Yeah, but...what?

In a recent Edutopia article called "Put to the Test," writer Bernice Yeung tackles some of the concerns that keep teachers from taking a project approach with their students. Yeah, but what about meeting standards? Yeah, but what about time? Yeah, but what if I lose control of my kids? She calls these the "Yeah, buts," and then sets about knocking them down with answers from practitioners who swear by project-based learning.

One of the strongest endorsements for PBL comes from Carla Williamson who heads the Office of Instruction in West Virginia. It's one of the first states to encourage PBL in every classroom. Williamson explains in the article why students deserve this kind of learning experience: "The end result is that their learning is so much deeper...That's something they carry with them for the rest of their life." I'm eager to know more about the support West Virginia teachers are getting to make this shift in practice.

As the new school year gets underway, are you wrestling with any "yeah, buts" in your own classroom or school? If you've already overcome similar concerns, what helped you move forward?

From Local to Global

We've blogged before about Telannia Norfar, the innovative Oklahoma math teacher who tracked her first collaborative project experience on PBL Birdside View. Now, she's taking it up a notch and jumping into her first global collaboration with a math teacher from Australia. Once again, Telannia will be using her blog to reflect on the experience--giving us all a window for watching the project unfold. Hers is a story worth following. Although she has an eye on the big picture (i.e., what her high school students need to learn), she pays attention to the nitty-gritty of project-based learning and doesn't hesitate to write about challenges. She's also adept at making projects work with the tools already at hand, as she explains in this Edutopia article. Will be fun watching what unfolds when Oklahoma meets Australia.