February 7

‘twixt and ‘tween childhood and adulthood (and how #PBL builds maturity), Part 1

Today was one of those days I was reminded (as if I could forget!) that adolescents are neither children nor adults, and that they are moving along a jagged path that will bring them to mature behavior ever more frequently. It was also a day that reinforced my commitment to project-based learning (#PBL) as a brilliant pedagogic methodology for preparing students to succeed in adulthood.

As part of our European History studies, we recently took a field trip to the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center. In addition to a docent-led tour of the main exhibit, we each experienced a virtual reality tour with Pinchas Gutter, the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust. The viewer “walks” with Gutter as he shares his recollections of being transported by jam-packed railway car to Majdanek, a German concentration camp in Lublin, Poland. Gutter continues to tell his story as he accompanies the viewer through intimate views of the gas chamber and shower room where at least 78,000 prisoners (59,000 Jews) were killed.

Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center by Wikimedia Commons shared under a  CC0 Creative Commons license.

Understandably, the field trip had a strong emotional impact on the students. We “de-briefed,” discussing emotions and connections the students felt throughout our visit. I then asked the students to collaboratively write a thank-you note to the museum employee who organized our visit.

What should have been a five-minute exercise turned into a half-hour ordeal. There were discussions about who had the best handwriting. And how the card should be signed. There were laborious analyses of the correct phrasing to use. Finally, the card was done and signed.

Next, I share the grown-up side of these students that occurred a heartbeat after completing the thank-you note.