Page 37 - Waterfall Issue 9 2021

projects put pressure on venue
social activism projects, micro
farming, coding and cooking.
At the same time, the College
embarked on the process of
informing new and existing parents
about PBL, its well-documented
advantages and the anticipated
impact on the curriculum and
timetabling structure. The
response was overwhelmingly
and hearteningly positive.
It was all systems go, but the
practicalities of implementing PBL
proved more difficult than envisaged.
The availability on a teacher’s
timetable did not always coincide
with enthusiasm or skill, while the
large groups of pupils on certain
space and teacher accessibility.
“It was not an optimal environment
for teachers to hone their facilitation
skills,” adds Shelley Matthews, Deputy
Head Academics. “The balance
of how and when to intervene is
a difficult and intuitive skill that
cannot be taught in a workshop; it is
something that is developed through
experience. After a while, we realised
that certain subject disciplines and
teachers are better disposed to
this methodology than others.”
“There was also a negative effect
on the overall staff body. Teachers
had initially welcomed the value
of a different approach, but an
insidious perception that the current
methodology was therefore incorrect or
faulty, undermined their sense of self-
worth and caused a lack of cohesion.
The removal of the long-entrenched
numerical assessment system was to
alleviate stress, but criteria referenced
evaluation demanded a lot more
thought and time input from already
stretched teachers, and pupils did not
initially grasp the value of feedback over
that of a grade,” Matthews continues.
Amidst these challenges, however there
were ‘quiet wins’. Opportunities started
to open up for students who were
not academically inclined but began
experiencing success at school and
beyond – in some cases for the first time.
Skills like time management and group
work skills improved as did group work
insights and an overall growth mind-set.
“A thorough evaluation showed
enough positives and growth to work
on improving the systems of delivery
of PBL,” Matthews explains. “Then
COVID happened! At least the small
disruption of PBL implementation
had prepared us for coping with
disruption on a larger scale. However
the move to online also showed that
students’ digital competencies were
not at an ideal level and the scope
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