One Week In

I am very happy to report that our pitch meeting was an unmitigated success! WOO! (Literally, I was so excited about how well they were doing that I did, in fact, shout “WOO” more than once in 90 minutes.)

Not only were students prepared for their pitches, but their classmates gave them meaningful evaluations and honest feedback. They asked compelling questions, ones that I never would have thought to ask (“How will you differentiate your stuff from other content on Buzzfeed?”, “There are thousands of posts a minute about this topic – why would anyone listen to you?”), proving my theory that the digital world belongs to these students.

Even more than that, their self-promotion abilities are EXPLOSIVE – one group created an Instagram account that had over 150 followers by the end of the day. Other groups are following suit. They’re cross-promoting each other’s work. It’s ALL HAPPENING!

What’s even more exciting for me is the fact that no two groups pitched the same idea – each group has something completely different to say, different ways of wanting to say it, and different ways of promoting their ideas. They were professional, and prepared, and I am so excited for what’s going to happen next.

Each class had two pitch meeting “winners” – one group with the highest overall score (next year I am definitely doing this in Google Forms so that Sheets can analyze the data for me – this English teacher spent a LOT of time checking and re-checking her math on Friday), and another group with the highest Idea score. Each group will get to choose a project privilege; I’ve floated some ideas (veto power for the rubric, getting to choose their dates for taking over this blog), but I’m also leaving it to them. By Friday they’ll have decided, and I’ll share with you! This element of student voice and choice definitely comes from my reflections on my last PBL – I’ve found that loosening the reins is less exhausting for me, and also more empowering for them.

I’m so glad that you’ve all tuned in so far, and I’m so excited for you to see what’s coming. As the students build their online identities, I’ll keep sharing them with you. Follow us on Instagram (link on the right!) to be connected with their accounts so you can see what they’re up to. Starting next week I’ll be highlighting different groups so you can get a look at them before they really take the stage.

Keep an eye out – they’re savvy, and they’re coming for all of you!

Until Next Time,

Mrs. K