My PLN just made my school a better place:

One of the latest project-based challenges we faced in our grade 8 & 9 classroom was designing and constructing a safe and beautiful stage set for our (public) school's (k to 9) younger students holiday concert. Made helpful by both our district and province mandating 'competency focussed learning' and made into reality through developing an effective PLN.

Right:  One of the Grade 8 groups developing prototypes to answer the challenge: "With the area of 5 sheets of plywood, you must create a set that has 4 houses and can safely hold students 'on top of them'"

I jumped at the opportunity when our school's music teacher asked our staff team for some help, I knew it was risky putting students in charge of a project that not only the entire school and staff  would see, countless parents would as well. 

The doubts were many: Would the students fail to take ownership of this? Was the task too advanced for the age group to create something live up to our criteria of: 'safe and beautiful'?

Left: Using Google SketchUp to design models of a set where students could be safely elevated behind the set on the stage

The resources I have amassed, thanks to a ridiculously progressive PLN (Professional Learning Network-informal connections with pro's-designed by me for me, mostly using twitter as a medium), I found ample guidance to avoid these concerns, and in turn made the school a better place, and students delving into deep learning.


Right:  Grade 9's framing a railing around the top of rented metal scaffolding for the younger performers  


 For example:
    I would not have been as confident taking on this challenge if I hadn't pursued a tweet in the summer from Tom Whitby on timeless project-based resources. I couldn't have articulated the provoking quote: "just because it is hands on, doesn't mean it's minds on" without Jackie Gerstein's User Generated Education sharing. I wouldn't have set the tone for students to 'catch fire' without Paul Genge's project examples, nor embraced a vision the of student ownership if I wasn't following Rob Ridley's 'Weekly Challenges' I for sure would not have acted like I knew what I was doing (which could have very well been an issue at times) if I wasn't privy to John Spencer's post on Things I've Learned From Going Project Based

Professional Learning Networks transcend collegial sharing with teachers, they truly do take professional learning to another level. Dane Barner said it best:
The PLN is a mindset, not the outcome of a workshop or the PD offered annually by many school districts. It is not a one-shot fix.
10:41 AM - 10 Dec 13

It's extremely powerful how many new opportunities I am able to see within students learnings (ie: not pass this off as an art project to transition into Christmas break)
Stale projects can become juicy ones that showcase students array of skills from math, language arts, fine arts, geography, science, to graphic design, art, drama, construction, team building ect...

Left: The almost-completed Holiday Concert set, the performance was titled       Up on a Rooftop

In the end, the set was not only able to live up to our criteria, the collaborative nature of the investigation gave the students valuable experience and instilled a greater appreciation for social responsibility within the school. I overheard a grade 7 student say "I wonder what our challenge for the set will be next year" so I guess a tradition has began. (oh, and also would not have posted mindful pictures and quotes as parents were entering the performance without being pointed to habits of public documentation on the process from the grade 8 & 9 students without the the #reggio PLN tweet on the importance of documentation. 

I guess the most impressive takeaway is my school in now a better place due to the folks mentioned above and many others that share the resources that create lifelong habits of learning. Oh yeah, I couldn't have broken down the steps of class projects without Edutopia's start to finish resources on meaningful class projects too...it never ends.


Paul Kelba

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