Developing our Learning Styles             
By:  Kim Schrader

Project at a Glance :

This project is for 12th grade students enrolled in the EMS class at the Careerline Tech Center.  It is our kick-off to the school year, providing students the opportunity to better understand how they learn, what strategies will help them better understand the rigorous content, and enable them to take ownership of their outcomes. 

Driving Question:

How can we meet the needs of the wide variety of learners in the EMS class?      

Standards:

• Skills4Success: Collaboration
• Understand what type of learner they are, what their preferences are, and how they can be successful this year (independently and as a team).

Team / Culture Building:

• ​Creative Sequence Scenario Assessment to create meaningful & effective groups.
• Hopes, Fears & Norms to build culture.   ​​

Entry Event:

• Pick & Pot A Plant - Students will choose a house plant from a variety of plants, based on which one they think they have a high chance of keeping alive for the school year.  

Stakeholders:

• Students
• Future Patients
• Future Co-workers
• Family
• Teachers

Empathy Building:

• Empathy Map​

• Stakeholders Map
• AEIOU

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• Once students start to build empathy and uncover information about their own learning, it will be important for them to talk with their squad members, and share out their findings.  Since we work as teams, we have to know how each member of our team functions best so that we can best assist our peers. 
• Multiple Intelligence Surveys:  peers personal reflection and share out. 
• True Colors Presentation with David Ladd
• Interviews
• Love Letter & BreakUp protocol

Incubation:

• 100 ideas in 10 minutes​​

• Saturate & Group
• Anti-Problem

Checking in:

•  Bringing in an authentic audience earlier  to ask more questions.  My hope is that students will think beyond themselves. Last year when we did this, students got stuck in “rabbit holes” which focused mostly on fidget toys. Helpful for some, but not for everyone.  It was hard to keep them thinking in a broader scope. 
• What Do We Know, What Do We Need to Know, What Don’t We Know
• Gallery Walk
• Critical Friends

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Solution Building:

• $100 Test
  
• Dot Voting
  
• Gallery Walk

Critique and Revision: 

•  NUF Test
  
• Critical Friends with Teacher Academy Students - Students will share out elevator pitch and/or prototype to Teacher Academy students, Future Prep’d staff, Instructional Coaches, Special Ed consultants.​

Authentic Audience:

• CTC Instructional Coaches & ELL Coach
• Special Education Consultants
• Future PREP’d Staff

Final Presentation:

• Create Prototype or Elevator Pitch
• Students will present in the Commons to make it feel special and different!

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:

• NUF rubric will be used by authentic audience and instructor to give feedback on presentations.
• PBL team project rubric
• Students will DOT vote on the suggestions/solutions.  This would allow for components of all teams’ solutions to be incorporated into the classroom.

Click ​here for the teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

Meet the Educator:

​Kim Shrader is an EMS Instructor at the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District's Careerline Tech Center. 

     "PBL has completely changed the culture of my classroom!  Whether  it’s the use of a protocol to check for understanding or a full-scale PBL project, the level of engagement and enthusiasm for learning has grown exponentially for all of us!  It’s also provided a safe environment that  encourages the students to ask questions, seek feedback, and build a growth mindset!"