“They went and asked for criticism from a classmate. That’s so huge. They’ve taken failure out, and they’re just looking to get feedback to revise the project.”
Jordan Manley from STEAM Academy in Lexington, KY is here. This is his seventh year of PBL, and he went to Magnify Learning training right out of college. We spent an awesome week together. Jordan has always had a ton of passion. He teaches health and PE at STEAM Academy. It’s a small school with around 400 students. Jordan loves stretching himself and working on new projects with the other teachers.
Does PBL apply to courses like PE? Jordan gives a great example in how investigating the origins of pickleball was an exercise in design thinking. We also get to learn all about their project of designing better net games that made PE class more fun and interesting beyond having competitions and tournaments. Jordan breaks down the entire journey of making PE a better experience for his students.
Episode Highlights:
[03:28] They have a partnership with the University of Kentucky. Jordan trains student teachers.
[04:05] The PBL theme for Jordan’s PE class was net and wall games. Classes like badminton, tennis, pickleball, etc.
[06:03] They asked a question of how they can design better net games for their classmates.
[07:34] Design thinking is a five-step process of empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test.
[10:30] The students brainstormed with whiteboards and then designed and tested games. The iterative process and testing was a huge win.
[13:19] Jordan talks about focusing on the experience of the students. They used a framework that focuses on personal relevance, appropriate challenges, emotional safety, and social connections.
[20:38] Use the design thinking model to implement PBL in your classroom and find teachers who want to go down that journey with you. Look for teacher confidence.
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Twitter: @STEAMWellness
Blog Post by Jordan: Can Project Based Learning Create More Meaningful PE?
Another Podcast with Jordan: Develop Your Own PBL Experts | E121
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