Why CBL? The goals of challenge based learning (CBL) are aligned with the goals of 21st century learning. CBL includes a real problem to solve, inquiry and research, student choice, and collaboration. The real-world challenge must be meaningful and relevant. At the end, the project has an authentic audience. I explored several different websites and, as far as I could tell, the primary difference between CBL and PBL is that CBL requires the use of technology to find a solution, while PBL doesn’t necessary involve technology. This would make sense as CBL was developed by Apple, a technology company. Why flipped teaching? Flipped teaching also can be aligned with the goals of 21st century learning. It shares the goals of developing critical thinking, problem-solving, and inquiry skills. It essentially gets to these goals by using at-home time for students to learn content through “direct” instruction (video), and in-class time for active learning, projects, and collaboration. What does this mean for first grade? In my first grade classroom, I use elements of CBL and PBL to boost engagement throughout the curriculum every day. Even in a simple math exercise, it’s more motivating for students to solve a real problem (i.e., I want to buy birthday pencils for all of you. I only have 2 so far. How many more should I buy so that each of you will have a birthday pencil?). Students love to have choice (i.e., you can play this word game with a partner, or read independently), and they learn and work well in thoughtful, effective collaborative groups. Presenting to an authentic audience is both motivating and challenging. However, for first grade, I believe that it’s more important to develop the inquiry, research, collaborative, and critical thinking skills, and not to commit to using technology when it may not enhance the process or outcome of a project. I prefer to reserve technology for when it makes sense. For that reason, I would favor PBL over CBL for first grade. Similarly, I could envision using a modified flipped classroom for first grade, but it would not necessarily involve technology. For example, I could ask students to read a magazine about spiders at home (or ask their parents to read it to them), then do a collaborative project involving spiders in class the next day. While it’s possible that I could record an engaging screencast about spiders for the first graders to watch, I believe that, in this grade, they would benefit more from the practice of reading or being read to at home. I know that students learn best when they are motivated, and that, according to Dan Pink, the sources of motivation are autonomy, mastery, and purpose. While CBL and flipped classrooms have many elements that address these sources of motivation, the technological element makes them more suitable for students older than first grade. Rather, I prefer to use those elements of each that motivate my students: elements that help my students feel that they are directing their own learning, that they are creating new things that are meaningful, that they are growing and producing as learners, and that they are providing great value as members of our classroom community and world.
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Based on the reading and listening from the past several weeks, here are some overall thoughts about applying these ideas to teaching and education.
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Masters in Innovative Learning:
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