizons and allowed us to knock down the walls of our classroom during instruction.  Rather than giving students notes and telling them what they should know, I have the ability to give my kids a topic and tell them to go explore it on their own.  We are able to travel the world on our computers as we delve into new literature from all over the world, and bring back the information that we pick up along the way.  This creates opportunities for deeper discussion based on student research.  What happens is that each student (or small group) brings back different information that they can speak purposefully about, and everyone in the classroom becomes a teacher and a student. 

The success that my students have had with student-led research opened the door for Problem Based Learning.  For me, this has been the most exciting change in instruction this year.  I have asked my kids to take part in collaborative learning teams and work to solve various problems.  Although they have not all been successful, they have completed research and devised creative plans to fix problems including: discrimination, racism, unemployment, illiteracy, and sanitation.  It has been exciting to watch them learn and devise these innovative plans; in English class they are also thinking about history and science as they work to find solutions.  Their learning is relevant to their learning in other classes and to issues that affect the real world.   This is meaningful instruction.

Through participation in PBL my kids get truly engaged in learning, and we are all discovering that to be successful we have to be willing to take risks and open to the possibility of failure.  I love that my kids are so excited about learning!  And I know that it is partially due to the introduction of 1:1 MacBooks, which empower them to create their own learning.  The possibilities are endless when students engage in creative, collaborative learning guided by their own interests.  So amidst all the change, one thing has remained constant at Carson: Students First!

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