Instructional Strategies to Support PBL
As students take ownership for their learning and are actively involved in their PBL experience, the role of the teacher becomes very different form the teacher role in a traditional class setting. The role of the teacher becomes "coach," "facilitator" or "tutor." Teachers during a PBL must:
-be able to monitor the content the students are learning,
-guide students with questioning,
-manage activities,
-formatively assess students,
-facilitate the learning process.
Small group instruction is a way to formatively assess students and target student learning needs throughout the PBL process. A variety of small group instruction techniques allows for true differentiation through a flexible grouping format to ensure the success of each child's learning.
Benefits are:
~ students feel more comfortable asking questions in a small group rather than a whole-class setting.
~ groups can be flexible and formed by level, skill, interest, or learning style for true differentiation.
~ teachers can use formative assessment strategies more effectively.
~ a specific focus can be addressed to a target audience.
~many activities can be going on simultaneously when students work in small groups.
Some different groupings that can be arranged when teachers need to provide guidance and scaffold student learning are:
Strategy Groups - Heterogeneous groups that are formed based on specific skills that several students need further introduction, review, or practice of a strategy to support that skill. The teacher leads the strategy groups.
Guided Groups - Homogeneous groups based on level to address targeted scaffolding for a particular topic. The teacher leads the guided groups.
While teachers are leading particular groups, the rest of the class can take part in independent work or other small groupings, as described below:
Learning Centers - groups that are homogeneous or heterogeneous, allowing students to rotate to lesson-based activities that are usually differentiated, addressing different interests, learning styles, or level. The teacher acts a facilitator and can be a center for reteaching or conferencing. Templates can be used for planning.
Stations - Stations differ from centers in that the groups of students who visit the stations can be flexible groups, students do not have to be at stations for the same amount of time, students can choose stations or the teacher can assign, and stations can change based on student needs. This example shows how stations can be used when students identify their own learning goals.
Cooperative Learning - Teams that are heterogeneous (1 high, 2 middle, 1 low) with students working as a team taking part in individual work as well as team work and discourse to support higher-order thinking skills. The teacher acts a facilitator.
-be able to monitor the content the students are learning,
-guide students with questioning,
-manage activities,
-formatively assess students,
-facilitate the learning process.
Small group instruction is a way to formatively assess students and target student learning needs throughout the PBL process. A variety of small group instruction techniques allows for true differentiation through a flexible grouping format to ensure the success of each child's learning.
Benefits are:
~ students feel more comfortable asking questions in a small group rather than a whole-class setting.
~ groups can be flexible and formed by level, skill, interest, or learning style for true differentiation.
~ teachers can use formative assessment strategies more effectively.
~ a specific focus can be addressed to a target audience.
~many activities can be going on simultaneously when students work in small groups.
Some different groupings that can be arranged when teachers need to provide guidance and scaffold student learning are:
Strategy Groups - Heterogeneous groups that are formed based on specific skills that several students need further introduction, review, or practice of a strategy to support that skill. The teacher leads the strategy groups.
Guided Groups - Homogeneous groups based on level to address targeted scaffolding for a particular topic. The teacher leads the guided groups.
While teachers are leading particular groups, the rest of the class can take part in independent work or other small groupings, as described below:
Learning Centers - groups that are homogeneous or heterogeneous, allowing students to rotate to lesson-based activities that are usually differentiated, addressing different interests, learning styles, or level. The teacher acts a facilitator and can be a center for reteaching or conferencing. Templates can be used for planning.
Stations - Stations differ from centers in that the groups of students who visit the stations can be flexible groups, students do not have to be at stations for the same amount of time, students can choose stations or the teacher can assign, and stations can change based on student needs. This example shows how stations can be used when students identify their own learning goals.
Cooperative Learning - Teams that are heterogeneous (1 high, 2 middle, 1 low) with students working as a team taking part in individual work as well as team work and discourse to support higher-order thinking skills. The teacher acts a facilitator.