Question 10) What is the role of teachers in the connection of design to curriculum and students via PBL/SL?
If Project Based Service Learning is the bridge between school design and students, then teachers are the gatekeepers of the bridge. What this means in formal terms is that without teacher cooperation and investment, it ain’t gonna happen. In many cases, the nature of education today means that what takes place in classrooms throughout a school district is completely scripted. One rationale for this academic regimentation of classtime is that, because there is a good deal of student movement between schools during the school year, curriculum needs to be very carefully scripted in terms of time, pacing and methodology.
To overcome these challenges to using the connection between design, curriculum, and students via Service Learning, teachers in the school need to be identified who will see this process as an amazing opportunity to teach more effectively. Teachers will need initial and ongoing support to set up a framework for the project (e.g. the design program will take place once a week for 10 weeks between October and December on Tuesdays between 10:00 and 11:30 and the following activities will take place). They’ll also need assistance to see the powerful connections between project activities and student mastery of their curricular objectives. This is where an organization such as Guerilla Educators can be useful as a mentoring resource for teachers and to keep the relationship coordinated between the architect as Community Partner and the classroom. Teachers need to understand that the project schedule should not be considered as an add-on to a teacher’s already stressful, busy day but as an integral part of the day that will make learning come alive for the students and be fun, as well.
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