teachers ask: what is the wow! academy?
TRANSCRIPT
Teachers Ask: What is WOW!?#pbl #edtech #vision
Can you tell me some "things" I will learn?
How students can work collaboratively in groups yet never receive "group grades."
How to help parents embrace Project Based Learning including less "help" from you for their students.
How to be an instructional designer instead of a content creator.
Can you tell me some "things" I will learn?
The profound difference between being "engaged" and "on-task."
How to help students achieve "flow," the magical state that makes time disappear during deep learning.
How is WOW! Training Different?
Most staff development features the presenter as the teacher and the teacher as the student, but NOT LIKE THIS.
How is WOW! Training Different?
In the WOW! model, the teacher acts as his or her OWN student AND his or her OWN teacher.
The teacher must design AND try the instruction.
The goal is for the teacher to feel what it's like to be a student AND the teacher in a PBL classroom.
How is WOW! Training Different?
The "teacher" (the person who has registered for the WOW! Academy) designs a lesson which s/he then creates as if s/he were the student.
How is WOW! Training Different?
On the last day of the academy, the teacher provides a presentation to an audience of teachers and administrators, just as his/her student will provide presentations to his/her peers in the classroom.
How is WOW! Training Different?
Another thing that makes the WOW! Academy different from other trainings is that the instructors do not HELP the participants with their projects.
In the WOW! Model, instructors are the "guides on the side."
How is WOW! Training Different?
After the direct teach portion of the course has ended,instructors provide mini-lessons to small groups as needed, but they do not "help" individual participants.
How is WOW! Training Different?
Not helping participants has several effects:1. Teachers learn what "guide on the side" means
for the learner.2. Teachers learn how to find their own answers and
solve problems.3. Teachers gain confidence in their abilities to find
alternative solutions.4. Teachers learn how different, frustrating AND
rewarding learning in a PBL environment can be.
PBL and WOW! Have Remarkable Similarities to Sports . . .
Including:
-Competition-Public Performance-Teams & Collaboration-Deadlines- limited practice and performance time-Spectators/Audience-Rules/Limits everyone has to abide by for fairness
PBL and WOW! Have Remarkable Similarities to Sports . . .
Including:
-Change of venue for culminating events-All practice & work leads to better performance at the culminating performance-Photos and video are taken-Performances are rehearsed and timed
Why does WOW! Academy last 4 days?
For teachers who are years behind in their technical skills and stuck in a teaching style that is comfortable and perhaps has even been successful in the past, we have found that four days is optimal for change.
Why does WOW! Academy last 4 days?
Teachers have enough time to try out a new style of learning and trust their experiences. This trust leads to greater confidence in the methodology and increased chances of implementation.
What's so special about WOW!?
Each WOW! Academy is a unique experience. You'll learn DIFFERENT things depending on DIFFERENT topics that arise and DIFFERENT needs of DIFFERENT people who attend.
So that's WOW! . . . Have more questions? Contact Emily Williamson at Region 6 Education Service Center
Emily [email protected]@mathematicianem