00:00:00,140 --> 00:00:28,100 [Speaker 0]
Welcome to the PBL Simplified Podcast for Teachers, brought to you by Magnify Learning, your customized PBL partner. From over a decade of experience with you in the trenches, we are bringing you the top-rated educational podcast designed for inspired classroom teachers seeking to transform their classrooms with project-based learning. [upbeat music] Live your why. Transform your classroom. Teach inspired. Here's your host, Ryan Steuer.
00:00:29,400 --> 00:01:23,060 Ryan
Welcome to the PBL Simplified for Teachers podcast. I'm your host, Ryan Steuer, CEO of Magnify Learning, and we're excited to be with you today. We've got a teacher interview today, so we get to talk to somebody in the, in the classroom with you, uh, doing the work, which is always fun. If it's your first time tuning into the podcast, I'd love for you to go to whatispbl.com, whatispbl.com, and we've got a whole set of resources to get you started, bunch of free stuff to get you, get your eyes on PBL and get you started in the right direction, where you're doing really cool stuff in your classroom and you're energized while you're doing it. Wouldn't that be awesome? It, it will be awesome. So today, uh, we've got Ronnie with us, and Ronnie is an educator from Maryland. And if, if you go listen to our CTE podcast, you can hear her talk there as well. So she's been all around. She's doing great work. Uh, she's excited to be with us. Ronnie, thanks for taking the time. We appreciate it.
00:01:24,340 --> 00:01:25,800 Ronni
Oh, thank you so much for having me, Ryan.
00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:31,960 Ryan
All right, so first question is how did, when did you first know that you were going to be an educator?
00:01:34,260 --> 00:01:47,270 Ronni
I am not one of those typical people who knew from elementary school they were gonna be an educator. Um, I, even my senior year in high school going into it, I was going to be an accountant. And-
00:01:47,270 --> 00:01:47,360 Ryan
Ah.
00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:59,100 Ronni
Um, yeah, I was definitely all business major all through high school, not a fan of science at all. And my guidance counselor told me, "You are going to take chemistry" And I said-
00:01:59,100 --> 00:01:59,110 Ryan
Yes
00:01:59,110 --> 00:02:01,010 Ronni
... "I am not going to take chemistry."
00:02:01,010 --> 00:02:01,020 Ryan
[laughs]
00:02:01,020 --> 00:02:03,940 Ronni
And here I am 30 years later, teaching chemistry.
00:02:03,940 --> 00:02:04,820 Ryan
That's, that's right.
00:02:04,820 --> 00:02:04,840 Ronni
Um-
00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:05,940 Ryan
Gotcha. [laughs]
00:02:05,940 --> 00:02:15,260 Ronni
Yeah, I had kinda drug my best friend through chemistry and realized I, you know, I could kinda teach it. If I taught it to her, maybe I could be successful, you know, helping others, and it kind of blossomed from there.
00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:33,640 Ryan
Awesome. Love it. And then when we talk about, you know, doing project-based learning in the classroom, we're, we're talking to people that are doing education a little bit differently. So then once you're in education, when did you know, like, what was the moment where you're like, "I think we need to do education differently"? When did you know that had to change?
00:02:34,740 --> 00:02:53,130 Ronni
I always felt from the beginning that kids, especially in science, kids need to be up. They need to be doing things. And so it wasn't necessarily, I didn't ... Like, I had always kind of done project-based learning without that external stuff of, like, the community partners and that.
00:02:53,130 --> 00:02:53,140 Ryan
Mm-hmm.
00:02:53,140 --> 00:02:56,840 Ronni
But I had always turned everything into kind of a project.
00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:56,920 Ryan
Sure.
00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:07,049 Ronni
And so when I finally did find out about project-based learning, it kind of took everything I had been doing in my classroom and just amplified it. I mean, just made it-
00:03:07,049 --> 00:03:07,049 Ryan
Yeah
00:03:07,049 --> 00:03:08,280 Ronni
... all fall into place.
00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:08,300 Ryan
We like-
00:03:08,300 --> 00:03:08,720 Ronni
It was amazing.
00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:10,510 Ryan
We like to say magnify.
00:03:10,510 --> 00:03:10,549 Ronni
[laughs]
00:03:10,549 --> 00:03:34,040 Ryan
Yeah. [laughs] But that's it. I love the distinction. I think it's a great place to start, actually. It, and we'll talk about that a little bit is, like, yes, you know, projects, like, doing projects is a great way to do education. Uh, it's probably better than traditionally speaking up front, right, and just going page by page. But then how does it magnify the work when you bring a community partner in? Can you talk about some of your experiences doing that?
00:03:35,260 --> 00:03:37,320 Ronni
Um, my very first project-
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:37,390 Ryan
Yeah
00:03:37,390 --> 00:03:50,799 Ronni
... uh, I had gotten ... I live, um, if you live within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant, they are legally res- um, they're legally responsible to provide you with a flyer for information on-
00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:51,090 Ryan
Okay
00:03:51,090 --> 00:03:56,730 Ronni
... um, on, you know, what you would do in case of an emergency. And-
00:03:56,730 --> 00:03:56,730 Ryan
Okay
00:03:56,730 --> 00:04:27,099 Ronni
... I had decided that my first project would be to make this flyer better. It was, I had never seen it before. It was a very generic piece of green paper that happened to come in right before school started. And I didn't really know where my project was going to end at the time. I had just wanted to do a project on surviving d- a disaster, and it completely turned into what ... kind of a little different than what I thought it was gonna be.
00:04:27,100 --> 00:04:27,159 Ryan
Sure.
00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:44,240 Ronni
But it ended up being that the students created, um, flyers, um, that were better than what, um, Constellation was currently putting out. And the really nice thing about it is at the end, um, the next year we did not get that very generic green flyer.
00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:44,250 Ryan
Mm.
00:04:44,250 --> 00:05:05,780 Ronni
Um, it was definitely improved. It wasn't any of my students' information, but, um, the people at our local nuclear power plant had kinda taken it up the chain and talked to the people at Constellation. So I'm hoping that, you know, I keep telling myself that it was due to us that they made it at least a little bit better to where people might not just throw it away.
00:05:06,900 --> 00:05:18,260 Ryan
For sure, and I think that's a great way to get started, and I think that's real impact, right? You talk about that with your students. It's like, uh, "Because we did this thing, there's change that happened in the real world," right?
00:05:18,260 --> 00:05:18,270 Ronni
Mm.
00:05:18,270 --> 00:05:46,480 Ryan
"In our communities, in fact. Not out there, not someday, like, right away it happened." Like, for sure that's, uh, what happened there, right? We had another school in Lexington, Kentucky, where they, they said, "Well, the flag, like, our city flag, like, breaks all the rules of flagship," whatever that might be. Apparently there are rules. I didn't know. Uh, so they did this, they did this PBL unit. They went to city council and said, "Hey, our flag needs to change." And, and it did. It did.
00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:46,650 Ronni
Right.
00:05:46,650 --> 00:05:52,760 Ryan
Right? Now, they didn't use ... I don't think they ended up using the students' examples, but the flag changed.
00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:52,920 Ronni
Right.
00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:59,940 Ryan
So there's still students today that can point to that flag in Lexington and say, "That flag is different because I did some work."
00:05:59,940 --> 00:06:05,330 Ronni
Yeah. And when I took the flyer, I actually went and found some of the kids that had done the project the year before.
00:06:05,330 --> 00:06:05,330 Ryan
Yeah.
00:06:05,330 --> 00:06:09,280 Ronni
And I went and found them, and they're like, "Oh, yeah. Yeah, we had something to do with it."
00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:09,590 Ryan
[laughs]
00:06:09,590 --> 00:06:13,659 Ronni
So they kind of felt the same way. They were, they were kind of proud of themselves, so.
00:06:13,660 --> 00:06:19,270 Ryan
Yeah. That's right. We, now suddenly we're not going to school because we have to. We're going to school and we're making a difference, like, we're doing things that matter.
00:06:20,070 --> 00:06:20,430 Ronni
Right
00:06:20,430 --> 00:07:02,970 Ryan
That's, that's such a big shift. [upbeat music] That's exciting. If this PBL Simplified for Teachers episode is connecting with you, just imagine what it would be like to be in community with other PBL-ers just like you. If you're a teacher that needs some additional support 'cause you're not getting it from your school specifically, check out the PBL community in the description. We've got courses, you've got resources, and you've got community. Jump in. We'll see you there. So let's talk about some more student stories if we can. Uh, have you always been a secondary teacher? Uh, and then what are some learners that you can remember where, like, they got it, and, like, maybe made a change in, in the way they do school and life?
00:07:04,250 --> 00:07:07,810 Ronni
Um, I have always been secondary. I had no intentions-
00:07:07,810 --> 00:07:07,910 Ryan
Okay
00:07:07,910 --> 00:07:18,570 Ronni
... of even teaching middle school. I, when I decided to become a teacher late in my high school career, I had even said I really didn't even wanna teach freshmen, and I really-
00:07:18,570 --> 00:07:18,619 Ryan
Okay
00:07:18,619 --> 00:07:48,490 Ronni
... I have, like, maybe three or four [laughs] freshmen a year. Um, so, uh, so I definitely have always been in high school. And probably my most, um, compelling situation I had, the first year I did PBL, I kind of focused on one particular class, and it's my accelerated physics, um, physics/chemistry class. And these kids take an entire year of chemistry in the first semester, and then they take an entire year of physics in the second semester.
00:07:48,490 --> 00:07:48,530 Ryan
Okay.
00:07:48,530 --> 00:08:16,110 Ronni
So I thought, "Okay, these are my high flyers. These are the kids that sh- it should be, you know, I should be able to work with them really easily." When I got to, um, the second semester in my honors chemistry class, I decided to do, um, I decided to try it with them. And I had a student who hadn't been doing really any work throughout the year, and all of a sudden, when I brought project-based learning in, I watched his attitude change.
00:08:16,110 --> 00:08:16,590 Ryan
Mm.
00:08:16,590 --> 00:08:37,670 Ronni
I mean, just by having him, you know, him knowing that this was gonna be something, this was gonna be something bigger than the classroom. That was, I mean, that was an eye-opening, um, eye-opening situation for me where I thought, "Okay, well, this definitely needs to stay in all my classes."
00:08:37,670 --> 00:08:49,930 Ryan
Right. And, and that's what happens, right? It's like once you can, once you see it, you, you can't unsee it, right? It's like this is how school should be done, and I don't know what else to do. I guess it's just-
00:08:49,930 --> 00:08:50,060 Ronni
Yeah
00:08:50,060 --> 00:08:51,869 Ryan
... how we're gonna have to do it.
00:08:51,930 --> 00:08:52,210 Ronni
Yeah.
00:08:52,210 --> 00:09:06,370 Ryan
Let's talk to some teachers now that are listening that, uh, maybe have dabbled a bit, or they're wondering, like, "Hey, should I be doing project-based learning?" What are maybe some first steps you'd suggest to, to ha- to move them just a little bit farther?
00:09:07,550 --> 00:09:23,030 Ronni
I think the most important thing that we forget as educators is we forget how important it is for the kids to get that experience of talking outside of the classroom. We have them do presentations-
00:09:23,030 --> 00:09:23,140 Ryan
Mm-hmm. Same
00:09:23,140 --> 00:09:45,750 Ronni
... and we have them do presentations in front of their peers. And by having the kids go out into the public in some way, shape, or form, it now holds them responsible. So even if you're just taking a project that you've always done, but tweaking it a little to make it real world, and then having the kids present to different people-
00:09:45,750 --> 00:09:46,150 Ryan
Mm-hmm
00:09:46,150 --> 00:09:47,250 Ronni
... you know, without-
00:09:47,250 --> 00:09:47,260 Ryan
Yeah
00:09:47,260 --> 00:09:55,750 Ronni
... even if you didn't bring in the community partners, that would be my first kind of simplest step that I think would make a huge impact in the classroom.
00:09:57,150 --> 00:10:23,970 Ryan
Yeah, I... That's such a great idea. Uh, 'cause you don't have to change a whole lot of things right away, right? You can still be doing what you're doing, and I think what you see is the impact on your learners when you do that, right? And I remember when we first did it, and it hasn't been perfect, right? I was doing eighth grade English at, uh, at an urban school, and it was like, "What, what do you think Victor's gonna say?" [laughs] 'Cause I heard what he-
00:10:23,970 --> 00:10:24,010 Ronni
Yeah
00:10:24,010 --> 00:10:31,550 Ryan
... said in the classroom. Like, should we let him say that? And, um, you know, well, that's not a real name that I'm using, but he did-
00:10:31,550 --> 00:10:31,560 Ronni
Right
00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:41,840 Ryan
... mess up, right? They, we did have a kid that messed up pretty bad in front of the largest children's museum in the world, right? Like, they came in, they're sitting in the audience, and he messed up real bad.
00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:41,840 Ronni
Oh.
00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:44,050 Ryan
And you know, you know what happened is
00:10:45,250 --> 00:10:48,750 Ryan
those people from the children's museum are educators, too.
00:10:48,750 --> 00:10:48,870 Ronni
Yeah.
00:10:48,870 --> 00:10:52,610 Ryan
And they want what's best for kids, and they wanna work with kids just like him-
00:10:52,610 --> 00:10:52,680 Ronni
Mm
00:10:52,680 --> 00:11:07,760 Ryan
... that need some help. And a year later, Victor was completely changed, right? Like, completely changed. Like, he presented very well, confidently, and appropriately [laughs] right? So will there be a blip? Yes. But it's not nearly as bad as what we think it could be, right?
00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:07,770 Ronni
Right.
00:11:07,770 --> 00:11:12,160 Ryan
They just understood, 'cause I was, I was in the audience, right? And I kinda slunk down in my chair a little bit.
00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:12,170 Ronni
[laughs]
00:11:12,170 --> 00:11:14,460 Ryan
I was like, 'cause you can't do anything. Like, they're in-
00:11:14,460 --> 00:11:14,460 Ronni
Right
00:11:14,460 --> 00:11:17,569 Ryan
... like, mid-presentation. It's like, "Okay, that happened."
00:11:17,569 --> 00:11:17,870 Ronni
[laughs]
00:11:17,870 --> 00:11:27,490 Ryan
Um, so, but I, I just say that to really alleviate any fear of, of what the audience might say. It turns out they're really supportive and excited-
00:11:27,490 --> 00:11:27,910 Ronni
I bet
00:11:27,910 --> 00:11:31,670 Ryan
... when we, when we share, right? Do you f- do you see the same thing when you bring people in?
00:11:31,670 --> 00:11:49,310 Ronni
Oh, absolutely. Um, and I've, and it's been, as you've said, a year later, it's been really cool to see, um, students who, you know, I did have freshman, sophomore year that, and, you know, watching their, um, watching their presentation skills grow.
00:11:49,310 --> 00:11:49,680 Ryan
Mm-hmm.
00:11:49,680 --> 00:12:07,030 Ronni
I mean, it made such a huge impact. Um, I had a student that just came back to me last week that was telling me about how, um, she got a full ride to a college because of the presentation s- presentation skills that she learned-
00:12:07,030 --> 00:12:07,040 Ryan
Mm
00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:11,000 Ronni
... in, um, throughout our project-based learning units.
00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:11,050 Ryan
Right.
00:12:11,090 --> 00:12:15,410 Ronni
Because, you know, I taught them how to present versus type-
00:12:15,410 --> 00:12:15,420 Ryan
Right
00:12:15,420 --> 00:12:18,770 Ronni
... everything in a PowerPoint and read it. So-
00:12:18,770 --> 00:12:21,270 Ryan
Right. I'm not sure that there's a more important skill
00:12:22,098 --> 00:12:22,678 Ronni
Yeah
00:12:22,678 --> 00:12:58,638 Ryan
I mean, I mean, being a nice human, that would be a good skill to master as well. But the ability to go and speak and present, 'cause then whether it's an interview or it's speaking up in a meeting, right? Or y- I had a learner who kind of post, post-college, he's working for John Deere, and the CEO of John Deere comes through his plant, right? And he's an engineer. And, uh, he didn't wanna miss that, right? So he practiced the day before, like, "What would I say? What am I gonna say when the CEO comes by?" He's gonna shake s- everybody's hand and say, "Good to see you." And everybody's gonna, "Good to see you, sir," and move on. But he prepared something.
00:12:58,638 --> 00:12:58,778 Ronni
Right.
00:12:58,778 --> 00:13:07,918 Ryan
So he actually had a question for the CEO. So they stopped and had a little conversation. You know, it's like those little things, like, that gets you promoted or not promoted, right? Like-
00:13:07,918 --> 00:13:08,238 Ronni
Mm-hmm
00:13:08,238 --> 00:13:28,418 Ryan
... so it, it's such an important skill to be able to present. I... Yeah, what a great suggestion. So anybody listening, you can just bring in a community partner to your next presentation, and all the kids sit up a little bit straighter, um, it immediately happens. I would suggest a practice presentation. That's the suggestion I always make-
00:13:28,418 --> 00:13:28,428 Ronni
Mm-hmm
00:13:28,428 --> 00:13:54,768 Ryan
... uh, so that you know what Victor's gonna say, you know [laughs] and just to get kids comfortable, 'cause they might not be comfortable right away. So just help 'em out there. What would you say, um, teachers that maybe they're in a school that's not super innovative yet, maybe it's not a project-based learning school, um, how do they interact with admin or coaches or even the evaluation form if they wanna-
00:13:54,768 --> 00:13:55,068 Ronni
I am-
00:13:55,068 --> 00:13:56,218 Ryan
... try PBL?
00:13:56,218 --> 00:13:58,298 Ronni
I am definitely at that school. We have-
00:13:58,298 --> 00:13:59,298 Ryan
Okay
00:13:59,298 --> 00:14:07,238 Ronni
... three, three of us that are definitely have just jumped off the deep end, and we are definitely PBL all the way.
00:14:07,238 --> 00:14:07,308 Ryan
Yeah.
00:14:07,308 --> 00:14:27,458 Ronni
Um, we have a couple, we have three more that are trained. Um, one I think is, she's just in our cohort this year, so she's still definitely in the, in the very beginning stages. Um, my admin has... I mean, they have been very supportive. As soon as you start bringing in people from the outside-
00:14:27,458 --> 00:14:27,738 Ryan
Mm-hmm
00:14:27,738 --> 00:14:32,658 Ronni
... they, to them, that just makes them look good, whether it's them or not.
00:14:32,658 --> 00:14:32,738 Ryan
Yeah.
00:14:32,738 --> 00:14:40,078 Ronni
So I feel like the admin is, like, they're always, they've been on board with me 100%.
00:14:40,078 --> 00:14:45,398 Ryan
Yeah. That's good. I think, again, comes back to the presentation piece, right? Bringing community partners in-
00:14:45,398 --> 00:14:45,628 Ronni
Mm-hmm
00:14:45,628 --> 00:14:59,038 Ryan
... which Magnified Learning, like, that's our geekiness, right? Like, we really want you to start with community partners because it's such a strong motivator for kids. Um, it gives good community perception, which is what administrators often are concerned about, rightfully so.
00:14:59,038 --> 00:14:59,048 Ronni
Mm-hmm.
00:14:59,048 --> 00:15:04,218 Ryan
Right? And so if you're gonna start, it, it's really kinda win-win for everybody.
00:15:04,218 --> 00:15:04,438 Ronni
Agree.
00:15:04,438 --> 00:15:29,278 Ryan
That's pretty fun. Super fun. So let's say we've got some teachers, let's talk to the group that's maybe on the fence. 'Cause if you're listening and you're on the fence, one, we're glad you're here, we're glad you're exploring. And if you're a veteran, don't tune out, 'cause I know you've got somebody, like, down the hall that's on the fence, right? So what do you try to say to those folks? You know, you've got a couple people. How do you get 'em on board with you so you are now collaborating with some folks and, and not just a lone wolf?
00:15:30,618 --> 00:15:37,768 Ronni
I feel like within my science department, I've had... I still can't get them to the training.
00:15:37,768 --> 00:15:37,778 Ryan
Okay.
00:15:37,778 --> 00:15:48,198 Ronni
But I feel like with what I've been doing, just talking to them and stuff, I'm getting them closer and closer. They're definitely taking things that used to be just projects-
00:15:48,198 --> 00:15:48,298 Ryan
Mm-hmm
00:15:48,298 --> 00:15:54,688 Ronni
... and at least they're making, um, you know, a little bit, you know, they're expanding 'em a little.
00:15:54,688 --> 00:15:54,718 Ryan
Yeah.
00:15:54,718 --> 00:16:16,958 Ronni
And when I say, "Hey, what do you think about..." Like, um, our biomedical teacher just had the kids, they had to take tape on the floor, and they had to make, um, a heart, and they had to explain how e- everything functioned, you know? And that was their quarterly assessment. I said, "What if you just brought in, you know, people from the hospital or from the health department?"
00:16:16,958 --> 00:16:17,238 Ryan
Sure.
00:16:17,298 --> 00:16:25,837 Ronni
I said, "They'd come in at any time." She's like, "Oh my gosh, that's such a good idea." So sometimes it's just a matter of dropping these little nuggets [laughs]
00:16:25,838 --> 00:16:25,978 Ryan
Yeah
00:16:25,978 --> 00:16:27,598 Ronni
... and you know, these little breadcrumbs-
00:16:27,598 --> 00:16:28,018 Ryan
Uh-huh
00:16:28,018 --> 00:16:34,478 Ronni
... and hope they pick them up. And you know, you can't force anybody to do anything, so.
00:16:34,478 --> 00:16:39,568 Ryan
Sure. Right. But I, I like your heart posture there, right? It's not, "You know what? You should do this, and your kids-
00:16:39,568 --> 00:16:39,718 Ronni
Right
00:16:39,718 --> 00:16:41,378 Ryan
... would be more engaged," right? 'Cause we don't-
00:16:41,378 --> 00:16:41,388 Ronni
Right
00:16:41,388 --> 00:16:42,868 Ryan
... even know if that's true, right? But we-
00:16:42,868 --> 00:16:42,868 Ronni
Right
00:16:42,868 --> 00:16:53,408 Ryan
... we can always suggest. And it, you also did a good job of listening in that example. Like, you listened to what was happening. You didn't judge in any way. You just gave a suggestion. Take it or leave it, right?
00:16:53,408 --> 00:16:53,408 Ronni
Right.
00:16:53,408 --> 00:17:05,998 Ryan
And I think people are more open to that. I like that small shift that, that happens there. W- we're kinda moving towards that, so these small shifts before you have to jump into the deep end, you know, and do your first big PBL, which-
00:17:05,998 --> 00:17:08,938 Ronni
Oh, but don't negate that because, man, I jumped off-
00:17:08,938 --> 00:17:09,258 Ryan
There you go
00:17:09,258 --> 00:17:10,798 Ronni
... the deep end very deep and-
00:17:10,798 --> 00:17:11,208 Ryan
[laughs]
00:17:11,208 --> 00:17:13,048 Ronni
... haven't looked back since. So there's nothing-
00:17:13,048 --> 00:17:13,378 Ryan
That's right
00:17:13,378 --> 00:17:14,718 Ronni
... wrong with that either, but-
00:17:14,718 --> 00:17:15,418 Ryan
Agreed
00:17:15,418 --> 00:17:19,998 Ronni
... you know, I, I, I keep trying to tell myself not everybody is able to do that.
00:17:19,998 --> 00:17:20,178 Ryan
Gotcha.
00:17:20,178 --> 00:17:20,618 Ronni
So.
00:17:20,618 --> 00:17:29,858 Ryan
Yeah. That, that's right. I, I think that's a good reminder, Ronnie, is like, uh, 'cause I did the same thing. I, I had been teaching traditionally, and frankly, it wasn't working, right? Like my kids-
00:17:29,858 --> 00:17:29,948 Ronni
Right
00:17:29,948 --> 00:17:51,838 Ryan
... were not... It w- we were an F school. It's like we should try something, right? [laughs] And, and it, and it worked. You know, we had, percent attendance went up, discipline went down. We would've been a B on standardized tests in an F school. So it's like, okay, I get it. But I was the kinda one that would just jumped in, and like you said, there are some people that don't jump in that way. So some small shifts can work, too.
00:17:51,838 --> 00:17:52,118 Ronni
Right.
00:17:52,118 --> 00:17:56,368 Ryan
Uh, but yeah, so Ronnie and I are advocating just jump in, right? [laughs]
00:17:56,368 --> 00:17:56,428 Ronni
[laughs]
00:17:56,428 --> 00:18:01,178 Ryan
And just... But you see the impact on kids, right? That's why we're in this profession-
00:18:01,178 --> 00:18:01,248 Ronni
Right
00:18:01,248 --> 00:18:05,298 Ryan
... is to see the impact in kids. It is almost immediate, I think.
00:18:05,890 --> 00:18:10,350 Ronni
Well, and just accept that they're not all gonna work. I mean, there are-
00:18:10,350 --> 00:18:10,360 Ryan
Sure
00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:17,189 Ronni
... like, I have one this year that I just did not like the way the project was going.
00:18:17,190 --> 00:18:17,320 Ryan
Mm-hmm.
00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:24,430 Ronni
And I took it, and I pivoted in. Like, mine are usually a quarter long, so that's their quarterly assessment-
00:18:24,430 --> 00:18:24,670 Ryan
Okay
00:18:24,670 --> 00:18:56,620 Ronni
... um, every quarter, obviously. And, um, I pivoted, and I just wrapped it right up into the next quarter. And so what they were working on, we just, I just made it a little bit longer, and then it ended up being a great project. So you know, you don't have to, if it's not going the way you want, you can just say, "Okay, this isn't working. Let's just, we're just gonna stop this." Or you can try to just take it and kind of just tweak it, you know, and kind of take it the way you actually wanted it to go.
00:18:56,620 --> 00:19:07,930 Ryan
Mm-hmm. That's a great point. If, if, if you s- try PBL, it's your first time, and even if it's not, really, if, if, if your classroom's heading for the ditch, right, you don't have to keep driving it in the ditch. You can just-
00:19:07,930 --> 00:19:07,970 Ronni
Yeah
00:19:07,970 --> 00:19:08,890 Ryan
... hit the brakes, right?
00:19:08,890 --> 00:19:08,990 Ronni
[laughs]
00:19:08,990 --> 00:19:13,120 Ryan
Pump, pump the brakes and say, "Let's slow back, pull it back"
00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:13,120 Ronni
Yeah
00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:15,590 Ryan
... and maybe bring in some more traditional teaching if you needed to-
00:19:15,590 --> 00:19:15,740 Ronni
Right
00:19:15,740 --> 00:19:22,990 Ryan
... right, to get back on track. So it's, it's not like it has to be all or nothing, right? You're still driving the, driving the ship. So-
00:19:22,990 --> 00:19:23,840 Ronni
Right. Well, I didn't say, like-
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:28,450 Ryan
Well, I guess I have to say car 'cause I used a ditch analogy. You can't put your ship in a ditch, so.
00:19:28,450 --> 00:19:31,590 Ronni
Well, you know, maybe you could, but that would be difficult.
00:19:31,590 --> 00:19:33,970 Ryan
Go ahead, Ronni. Save me from my bad analogy.
00:19:34,030 --> 00:19:38,250 Ronni
I just, I, you know, you just, y- just take a chance. I mean, what-
00:19:38,250 --> 00:19:38,750 Ryan
There you go
00:19:38,750 --> 00:19:46,790 Ronni
... what can it hurt? It can't... I mean, if it doesn't, if it doesn't go the way you're thinking, then, you know, that's okay.
00:19:46,790 --> 00:19:46,830 Ryan
Mm-hmm.
00:19:46,830 --> 00:19:50,930 Ronni
I don't feel like I ever had... I didn't lose any time-
00:19:50,930 --> 00:19:50,940 Ryan
Yeah
00:19:50,940 --> 00:20:03,190 Ronni
... putting PBL into my curriculum. You know, they say, you know, "Well, how do your labs and stuff?" Well, sometimes my labs were the ideas that kinda stemmed a PBL. Like, one of my-
00:20:03,190 --> 00:20:03,970 Ryan
Mm-hmm
00:20:03,970 --> 00:20:21,450 Ronni
... um, one of my honors, um, projects is they're doing, um, hand warmers and soap and stuff for the community, and they're putting together a little chemistry package to give possibly to the health department. We haven't quite gotten to that point yet.
00:20:21,450 --> 00:20:21,490 Ryan
Yeah.
00:20:21,490 --> 00:20:29,050 Ronni
But, you know, they're putting tog- they're using different labs that I kind of already did, and then we're just PBL-ing it. So-
00:20:29,050 --> 00:20:29,510 Ryan
Yeah
00:20:29,510 --> 00:20:33,620 Ronni
... just never felt like... I know that's a big concern with some people, 'cause that was-
00:20:33,620 --> 00:20:33,620 Ryan
Mm-hmm
00:20:33,620 --> 00:20:35,180 Ronni
... kind of where we were going here.
00:20:35,180 --> 00:20:35,180 Ryan
Yeah.
00:20:35,180 --> 00:20:41,750 Ronni
And I have never felt like it added time. If anything, the kids are getting a lot deeper knowledge-
00:20:41,750 --> 00:20:41,760 Ryan
Mm-hmm
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,440 Ronni
... without me having to take that time, so.
00:20:44,440 --> 00:21:17,430 Ryan
Yeah. Yeah, such a good point. Well, this has been great, Ronni. Thank you. We're encouraging people, you can bring in a community partner, get some presentations going. You can jump all in or make a small shift. Don't worry about losing time, and don't worry about it going off the rails, right? You can always pump the brakes and bring it back to what you're comfortable with. 'Cause it, ultimately, it's y- what you're comfortable with and what your kids are comfortable with. So Ronni, give us, uh, just one last kind of maybe bit of advice or some motivation for teachers that are looking to move towards project-based learning.
00:21:18,650 --> 00:21:28,050 Ronni
Um, I just, I mean, I really wish, I mean, I'm in my last years of teaching, and I really wish I would've found it sooner.
00:21:28,050 --> 00:21:28,140 Ryan
Mm-hmm.
00:21:28,140 --> 00:21:59,260 Ronni
So if you're, even if you're in those last couple years, just give it a shot. My la- I mean, this time has been invaluable. I've had so many amazing presentations, sometimes from the kids I just don't expect it to be from. And just go out there and give it a try because it makes such a difference in your teaching or in your classroom, which means the kids are more motivated, and they're re- they love being in your room. Whereas before, being chemistry and physics, they might-
00:21:59,260 --> 00:21:59,260 Ryan
Mm
00:21:59,260 --> 00:22:03,270 Ronni
... have been a little intimidated coming into my classroom. And now they know-
00:22:03,270 --> 00:22:03,279 Ryan
Sure
00:22:03,279 --> 00:22:10,070 Ronni
... that it's a safe place, and they're able to, you know, be themselves and, you know, present what they need to.
00:22:10,070 --> 00:22:15,070 Ryan
Super good. Ronni, thanks for coming on and sharing your experience with our listeners. I appreciate it.
00:22:15,070 --> 00:22:15,830 Ronni
Well, thanks for having me.
00:22:16,930 --> 00:23:05,170 Ryan
All right. PBL Simplified listeners, uh, you heard it f- straight from Ronni. Like, let's jump in and do it. No matter where you're at, if it's year one or year 23, like, jump in. There are a lot of resources now, right? So again, you go to whatispbl.com to get some free resources. Uh, you head to the website, you know, magnifypbl.com to see where you can get trained. Uh, we do a three-day PBL Jump Start. Got a lot of options there, too, where you can jump in. Uh, you can just get a book, right, and get started. Uh, but get started. Make a small shift towards project-based learning, towards student-centered learning, and see how your students react. Help them go from passive to engaged and empowered. And once you feel that, as the educator, you won't wanna ever go back. Thanks for tuning in. Go in and teach inspired.
00:23:05,170 --> 00:23:34,010 [Speaker 0]
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