One of my major goals in attending the NCTM annual conference this year was to see how widespread PBL had become in terms of mainstream education practices across the US.  I have to say that this year there were quite a few sessions that had PBL in the title or as the central theme and I was excited to see that!  Here were some of the workshops:

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Is More Than Solving Problems – in this session the speakers were giving just a beginner’s view of what PBL is and can be in the classroom.

Change the Classroom, Not the Students – Attaining Equity Using PBL (OK, this one was mine)

Bring Back Problem-Based Learning into Methods Courses! – in this session the speaker makes an argument for using PBL methods in courses for teacher candidates and spoke about the positive experiences of preservice teachers with PBL.

Amplify the Mathematical Practices -this session focused on middle school PBL practices and how they stressed the CCSS MP standards.  This was sponsored by Amplify’s Math projects.

Making Mathematics Culturally Relevant to Students Using Problem-Based Learning – in this session, the speakers gave an example of culturally relevant pedagogy striving for equity in the classroom.  Again arguing that PBL allows for furthering equity in the practice of PBL.

Setting the Scene: Designing Your Problem-Based Classroom – in this session, the great Geoff Krall (emergentmath.com) gave a great talk summarizing a lot of his methods relating to PBL and his protocols in getting students to work through problems in their learning.

The Hidden Message: Micromessaging and Mathematics – I wanted to attend this session so badly, but I had to leave early on Saturday morning.  This session has so much to do with my own research relating to how we talk to each other in mathematics classrooms and how PBL can allow for better communication without the micromessages.  (Tujuana if you read this – get in touch with me!)

Promoting Equity through Teaching for a Growth Mindset (Jo Boaler) – in this Session Prof. Boaler reported on her work in math education with Carol Dweck’s Mindset research.  You should check out her new website youcubed.org if you are interested in all the resources that she has shared freely.

And that was just to name a few!  So much wonderful information out there to learn and share.  The variety and number of sessions that connected to the pedagogy, content or philosophy of PBL was overwhelming and honestly very invigorating for me as someone who has taught with PBL for over 20 years.  Seeing the interest and enthusiasm for this type of classroom practice has given me renewed energy to get me through the rest of the year!