Blog Post 6: Technology that supports critical thinking & problem solving

I really liked the idea of Problem-Based Learning (PBL); however, I don’t know that my teaching style is quite ready for that yet. I love the idea, but I would need to slowly change some of my practices over time to work up to this level. I can see the potential benefits for the students: more independence, increased social and problem-solving skills, self-directed learning, better language skills, etc., but I can also see the pitfalls of lack of group effort, unequal distribution of work, poor attention to the task, apathy. The trick would be for me to come up with something that will interest them and, therefore, motivate them. Furthermore, my brain doesn’t really work in this format so I would really have to push myself to come up with scenarios that related to my curriculum area and still met the standards. Hmmmm…. Definitely food for thought.