Consulting the Experts
10/20/2017
Ward (2011) conducted a study on the impact of guest speakers in the classroom. She found that a guest speaker in a classroom will have greatest impact if the content is both age appropriate and content specific to what is being studied. In addition, she claimed that having a guest speaker in the classroom seemed to mean more to students over a longer period of time. Bringing experts into the classroom is also an important element of PBL. According to Suzie Boss, an educational consultant and a member of BIE's National Faculty, we make the most of learning experiences when we get the community involved in our projects. She believes that "most students respond positively when they have opportunities to tackle challenges or investigate issues that extend beyond the classroom walls."
In third grade, students welcomed two experts who provided us content expertise that helped answer students' "need to know" questions and our driving question, "What can we, as geographers, add to Public Land's Great Alaskan Kit to teach other classrooms about Alaskan regions?
Our first speaker was Glenn Hart, Education Specialist at the Alaska Public Lands Information Center. He had the third graders play the game Jeopardy to help them learn facts about Alaskan geography.
Our other speaker was Shad O'Neel, a glaciologist, a PNA parent and Cameron's uncle. Through a presentation, he shared his wealth of knowledge on the environmental characteristics of Alaska's five geographical regions. He also brought his own pictures of glaciers in Alaska that prove global warming is real!
Guest Speaker's Feedback:
"It was fun to speak to the super-engaged third grade class. The student's excitement is always so fun to see, and a sure sign of them getting a great education. In addition to being so engaged in learning, it was awesome to see how polite and courteous the kids were. That made it really easy for me to share the slides, and answer questions as they came up. I only wish all audiences were that awesome to talk with!" - Shad O'Neel
Sources:
Ward, S, 2011. The impact f guest speakers in the science classroom. Montana State University. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1/2502/WardS0811.pdf Boss, S. 2013 September 16. Get your community on board with PBL. BIE. Retrieved from https://www.bie.org/blog/get_your_community_on_board_with_pbl Comments are closed.
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Jessica GrahamMs. Graham graduated from the University of Alabama with a BS in Early Childhood/Elementary Education, and is currently working on her master's in reading. She enjoys hiking, traveling, arts & crafts, and playing the ukulele. Archives
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