Educational Leadership - September 2009

provided instruction on spreadsheet formulas so students could project costs for various set-ups. A student tutored peers in using Google SketchUp to create a simulation of the movable stand for the video cameras. When the warehouse supervisor decided the identification tag idea was viable for further development, the students acquired the radio transmitter, the tags, and a server to develop a model system.

Schools and

Communities Together Districts or states can develop programs like the one described here by locating partners and connecting them with schools, but this formalized structure is not necessary to establishing meaningful partnerships. Individual teachers and schools can establish different levels of

Meet the Challenge

collaboration by reaching out to local businesses and organizations. Partners may provide problems for teachers and students to resolve, or they may simply provide expertise on problem topics.

One teacher in the program noted that

teachers alone can only simulate real problems. Excel Foundry [one of the business partners] gave them the real deal. That kind of experience can only take place if the schools are willing to work with a business partner and the businesses are willing to work with the schools.

Engaging the community in meaningful partnerships benefits students, teachers, and community partners. Students learn valuable skills that transfer to many different career settings. The experience is transformational for students, who see their schoolwork as having meaning. It can be even more

transformational for teachers, who not only realize the potential in their students but also reevaluate the roles of both teachers and learners as they make a paradigm shift toward student-centered learning. Business partners are able to use the work of the students to inspire their own thinking. All involved get a fresh perspective on their work, and this fresh perspective can feed their future efforts in learning, teaching, and innovation. EL

Debra Gerdes is ASCD’s PBL Network Facilitator and the Professional Development Leader for Problem-Based Learning at Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), 1500 W. Sullivan Rd., Aurora, IL 60506; gerdes@imsa.edu. Ellen Jo Ljung is Facilitator of IMSA’s PBL Initiatives in Geneva, Illinois; imwriter@imwriter.com

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