Instructional domains

John Dewey and the Progressive Movement is one of my favorite topics of study!  Dewey was a innovator in education but not without his many critics.  Any time someone wants to change the way we teach, there will be obstacles.  I have been through many phases of teaching waves but the main ideas are always there.  Students should be able to read and understand what they read and know why being able to read opens doors.  Students should be able to be responsible for what they learn and what they possess.  Students should be able to be productive citizens and be able to change as progress requires it.  If we are unable to adapt then we are no longer useful.  In the introduction to this article I appreciated what was written " many educators find themselves tackling challenges for which they are not fully prepared and devoting immeasurable energy to learning 'on the fly" and on their own."  This completely sums up my teaching experience.  Whew!  I am glad that someone other than me realized it!

To create a true learning environment, there must be a culture of trust among the students and among the fellow teachers.  Trying to work with anyone that you do not trust is difficult and that culture must be developed from the first day.  In a classroom setting that can be overwhelming but not impossible and the lines are very fluid especially with teenagers who all seem to have multiple personalities!  It is also difficult to always be fair or equitable.  The commitment to equity must be clear but all parties must realize it is not something that is always possible.

A PBL lessons works within the 4 domains.  My lesson that I have created was to help my students see the bigger picture of being fiscally responsible.  The Cognitive Domain or need to know for each student was what am I going to do when I graduate from high school.  Students were already in career clusters and they needed to explore within that career cluster that they have chosen a career that they may want to work in.  This exploration has been fostered since they were freshman with their guidance counselor and through a yearly career day that our school sponsors.  As seniors, these students need to know what they will do when they graduate.  It is a pretty serious question that scares and fascinates at the same time.  My students used SCOIS to research what it will take for them to obtain the career that they want.  A weakness in this domain for me is the use of rubrics,  I have them built in but I need to be more consistent in their use and present them from the beginning.

In the Intrapersonal Domain, students used inquiry based approaches to set life goals in terms of a budget and college applications.  Students created resumes for now and for their future self.  This section need some more input especially from maybe an outside source to come in and talk to the students about financial planning.  Some students still were and are not sure how to pay for college.  Many are having to delay college for financial reasons and some chose other career options when they realized how little they would be paid for their choice.  Money is the main motivator of many of my students because they are lower middle class and some of them also have unrealistic choices for careers.  How do I guide them to do something they feel passionate about when the pay is not what they expected or their abilities are not capable of that career?

In the Interpersonal Domain the students were good to work together as well as be good critical friends of each other.  Many of my students are afraid to make a presentation in front of the entire class but are comfortable to present in a small group.  Students encourage each other to realize their goals and potential.  I brought in guidance counselors on two separate occasions to help with the resumes and the career research.  To most of my students, it made their work more relevant because sources outside the classroom saw relevance in what they were doing.

Instructional Domain or pedagogy is strong.  It is based in the standards of economics and I had a strong partner to work with in the planning stages.  It would be ideal to have a partner within my building to assist me.  It would be great to have someone to help especially with building relationships with outside sources to help bring them in.  I hope to make contacts with some of the career professionals who are coming to career day but I am in my classroom when they are in the building so I may need to work on that.  I don't have a "team" within my building but I am a team within myself to continue to strengthen this project.

Student reflection was used throughout and they students reflected on how it felt to create the dream board to how real their expectations are for their career choice to how did creating a budget make them feel.  Students reflected on their current spending habits and their resume creation as well.  Many students were able to reflect on how these choices frustrated them as well as made them more willing to pursue their goals.

These instructional domains are extremely high levels of expectations for any PBL I create.  Having students be responsible for their learning is the ultimate goal and one that I will continue to strive for.