Case description
A full day of training on Phenomenon-Based Learning, i.e. Project-Based Learning with a Finnish twist.
Franklin Public Schools, Massachusetts November 2018
The central idea for this project was to build a day of training around one theme for different types of cohorts. The primary goal was to lay the ground for district-wide pedagogical development processes.
Workshop 1
Central Office and Principals
Workshop 2
Social Studies Curriculum Committee
Workshop 3
Teachers Across the District
Focus
In all the sessions the focus was on defining what well-designed, rigorous and tangible PBL might look like for different types of learners. We explored what responsibilities and initiatives individual cohorts need to take in order to implement such projects district-wide.
”I highly recommend Mr. Petteri Elo, master educator from Finland, as a facilitator for professional development in the area of project- or phenomenon-based learning. Mr. Elo shares his concrete and tangible strategies that he applies with his own students to develop teachers’ skills in implementing PBL. During all his workshops, Mr. Elo emphasizes the connection between academic content and the highly relevant skills students need to be successful in their futures.
Mr. Elo can lead professional learning among all professional staff, including administrators, teachers, and even their students. In a short period of time, we have seen educators who attended his session apply their new learning, transforming their projects into project-based learning.”
– Sara E. Ahern, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Franklin Public Schools
Massachusetts
