Discussions

Your Name and Title:  Chris Preston/Middle School Teacher/PD Presenter

School or Organization Name:  Forest Hills Local School District/Nagel Middle School

Co-Presenter Name(s):  Trisha Underwood

Area of the World from Which You Will Present:  Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Language in Which You Will Present:  English

Target Audience(s):  K-12, all subjects

Short Session Description (one line):  Participants will learn the basics of designing authentic thinking and learning experiences for their classroom.

Full Session Description (as long as you would like):

Teachers have a difficult time engaging students in constructivism in their classroom for
multiple reasons including standardized testing and lack of time.  Standardized testing can sometimes hinder a teachers’ ability to think beyond the standards and apply student learning to real world scenarios.  Teachers feel that they have barely enough time to make copies for tomorrow’s lesson let alone re-design their curriculum.

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a concept first developed by McMaster University in the late 1960’s out of the need to improve problem-solving skills in medical school students.  We will show concrete examples of standards-based PBL from various disciplines.  At the culmination of the session we will have a conversation of how to implement PBL opportunies using social communication technology.

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:http://authenticthinking.wikispaces.com/