Dreams Really Do Come True

As an Enterprise Learning Coach with a Race to the Top Grant, last year I began working with a team of teachers at Dent Middle to design and implement their first PBL EVER! We had dreams of creating an outdoor learning classroom for all students to use, and though it seemed like an overwhelming task for a few, we knew that 70+ students would make the job easier. Our challenging problem for the students was to design an outdoor learning space that repurposed a defunct ropes course on the site.

So we set out. We met. We planned. We met many more times. We created mini-lessons and check points along the way.  We launched the PBL with a tour of the site and an explanation of what the next 6-8 weeks would involve.

We put the students into work groups, and they created Need to Knows that would guide their inquiry and keep them grounded as they worked. The students were excited yet anxious for the unknown, and they weren’t the only ones! As the lists grew, our team wondered if our dreams had been too big for the time we had left in the school year.

As the school year ended, the groups were ready. The panel of judges included school personnel and members of the community. The groups presented their public products. After the day was over, the numbers were tallied and the winning design belonged to a group who had named themselves Outdoor Innovators. Just the summer lay between them and seeing their dreams brought to reality. 

This year, the same teachers worked with a new group of 7th graders to do just that! Their task was to take a closer look at each element in the winning design, develop construction plans, create a realistic budget for materials, decide on a timeline for completion, and reflect throughout the year on a group blog.

And then…THE FLOOD HAPPENED!

  The area and the land that surrounded the site were under water. Carys Lake was no longer a lake, and the possibility of our dreams coming true grew slimmer and slimmer as the rain continued to fall most of the fall and winter. The team made adjustments, which included scrapping the plans for a dock, combining gardening teams, and pushing back the timeline for construction.

  After a full  year of critique, revision, sustained inquiry, and  the work of 132 students, our dreams are about to come true. On April 8, we kick off the cleaning phase of the area in preparation for Dent Day of Service on April 23. On this day, the Dent community is invited to take part in the construction of the outdoor learning classroom. To be a part of watching this dream unfold, sign up here!